FOSTERING RECONCILIATION THROUGH EDUCATION TRC EDUCATION DAY, PNE, VANCOUVER, BC SEPT. 9, 03 9:30 AM :30 PM
Program Description ~ KAIROS Blanket Exercise This is a well-liked teaching tool which incorporates education methodology to raise awareness between First Nations, Inuit and Métis persons and Canadian people. It is a learning activity that encourages all ages to better understand historical and contemporary issues of colonialism. Legacy of Hope 00 Years of Loss A scavenger hunt activity offered in an elementary and a high school version to assist students learn about the impacts of Indian Residential Schools in Canada. J (GRADES 6- ) A Message from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: For more than 0 years, thousands of Aboriginal children in British Columbia were sent to Indian Residential Schools that were funded by the federal government, and run by the Churches. They were taken from their families and communities in order to be stripped of languages, cultural identity and traditions. The residential schools are closed now, but the social problems they left in their wake continue. As young people Aboriginal and non-aboriginal you are not responsible for the damaging policies and practices of the past. But you do have an opportunity to create a future of renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect. Listen carefully during Education Day. Spend some time afterwards thinking about what you have seen and heard. Decide how you personally will contribute to a better future for all Canadians, Aboriginal and non-aboriginal. Reconciliation is for all of us. But as young people, the future of reconciliation belongs to you. The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair Chair, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Legacy of Hope Resilience Workshop This learning activity uses artifacts and large format images to engage students in a process of exploring what resilience is, how it lives and thrives in each of us, and how it has been the strength that has carried Aboriginal people through the devastation of colonization and Indian residential school survivors to the healing that we are seeing in families and communities today. Project of Heart This session incorporates hands on activities from the Project of Heart which constitutes the creation of gestures of reconciliation. The activity will be followed by a presentation by a residential school survivor who will share his/her experience. Witness Blanket This workshop connects students with the Witness: Pieces of History commemoration project by Carey Newman. I thought of a blanket and I realized it should include the idea of reconciliation, parts of buildings, parts of churches, government buildings and other related structures, said Newman. The project is called Witness Blanket. The sole purpose is to stand in eternal witness to the effect of the Indian Residential School era. As the children sent to these schools were broken, so are the places they were sent to. The crumbling buildings of authority mirror the loss of language, pride and family for those who were sent to the residential schools. TRC Education Day Program TRC Education Day Program 3
6 Renfrew Street 3 Pacific Coliseum Rollerland Italian Gardens 5 Forum Food Tent Agrodome Registration Sacred Fire HC Administration Building Garden Auditorium Livestock Building Sanctuary 5 East Hastings Street Hastings Racetrack Historic Miller Drive PNE Ampitheatre W 3 N S Playland E 9 3 5 Two Small Outdoor Tents Large Outdoor Tent Inside Coliseum Agrodome Forum (Program Side) TRC Education Day Program TRC Education Day Program 5
A blanket is a universal symbol of protection and for many First Nations people, it identifies who they are, and where they are from. They wear them for ceremony and give them as gifts. Blankets protect our young and comfort our elders, states the project s website. Students will have the opportunity to make and contribute their witness blanket to contribute towards reconciliation. J (GRADES 6 TO ) Healing and Reconciliation Through Art My parents and relatives gave me the name of Isadore Charter and also Yenmo Ceetza, which means Willow Covering. My family called me Yemo. When I was seven years old my parents were required by the Canadian government to send me to the Indian Residential School, far away from my home. I will demonstrate how conflicting emotions can be expressed in a single piece of art, how the creation of that art can reconcile those emotions and be the start of embarking on a healing path. I will bring some of my paintings and carvings, including the healing pole to show how my art has contributed to my path for reconciliation. Cultivating Healing and Reconciliation Through Music This interactive session will provide an opportunity for students to learn about the development of the narrative process for song writing and how music has influenced Brander Macdonald s journey for reconciliation as a survivor. Macdonald will perform a blend of both original and traditional songs from his Indian Residential School CD Project. As an artist I do pride myself through my First Nations culture as a strong Native American Indian artist who has a life full of experience to shake your consciousness. J (GRADES 8-) Film Screenings A Sorry State. In 988 Director/Producer Mitch Miyagawa s Japanese Canadian family received an apology for the internment of,000 Japanese Canadians during World War Two. During the same time Mitch s stepmother was a victim of the Indian Residential School system while his Chinese stepfather was burdened with a hefty head tax. Both families were forced to live away from their loved ones and both families received official apologies. Through Mitch s eyes, the film explores how his parents, step-parents and others dealt with their painful pasts; some choosing to forgive, some to not forgive, while others remaining bitter. (57 minutes) Breaking Through the Stereotypes to Foster Reconciliation This session will expose the continued negative stereotypes to dispel the myths that invoke racism against Indigenous peoples. It will embellish the beauty and rich cultural diversities of Indigenous peoples to enhance a better appreciation and respect for Indigenous peoples. This session will have Elders share their wisdom and will incorporate a multidisciplinary and multi-media approach, to facilitate learning and building a better path for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Presented by: BC Indian Residential School Survivors Society Youth Forum Dialogue The youth Forum will be a 75 minute dialogue to provide opportunity for youth to share their perspectives about the Indian Residential School impacts and how all Canadian youth can become more engaged in fostering reconciliation through education. There will be a youth plenary session made up of Indigenous Intergenerational youth survivors and non-indigenous youth followed by a Q&A. After the dialogue session, there will be a distinguished listener s panel who will respond to the youth s comments before the end of the youth forum. This will be web cast. Schools across the country can watch live at trc.ca. Presented by: International Centre for Transitional Justice (NY) BC Project of Heart: Schools Pay Tribute to Indian Residential School Survivors and their Descendents This tribute will include storytelling, spoken word, drama, music and various other expressions of gratitude and respect from the youth of BC to Residential School Survivors and their descendents. Presented by: BC Teacher s Federation Savage is a musical that looks at the experiences of a young girl forced to go to residential school and how it affected both the daughter and mother. (8 minutes) Both Directors will be available for Q&A J (GRADES 9 - ) 6 TRC Education Day Program TRC Education Day Program 7
Acknowledgements ~ TRC gratefully acknowledges the Education Day Advisory Committee members: Gail Stromquist, BC TEACHERS FEDERATION Don Fiddler, VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD Rennie Nahanee, FIRST NATIONS LIAISON ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Starleigh Grass, FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE OF BC Dede derose, BC MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Viola Thomas, TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION Karen Joseph, RECONCILIATION CANADA Thank you to the Learning partners: Moderator for Youth Forum: Debbie Jeffrey, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE Honourable Peter Fassbender, MINISTER OF EDUCATION BC Ministry of Education Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH Youth Panelists Angel White BC Indian Residential School Survivors Society Mitchell Miyagawa, FILM DIRECTOR, SORRY STATE Rosey Steinhauer and Carey Newman, WITNESS BLANKET COMMEMORATION BLANKET Katy Quinn, KARIOS Brander Macdonald Trina Bolam & Jane Hubbard, LEGACY OF HOPE Isadore Charters & Don Klassen, HEALING POLE PROJECT Charlene Bearhead, PROJECT OF HEART All the Youth who participated in the Youth Tribute 8 TRC Education Day Program