In May 2021, the truth that all residential school survivors and many Canadians knew deep down came out. Two hundred and fifteen unmarked graves were discovered of precious children that were forcefully made to attend the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The two-pronged weaponry of treaties and residential schools had come to full fruition. Canada’s genocidal plans and actions opened up a new set of wounds, and more unmarked graves were (and are) to come.

Celia Haig-Brown, a Professor in the Faculty of Education at ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ, wrote a master's thesis on Kamloops residential schools in the mid-1980's, the work was published as a book but was ignored. Haig-Brown has returned to the work and recently published 'Tsqelmucwílc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School―Resistance and a Reckoning' in light of recent events. "Now that we have heard the stories, we have a responsibility to act and to contribute to just and respectful change," says Haig-Brown.

Read the full article on the .

The post In the media: Land and Language appeared first on Faculty of Education.

Celia Haig-Brown’s book Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School was one of the first texts to describe the experiences of residential school survivors from their perspectives, particularly those who had been forced to attend the .

It was published in 1988. Since then, many more books have been published by Indigenous writers, academics and survivors detailing those experiences.  have written hundreds of stories. And the was created, releasing reports and sharing survivors’ experiences. 

But when Haig-Brown set out to write her book more than three decades ago, there was very little to compare it with — and that presented its own challenges, including pushback from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers, because the legacy of residential schools had barely been questioned outside of Indigenous communities up to that point. 

The post In the media: 1980s book on residential school experiences was rejected by first publisher who didn’t believe it appeared first on Faculty of Education.

As we move towards Sept. 30, many schools and universities will be talking about observing the new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Many schools formerly observed this day as Orange Shirt Day to acknowledge the intergenerational impacts of the residential schooling system — but Sept. 30 has now been declared a statutory holiday by the federal government in response to calls by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

When it comes to all of our institutions — and educational institutions in particular — it’s critical to move far beyond a single day of remembrance.

We are educational researchers who seek to understand how teacher education programs are — or aren’t — addressing truth and reconciliation education. Reconciliation in education begins by acknowledging how educational systems — in particular, our universities, teacher education programs and curricula — have reproduced systemic anti-Indigenous racisms across Canada.

Read the full article written by ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ Faculty of Education Assistant Professor Kiera Brant-Birioukov and her colleagues Nicholas Ng-A-Fook (Professor of Curriculum Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa) and Lisa Howell (PhD Candidate, part-time professor, Faculty of Education, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa) on .

The post The Conversation Canada - National Day for Truth & Reconciliation: Universities and schools must acknowledge how colonial education has reproduced anti-Indigenous racism appeared first on Faculty of Education.