Something I was not lucky enough to be taught in school was treaty education. During lecture today the question came up of “did any of you have treaty education in school” there was about 10% of the class whos hands went up. Being from Alberta I have been able to see the difference in the educational process between the two provinces and what the Saskatchewan curriculum emphasizes compared to the Alberta curriculum.
Treaty education is more than understanding that there were treaties signed between the first nations and the settlers coming to Canada. There is a meaning behind what a treaty means, its definition, and what it means today. The reason to teach treaty education to the children and youth of today is to give them the context of what has happened in history in regards to treaties and their meaning.
On a more general note, treaty education is important because it teaches students about the cultures of the first nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples and shows them how to appreciate it. It teaches them to be accepting and show support for causes like #orangeshirtday.
Something that was said in lecture today was “we are treaty people”. This idea brings about more than treaties being a part of our history living in Canada. Looking at where we came from in the ancestry of families who came to Canada and settled here there is a huge amount of meaning behind treaties. Treaties are what made Canada what it is today. Without the agreement to share the land between the British settlers and the indigenous peoples of the time the people that make up Canada and the cultures today would have been very different. Being “treaty people” means more than knowing about treaties, being a treaty person is respecting the treaties that were signed, respecting what those treaties meant, respecting the ceremony of making an agreement. A treaty person is honorable, accepting and supportive of others and their cultures. A treaty is a binding of two groups to make one. A treaty is a promise. Being a treaty person is to honor the agreements that were made when Canada was taking its first steps towards becoming the country it is today.
Coming from a different province and having a different upbringing in the schooling I was taught I don’t understand where the disconnect came in emphasizing this part of the curriculum. Why isn’t this taught in Alberta? Why isn’t this information mandatory to be taught and why is it just put on a shelf where we say “I don’t know how to integrate this into all the classes”? As a student and developing teacher, I want to know why I was deprived of this critical information and why my eyes were not opened to this when I was in school?
Featured Photo by Maher El Aridi on Unsplash.
Jessica is a student at University of Regina. Her passion for helping others and advocacy for the prevention of bullying in schools has lead her to a career in education. She is a dog lover, photographer, and a food lover.
Make sure to comment below and follow her on social media, she loves to reach out and connect with you!
I can totally understand how you feel about not learning Treaty Education. I graduated in 2014 and I was never taught Treaty Education while in elementary or high school. I find this hard because once I came to University and was taught about Treaty Education I felt like I missed out on so much in my schooling. I think it important for us as future educators to always incorporate Treaty Education. As Claire said there is no excuse anymore as to why we are not incorporating Treaty Education into our lessons. I have a family friends that are in high school in Edmonton and I asked them if they learn about Treaty Education and they said no. This I found upsetting and could not understand why. I hope that once all of us become educators we can change this and incorporate Treaty Education into every lesson.
Author
I am actually from Edmonton. I have noticed a huge difference in the emphasis on treaties or even the acknowledgment of Indigenous people. I haven’t, to the best of my memory, heard an acknowledgment of being on treaty land. It is interesting the difference between provinces.
Jessica, I really enjoyed reading this blog. It is very true that, “We are all treaty people” and need to be teaching all our students what this means. It is truly how we will achieve reconciliation.
I enjoyed your list of characteristics for a Treaty Person: Honorable, accepting, and supportive. Being a treaty person is really an attitude which we can have towards the world.
We Canadians are often stereotyped as Honorable, Accepting, and Supportive, aren’t we? Always apologizing, always polite.. Canada is known as a very diplomatic and compassionate nation, especially when it comes to international affairs. However, we have discourse and neglect on our own soil in so many areas, the worst of which is our aboriginal and non-aboriginal relations. I think that it’s more important for us to be Treaty People FIRST, because out of that flows TRUE compassion, the kind that works close to home, the kind that can be messy and complicated. The kind which addresses past sins and acknowledges wrong-doing.
Author
I agree with the stereotypes about Canadians. I do agree with you that there are much of Canada’s shortcomings in our own country that are not even seen as true let alone being taken care of. Being a treaty person is being that at one’s core and taking care of the people and the nations that were involved in an agreement, a treaty, with first instead of last.