Reflective Journal 1
For this journal entry I would like to focus on the role of the public school education
system in improving relationships between indigenous peoples and all other Canadians. A
central tenet of “native science” (Belanger, 2014) is relationship, which is defined as “a product
of everything mixing together in a constantly changing universe” (Belanger, 2014). I think that
with this philosophy in mind, the changes that are going to be made to the curriculum in Alberta
make so much more sense to me. We are all connected to each other, to the land, to the learning
and I believe that adding an underlying message of true Canadian (or Canadian as we understand
it to be, the land our country is on used to have many names) heritage to the education system
will help students to see the connectivity present in all aspects of life.
As an aspiring teacher, I feel as though it is the duty of education clear up the
misconceptions and stereotypes placed on the indigenous population and for future generations
to understand where our country has failed in the past. The Alberta Teachers’ Association has
released a resource for teachers called Education Is Our Buffalo, and it has really taught me how
little I really know or understand about the issues facing indigenous people today. In the
resource, there is a section called “Misconceptions About Aboriginal People” (Education Is Our
Buffalo, 2016) and there are many but they all shared a similar theme in that the diversity of First
Nations, Métis, and Inuit are all diminished through assumptions made about all of the
indigenous population. In reality, the indigenous population is made up of individuals with many
different languages and upbringings. They cannot be lumped into one category of people all
facing the same issues, just as all Canadians can’t be. I think this is why I see my mentors and
peers in the education community struggling to teach lessons that address the diversity amongst
Canada’s indigenous population. That is why I believe that it is important for each of us to learn
001194083
NAS 1000
about the places we live individually, and I was really hoping that this class could teach me that.
As I live in Calgary and Lethbridge, it is important to me that I learn about Blackfoot ways of
life and the issues the Blackfoot community is presented with today. I want to have this
knowledge, so I can pass it on in the classroom.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2007 and is working
towards “increasing and strengthening knowledge among all Albertans of the governance,
history, treaty and Aboriginal rights, lands, culture and languages” (Education Is Our Buffalo,
2016). I see education as an essential step in the reconciliation process and learning is the only
way to improve the relationships with and understanding of those around us. With these
educational goals in place for Alberta, I really think that I can learn to reverse the stereotypes
present in my own mind and teach with a more accurate representation of Canadian history and
indigenous peoples than what was taught to me. It is so important that classrooms make a
change, because then the attitudes, relationships, and understanding of future Canadians can
change as well.
001194083
NAS 1000
References
Belanger, Y. (2014). Ways of Knowing: An Introduction to Native Studies in Canada. 2nd
ed. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd., p.13.
Education Is Our Buffalo: A Teachers' Resource for First Nations, Métis and Inuit
Education in Alberta. (2016). 4th ed. Edmonton: The Alberta Teachers' Association, pp.55-57.
001194083
NAS 1000
