SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Completing a course on the context, history and legacy of residential schools in Canada will now be a requirement for all K-12 teachers and those working for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE).

Marie Wilson, left, Wilton Littlechild and Bill Erasmus attend a 2011 Truth and Reconciliation hearing in Yellowknife. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has modified its Northern Studies curriculum to include a unit on residential schools and has committed to training all teachers and staff on the subject. - NNSL file photo

John Stewart, department director of instructional and school services, said going forward no one will be able to teach in the NWT unless they have completed the training and more than half of ECE employees have already finished the course. Starting in January, the initiative will be expanded to other government departments.

The program involves a 25-hour module comprised of photos, interviews and written history of the residential school system both in national and local contexts.

Largely omitted

As a former history teacher, Stewart says he has found this particular aspect of Canada's past largely omitted from mainstream education. He said most people do not encounter it unless they take an aboriginal studies course in university - and this represents a very small percentage of the population.

"For lots and lots of people this is brand new," he said. "It's a bit discouraging you could get through a formal school system as a student but beyond that, to an undergraduate degree and teaching and still never bump into those realities - I think that's what Canada as a whole is discovering right now."

Although ECE collaborated with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to develop the teaching resources, Stewart says the initiative has been in the works since 2011. He added it now meets all the educational criteria outlined in the commission's final report tabled in December 2015.

In addition to training for teachers and bureaucrats, the Grade 10 Northern Studies curriculum has been modified to include an extensive unit on residential schools. Stewart says he has been writing social studies curriculum for many years and it was the hardest course he has ever had to develop, but also the most worthwhile.

'Those hard issues'

"Those hard issues are the ones you need to address. They're the ones that make a difference both globally or in our country and in the lives of an individual," he said. "It's when you take things and instead of being polite about them and avoiding them, you wrestle with them."

Because the subject matter is sensitive, support systems are in place for teachers, students and parents. A letter will also be sent home to caregivers, so they are aware of the discussions happening at school, Stewart explained.

"There's no lack of things that are difficult and sad and tragic and part of what we committed to is you don't leave the students in that place," he said. "You don't say here all the bad things that . have been done to aboriginal people, without saying here are the good things that we are working toward." Although residential schools were not a negative experience for every student and the program touches on some of the positive aspects, the far-reaching impacts cannot be ignored. Stewart says this is why the department believes it is essential learning for anyone working in the territory.

'Haunting our communities'

"When you separate a child, sometimes as young as three from their parents during all of their growing up years, there's a whole bunch of things that happen. They lose their language, they lose their culture, they are not cared for the way a child should be cared for and they don't even know what a parent looks like," he said. "It isn't an issue that is in the past - it is living, it is haunting our communities today and our teachers, 85 per cent of whom do not come from the North, may be completely unaware of that."

Leading the way

Stewart said the department is leading the way in terms of residential schools training and has been approached by many other jurisdictions asking for copies of its guides; however, he says he has consistently turned down such requests. He says the department is willing to work with other education ministries but has encouraged them to localize their material by seeking out voices from residential school survivors in their own regions.

"You need to find your own stories and you need to find your own support and we'll work with you," he said. "We don't just give you the stuff and turn you loose."

A large part of the program's success was dependent on interviews and consultations with former residential school attendees. Up until recently, many elders have be reluctant to share their experiences but Stewart says the wave of support spreading across the country has reaffirmed the power stories have to instigate change. He said the NWT is unique in that many of its political leaders and prominent figures have personal experiences with residential schools.

"They're concerned for their children and grandchildren and for wider audiences, teachers and other Canadians," he said. "If this is part of helping people understand each other better, they're willing to make themselves very vulnerable to share their own history with these issues . they were telling us it's time."

Stewart said in an ideal situation these materials would not be necessary in 10 years with everyone having a fundamental understanding of the legacy but he expects the process is only just beginning.

"I think it will take far longer than 10 years. It took five generations for those schools to run their course, I'd be surprised if we could address the fallout from that," he said. "The beginning of understanding and of conversation where we carry fewer assumptions about what we're seeing and understanding - to me that's a hopeful direction for us as a government . and hopefully as a country."

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