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A NEW GROWTH IN EDUCATION

Should I Be Teaching Indigenous History and Culture To My Students, If I'm not Indigenous Myself?

The answer to this question is, YES! Of course teachers should be teaching their students about the history, culture and importance of Indigenous communities. The hesitance stems from the fear, the fear of not knowing and the fear of getting something wrong. Many teachers in fact may have the same question in their head "What if I say or do something wrong?". Well, it is okay to have that fear, that fear is only present due to our ignorance of not knowing or educating ourselves. The first thing a teacher should do before teaching or talking about serious topics is research. It is important for teachers to always inform themselves and research about the history and about words and actions that are appropriate in today's time. It's okay if even after doing researching, you might still feel a little an uneasy. A perfect solution to introducing these topics is through the power of storytelling or storybooks. 



EMPOWER GROWTH

Students need to and have the right to know the history of their country, the right way. Canada has been quiet for to long, getting away with injustices and murder. The only way to change things and somewhat compensate the damage causes to the indigenous community is by speaking about it. 

​Why should Students learn about Indigenous History and Culture?:

  • students can become more informed and work toward Indigenous reconciliation

  • be advocates for anti-racism, all in their own right and capacity

  • Learning to understand Indigenous cultures, histories and languages can open the door to enriching partnerships and relationships—and respectful engagement (Mandewo, 2023)


THE BENEFITS OF INDIGENOUS PEDAGOGY

Indigenous pedagogy connects student learning to a specific place, and that knowledge is correlated with a specific place, experience, or group of people. Students knowledge grown when they are given the opportunity to explore, inquire, and learn on the land and the relationships built with others in these lands (Alberts Regional Consortia, 2023).

  • Learning that money isn't the root to happiness

  • Don't lose focus on what is important, your family

  • Growing strong relationships with the community

  • Give what you can, and give to those in need

  • Learn to prioritize peace and equality

  • Learning to care for the land we live in and all living things within it

  • Indigenous learning can be incorporated into any subject within the curriculum




MY PERSONAL OPINION

The seriousness of this matter is not part of the past, but it is recent discoveries and recent fights that are connected with the Indigenous community. Although most teachers do not come from Indigenous backgrounds, it is evident that we still need to talk about this with the students. The students have every right to hear about the true history of Canada, as well as hear the testimonies of real Canadians, the Indigenous. Only then, will we able to create new mindsets and a new generation that advocates for others rights and freedom.

INDIGENOUS CHILDREN BOOKS:

REFERENCES: 

Alberta Regional Consortia. (2023). Infusing Indigenous Know Into Curriculum. Retrieved 

                       by, https://sites.google.com/arpdc.ab.ca/infusingindigenousknowledge. Retrieved 

on Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Mandewo, A. (2023). The importance of teaching indigenous history in education. The Indigenous

     Foundation. Retrieved from, https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/the-importance-of-

    teaching-indigenous-history-in-
              education#:~:text=By%20learning%20more%20diverse%20histories,of%20American%20and%20Canadi

    an%20history. Retrieved on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.



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