HWCDSB, teacher apologize for discriminatory school assignment

A family has raised concerns about a school assignment asking students to write from a colonizer’s point of view that aims to convince Indigenous people to allow the French to stay on Turtle Island. The teacher and the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) apologized immediately, with School Board Chair Pat Daly adding that the board is committed to truth and reconciliation. York University Doctoral Student John Hupfield added that understanding colonialism in Ontario is difficult when education involving Indigenous Peoples is not in their hands. “The idea that European settlement could occur through the presentation of a convincing argument gives students the idea that treaty processes were fair and consensual with Indigenous nations,” explained Hupfield. “There has been a lot of historical research that shows us this is not the case and that negotiations through treaty were often one-sided and non-consensual.” APTN News (ON)