>> What are some things that mainstream teachers and schools can do to be more inclusive of Aboriginal learners? >> There's a lot of things they can do. One is, when they're looking at their textbooks and, and the curriculum they actually are providing that they try to include aboriginal focus. So you know In a math text book it's really hard to do, but maybe in the handouts that they provide, maybe they use aboriginal names or aboriginal places when you're trying to do like a math, you know, they go from Attawapiskat to Sandy Lake as opposed to going from Toronto to Ottawa. So that's one way they could do that. The other way is to make sure they incorporate traditional ways of knowing and knowledge, so reading up on and understanding what traditional ways of knowing and knowledge are and understanding the different learning styles. Aboriginal people tend to learn from experiential learning as opposed to learning from books, the way we see mainstream want to do. I do see a change in the shift in the educational system and we are moving there. But we're not there yet. So if, if we have teachers look at those things and try to come up with positive role models, and showing positive aboriginal role models for those students. They don't know that they have aboriginal students in their classrooms so it's really, it's best that they always try to teach in that way. >> Mm-hm. >> It helps to be a diverse classroom that way. And then that way, the students that are in their class, they'll start to learn a little about First Nations. So, you know, don't just stick to the curriculum in three, grade 3, grade 6, and grade 9, but try to incorporate First Nations, all the way through the curriculum. And it will help to bridge that stereotypical, you know, discriminatory gap that we seem to, to have in Canada >> Mm-hm and you mention grades three, six and nine because in Ontario. >> Yes, they're explicit. >> That's where they are explicitly mentioned in the curriculum that we include some aboriginal content, I'll say. Because such as content I think introducing aboriginal perspectives into teaching and learning throughout the curriculum >> Mm-hm. >> Is a good strategy for that, for reasons of equity and inclusion and so forth. And you mentioned too that teachers don't always know that they have indigenous students in their classroom because we all look different, >> Yes. >> We don't necessarily. Adhere to that movie native stereotype. >> Yes. >> So that's something that I think I've been trying to convey to teachers in my work is you don't necessarily know whether you have them in your class but they're there. >> Yes. >> You just may not recognize them. So one, one of the questions and you kind of touched on this I was wondering about the value for non aboriginal learners in that classroom of taking on those kinds of examples and integration of aboriginal perspectives. You know, why should, why should we do it even if there, there isn't an indigenous student in that class. >> There's a huge number of reasons. One is, if we don't start teaching about Aboriginal history In an, an acceptable way that shows not only how mainstream has always seen aboriginal history, but in the way aboriginal people see their history. Then we can't ever get rid of stereotypes. We can't ever get rid of discrimination and racism, and as much as we want to say that we are not a colonized country. We are and we have to get past that and the only way to decolonize is to start bringing in that history at as many places as we can so students start to understand. About aboriginal people, their history and the, attempts that it's had at assimilation so that we're not talking about it in some abstract third person type of way, but how it relates back to them because. Treaties don't just mean aboriginal people. They were made with the British Crown, so we need to talk about those things. And we need to talk about, you know, there are certain things that haven't been happening in Canada, and we need to talk about why child welfare doesn't work. And we need to talk about why the social. Or the justice system doesn't work for us. The only way we can have honest conversations is if everyone in the classroom learns about Aboriginal people right from the beginning, and we can build upon that knowledge. Think about math, if we didn't build upon knowing 1 plus 1, we could never get to long algebraic equations. So we need to think about Aboriginal people just like an algebraic equation. >> Mm-hm, so I guess we can't discuss our, treaty relationship if we don't realize that we are all treaty people in Canada. >> Exactly, so I think that if we don't start building upon that relationship building and, and talking about the true history that we, we're starting to hear more and more about. The residential schools about the 60s group, talking about what the Indian Act means. What kind of rights and privileges were taken away with the Indian Act. We can't ever sit down and have a, a true conversation about where Canada needs to go from here. >> Mm-hm. Where does Canada need to go? [laugh] >> Well I think we have a lot of work to do. I think that we, we see it. Right now we have the idle no more movement happening across Canada. And I think it's a one step in moving us towards. Building a new relationship.Some Canadians are saying okay I've had enough of hearing about it you know, just, you know, go away. While other Canadians are saying yeah the Indian Act is wrong and it's repressive and we need to do something about it because that's not the country we thought this was. And I think if we don't start talking about it as aboriginal people and start engaging non aboriginal people. We're not going to get anywhere. We're just going to spin our wheels, and, and we need to do that to educate not just aboriginal people about their own history, but non-aboriginal people about the history that they may not, not have ever experienced or known. >> Mm-hm. One of the earliest agreements, I guess, between the newcomers and indigenous people, is the, The Two Row Wampum or the Guswenta, which laid out a, a model for co-existence. >> Mm-hm. >> So I'm wondering if, if you can talk a bit about the Guswenta. >> Well the idea was that we would go through life, in this land in two separate streams but we would work where we needed to together but we wouldn't disrupt each other. Unfortunately, that didn't occur because within you know a hundred year of that. The two row wampum we came to put rope proclamation that say we are sovereign people we going to share land and right after that, you know, not even hundred years later, we come into confederation into the British North America act of 1867. Where all of the sudden aboriginal people become the wards of the state. And then with the wards of the state, that's when they started to change how education would lay out for the aboriginal people. It was no longer about you know, the experiential learning that we were experiencing and that we always done in, in apprenticeship kind of way. Now, all of a sudden, people had to go to schools and they had to learn things that they really didn't know what they were going to use it for like they were learning how to write. They were learning how to read and then they found out that if they actually went beyond K to 12, and went to post secondary, they lost their status. They became enfranchised and they didn't even ask for that. That was just something that was forced upon them. So, they lost their ability to identify as Aboriginal people. So, we, we often don't think about those things, and I think that we need to start thinking about how do we educate Canadians about those. They don't seem like a lot, but I think if Canadians started to understand those little pieces. >> Mm-hm. >> We would start to move towards building a better relationship in Canada, between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people. And maybe they could see the benefit of working with the fastest growing population in Canada. >> Mm-hm, what are some steps Canadians can take? >> I would hope, I would sincerely hope that they would take some time to you know, five minutes and look at some videos. There's lots of them on the Aboriginal People's Television Network, or YouTube. You can go on and, and watch things. Eight Fire. And it's a great series. They can spend just even five minutes to try to figure out what's going on, listen to the idle no more movement. Going around and listening to people talking about it. Asking their MP about what are they doing for aboriginal people. In your community, because there's not very many communities in Canada, and writings in Canada where there's not Aboriginal people. So, what are they doing for the Aboriginal people right there in their back yard? Talking to their, their children's teachers. Asking them what's being taught in schools. Making sure that it's actually being taught in schools. Talking to the schools about you know, doing something about social justice, justice. So you know, in Nunavut, to buy a bottle of water is you know, three to five times the amount that it is here in Toronto. So maybe it's about how can we work together to reduce the prices in remote communities. Maybe it's about sponsoring a remote community and helping them in some way. So I think Canadians have lots of abilities to go out and do something but they need to educate themselves. So I think that first step is, or find an elder. >> Mm-hm. >> Go out and find an elder find an event and go talk to people. There's lots of aboriginal people. And I'm sure they would love to sit down and talk and, and tell you what you, you know, want to know. There are books out there that specifically work towards telling you about aboriginal people, like First Nations 101 by Linda Grey. >> Mm-hm. >> Or you can sit down and, and simply sit with some people and have a meal or go to the nearest friendship center and, and hang out and maybe you might learn something that you never new before. >> Yeah connecting, connecting to the community is so important and um,[COUGH] it's one thing for Canadians to connect to indigenous people in their communities but indigenous people. Responding in a, in a good way. >> Yes. >> What are some ways that indigenous people can respond to allies who come looking for knowledge? >> I hope that they will take the time to extend a hand and help them. Because it's, it's so very important when a non-indigenous person comes to you and asks for help, and they want to know more about aboriginal people and indigenous people, that it's, It's taking the time to give them the knowledge that you do have. And if you don't have the knowledge, passing them on to somebody else that will and, and doing it in a good way, not just saying, oh, well I don't know I'm going to send you to somebody else, but trying to actually find out the, the answers to the questions that they have. Not, you know hiding behind a veil of not knowing because a lot of aboriginal people know where they can go to get more information so I, you know helping out and doing that. Being part of any kind of volunteer day where you know, aboriginal awareness week in February or aboriginal National aboriginal day June 21, you know. Getting out there and showing non-aboriginal people that we are here and talking to them about what it means to be indigenous in Canada today. >> Mm-hm. And the Toronto District School Board also has aboriginal education month in November. So there's. >> Yeah. >> There's different ways to market, that's how we're doing it locally. But certainly other, other regions choose different times and different months. >> That's right. >> I'd like it to be all the time. [laugh] Speaker:[LAUGH] But the thing is, that if you, if a non-indigenous person wants information. You know, when is, in February, you would just go to a local college or university across Canada and they would have something going on in, on that week. >> Mm-hm. >> Or on June 21st, every city in, in Canada usually has some kind of aboriginal event, on top of there's always pow wows going on. All they have to do is look on the internet for >> Different events going on in Aboriginal communities and they will certainly find them. >> Huh. So you have to take the responsibility to make that connection. >> Yes, definitely. >> Well, thanks very much Angela for sharing your knowledge today. >> Thank you. [inaudible]
