For a Theoretical Frameworks in Education course in my first year of my Bachelor of Education, we were asked to respond to a Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and respond the importance of this call to action. Below is my response:

Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:

62 i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

It is important that we recognize the history and contributions of the indigenous peoples of Canada in a way that is respectful yet acknowledges the suffering and persecution that first nations groups have endured for centuries. Though the full scope of this history may need to be tempered in some instances to be age appropriate for younger students within the elementary system. I plan to, as an educator, have a variety of resources and reading available to students during the units in which we cover the history of indigenous Canada as well as making sure to implement the perspectives and teaching of indigenous communities into my units across the board; including but not limited to teaching about important indigenous historical figures in social studies, displaying how indigenous group utilized the sciences before contact with ‘western’ sciences, and making sure to display indigenous art and music throughout the humanities. I also believe that it’s important to hear from actual members of the indigenous groups which we are learning about and to visit local sites that can connect students with the history that they are learning about. For this planning, a field trip to a local museum or indigenous knowledge center, such as the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park in Kamloops, BC would allow students to learn from and engage with members of the local Secwepemc band about their culture and the history of Residential schools in the area in a respectful and age-appropriate manner.