Over the course of the past few weeks, Division 4 has participated in ongoing conversations around the meaning of school and how schools are meeting the needs of ALL students and how they can improve. We then moved on to have challenging but necessary conversations around the topic of residential schools. We read stories such as When We Were Alone by David Robertson and Not My Girl by Margaret Pokiak-Fenton & Christy Jordan-Fenton. These stories allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the treatment of Indigenous students that took place at residential schools which included the traumatic  and forced separation of children from their families, malnourishment and punishment for speaking traditional languages.

Since tomorrow is National Truth and Reconciliation Day which honours the survivors and children who attended residential schools, you can continue to discuss what this day means at home. The following videos are a great way to begin these conversations as they touch on  how Orange Shirt Day was started and why Orange Shirt Day is meaningful to so many of us across Canada. It is important to tell the truth about Canada’s history.

There are many words that have been used to describe Indigenous peoples including the term Aboriginal. The following video is a great resource to learn more about why we have transitioned to using the term Indigenous and the difference between the three different Indigenous groups in Canada: The First Nations, the Métis, & the Inuit.