In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Treaty resource kit, a new Treaty resource is being rolled out for Kindergarten to Grade 9 classrooms across the province. The new teacher resource builds upon the success of the original Treaty resource kit and was created in collaboration with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, First Nations Elders and educators.
“We are proud that our government was the first province to make Treaty education mandatory for all students,” Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gordon Wyant said. “We are happy to be able to work with our wonderful partners to provide these resources to teachers who are supporting our students.”
“Our Inherent and Treaty rights are who we are as First Nations, our relationship with the lands and waters is vital to our First Nations,” Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said. “We must remind all those of Treaty through every educational opportunity possible.”
The new Kindergarten to Grade 9 Treaty Education Learning Resource is easy to use and includes suggestions for integrating Treaty education into a range of subject areas at each grade. It provides sample learning activities and links to related resources and ensures First Nations and Métis content, perspectives and ways of knowing continue to be a priority within Saskatchewan classrooms.
“Creating this resource supports all students in learning the true story of Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples and shares the important perspectives that surround the making of the Treaties,” Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson said.
“We are proud to have worked with our First Nations Elders and educators with the assistance of the Ministry of Education to make these additional Treaty resources a reality for use in the classroom. This resource supports reconciliation and while others may be slow to the call, our team is moving forward. We have a lot of work to do and we look forward to more work with this ministry on ensuring education in our classrooms will be meaningfully enhanced.”
The release of the supplemental Treaty resource supports the Ministry of Education’s overarching vision of ensuring equitable outcomes and improved student achievement for our First Nations and Métis students.
Good Spirit School Division will be receiving the resource kit. Director Quintin Robertson is hopeful the kit will compliment the division’s focus on truth and reconciliation.
“I’m assuming [the kits] would dovetail with our efforts,” he said.
This vision is supported by the ministry’s policy called Inspiring Success: First Nations and Métis PreK-12 Education Policy Framework. Inspiring Success has also recently been renewed by the Ministry of Education and educational stakeholders, including First Nations and Métis organizations. The policy, that was initiated in 2009, acts as an overarching framework that guides the development of First Nations and Métis education plans provincially and at the school division level.
A gathering was held this fall to celebrate more than two years of collaboration and the contributions of more than a dozen organizations, individuals and Elders who participated in the renewal of this overarching policy that guides the development of curriculum and resources for classrooms, including Treaty resources, across the province.
The Kindergarten to Grade 9 Treaty Education Learning Resource is available in both official languages by visiting the K-9 Treaty Education Learning Resource link on the Saskatchewan curriculum website. Inspiring Success can also be viewed online at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/education-and-learning/first-nations-and-metis-education.
