Mandatory Indigenous programming should start earlier than PSE

“Indigenous history should be a separate part of the curriculum for students from kindergarten to Grade 12,” writes Charles Lefebvre for Medicine Hat News. The author reflects on the gains made in recent efforts to introduce mandatory Indigenous course requirements at some Canadian PSE institutions, and adds that these efforts should begin earlier in a student’s life. Doing so, he argues, will allow students to understand Canada’s history from a First Nations perspective and allow teachers to devote a proper amount of time to the subject instead of merely “glossing over it or omitting it entirely in some cases.” Lefebvre adds that teaching Indigenous history will not only help students learn about past and ongoing wrongs, but also point toward historical figures who deserve to be admired. “Indigenous history is Canada’s history,” the author concludes. “We can’t move forward and heal from the past unless we know what happened there and what brought us to today.” On a related note the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation have launched a new resource that aims to educate students across the country about Residential Schools and set them on the path to Reconciliation. Medicine Hat News | NCTR-CTF Resource