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I have come to notice that the same thing has happened to many individuals in our school systems. The treatment of native Canadians has just started to become a topic of discussion and point requiring awareness, education and action. My step children are native, live near a reservation and have very little appreciation for their history, culture or struggles. Perhaps it is an unspoken shame or simply a lack of education and understanding. During the final Tragically Hip concert, Gord Downie decided to take the opportunity to highlight how grossly negligent Canada has been in acknowledging and righting the wrongs that have been done. In Secret Path, Chanie Wenjack's story is told. A boy taken from his home and put in a residential school. On a trip home along the train tracks, he dies. Chanie's family talks to Gord Downie about their lost brother in the documentary. Every time his sister Pearl comes to a set of tracks, she stops and looks down them. She realizes the immense distance that still needs to be travelled, not just for her brother but for all people. Her one desire is that schools be built on reservations so that the young people don't have to leave to get an education. In the CBC discussion panel Road to Reconciliation (also available at Secret Path), Tasha Hubbard suggests that the animation of the piece helps us enter into the conversations by providing us an entry point into the discussion. Every parent could walk into the classroom and ask how my ______ program is. In Rabbit Proof Fence, an unwanted third race is in question and how to breed the native origin out because the white blood has "finally stamps out the black colour. The aboriginal has simply been bread out".
We must apologize for what has been, for the pain and suffering of "stolen generations".
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his apology to the First Nations people of Canada and acknowledged that they are the past, present and future of Canada. We can't right all the wrongs, but education and awareness of what happened so as not to be repeated is paramount.
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AuthorI am a teacher in Halton and have spent 12 years dedicated to learning about and working with students who have special learning needs. I have been teaching since 2005. I have 4 kids (2 + 2 step), I play bagpipes, ride a motorcycle and love being outdoors. Archives
August 2017
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