Aboriginal History and Identity: Curriculum Connections PD Day

This Professional Development program is intended to support Jewish day school educators in meeting the Aboriginal education requirements outlined by the province with confidence, age-appropriate tools, nuanced perspectives and diverse resources.

In June 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its findings and called for a new era in Canada’s relationship with its First Peoples. As Jews and Canadians, it is our responsibility to respond to this call, and understand how our young people may play a role in our national reconciliation process.

Many schools and community organizations have an interest to engage in this subject matter but lack the educational resources and expertise to integrate material into their curriculum. Participating educators will have the opportunity to enhance their own knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal history, contemporary identity and the residential school system. 

The legacy of Canada’s treatment of its First Peoples throughout history has ongoing and severe implications for the 1.4 million Aboriginal people living in Canada today. Moreover, this history has implications for all people who call Canada home. 

The program is open to all GTA-based Jewish day school teachers, administrators and experiential educators. As an educator, you can expect to gain:

• Improved literacy around Aboriginal history, contemporary identity and residential schools
• Curriculum-specific knowledge and resources tailored to your classroom   
• A new network of Jewish educators, as well as organizations working in the area of Aboriginal education 
• Ongoing support throughout the year

Kosher lunch and refreshments will be served. 

The following individuals and organizations will facilitate workshops throughout the event:  

Grades 3-6 – The Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History project provides engaging,
high-quality materials to schools and universities for the teaching of historical methods and
Canadian history. The project has created a series of instructional websites based on the premise
that students can be drawn into Canadian history and archival research through the enticement
of solving historical cold crimes. This workshop will focus on using Aboriginal knowledge and
traditional methods in the elementary school classroom as a way of engaging students in
discovering the histories of Canada’s First Peoples, with sample activities for each grade.

Grades 7-8 – The We Are All Treaty People teacher resource guide is comprised of lesson plans
that include specific Ontario curriculum expectations for Grades 1-8. This workshop will focus on
the history and contemporary relationships of the most significant treaties signed from 1713 to
1914, the period of Canada’s history explored in grades 7 and 8.

Grades 9-12 – Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential
Schools is the new resource kit for high school classrooms produced by Facing History and
ourselves. Facing History and Ourselves is an international education organization whose mission
is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-
Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. In this
workshop, facilitators will guide educators through sample activities and educational resources for
teaching about the legacy of the residential school system in high school classrooms.

Experiential Educators Workshop – The Integrating Aboriginal Education Hackathon workshop
will engage experiential educators in a creative process to draw connections between the work
they do, their cohorts, and Aboriginal histories and contemporary experiences. The workshop will
also allow educators to explore resources, activities and experiences that are available to help
them bring these connections back to their organizations.

The Blanket Exercise – Canadian Roots Exchange builds bridges between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous youth in Canada by facilitating dialogue and strengthening relationships through
leadership programs. The Blanket Exercise is an interactive workshop that uses blankets to
represent the lands of what is now called Canada, and the distinct cultures and nations which
live on those lands to this day. Participants represent the First Peoples; when they move onto
the blankets, they are taken back in time to the arrival of the Europeans. Facilitators work with
the participants to read a script while the exercise goes through the history of treaty-making,
colonization and resistance that resulted in the nation we today call Canada.