Leaders endorse mandatory high school treaty education

Saskatchewan school boards want Indigenous studies courses that cover treaties to be required in order to obtain a high school diploma in the province.

That resolution, passed by the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) last fall, gained support Friday from First Nations political and cultural leaders and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC).

While information about the six treaties signed with First Nations in Saskatchewan is infused throughout the provincial curriculum, school boards want high school graduates to have a thorough understanding of the foundational agreements between the first peoples and the Crown, SSBA president Shawn Davidson said on Friday.

Because many First Nations teens in the province attend offreserve schools, it’s important that education foster pride and good relationships immediately, Davidson said.

“Anything we can do to strengthen relationships is going to improve outcomes for kids.”

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), the Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre (SICC), the OTC and the SSBA signed a memorandum of understanding that they will work together on reconciliation through treaty education.

The 28 school boards called for a mandatory high school level course in Indigenous studies to graduate, but it will be up to the Ministry of Education to implement such a requirement.

The SSBA hasn’t yet discussed the resolution with the ministry, Davidson said, but he sees the partnership with leading First Nations organizations and the OTC as a strong foundation to take the matter forward.

FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said he hopes that when Saskatchewan students understand how they benefit from the treaties, they’ll appreciate Canada’s obligation to honour the Crown’s promises to First Nations.

“We never did agree to surrender the land. We agreed to share it, but who has the lion’s share of the land? Who is benefiting from the treaties?” Cameron said.

He is pleased that school boards want to deepen education that will affect the perceptions of non-Indigenous people about First Nations people and their rights, he added.

Treaty commissioner Mary Culbertson said it is fitting that grassroots education leaders embrace school teachings about treaties to undo the harms of the past.

“Education was the vehicle used to oppress First Nations people,” Culbertson said.

“Reconciliation can be one day achieved (and) education will be the vehicle to take us there.”

SICC president Wanda Wilson said students need to learn the spirit and intent of the treaties. That will require understanding the world view of First Nations people that is best conveyed through understanding language and culture.

“This must come from the local language keepers and the knowledge keepers who wait to be asked,” she said.