“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”
(TRC, 2015)
This TRC Call to Action is so simple yet so important to implement into a classroom. What should first be incorporated into a classroom is age-appropriate Indigenous books, posters, and other resources in order to introduce students to the history and culture in a casual setting. Students can get used to reading about different topics and asking questions that may come up from their interests and what they found during their readings and investigations. This also allows for representation within the classroom which is beneficial for those Indigenous students to be able to see themselves and feel seen within the classroom.
Incorporating age-appropriate curriculum could range from teaching about Aboriginal peoples, their cultures, residential schools and Treaties, but it could also be implementing Indigenous ways of knowing and learning into the classroom. Both of these ways are important to the knowledge and growth of Indigenous culture and learning about Indigenous peoples.
Learning is experiential and should allow for students to be involved in the learning process by taking part it in rather than just sitting and learning it. Learning on the land, taking field trips to Indigenous communities, having Elders and knowledge keepers come into the classroom to speak are all ways for students to be involved in the learning and have the curriculum incorporated into the classroom.
I will ensure that I am always growing my knowledge by continuing my education on Indigenous ways of being and how to incorporate more teachings into my future classroom in collaboration with Indigenous peoples and Indigenous communities.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (n.d.). Truth and reconciliation commission calls of Canada: To action. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf.