Roots of Reconciliation
Foundations
Treaties
Renewal and Reconciliation

RR6: Reconciliation: A Discussion

Overview

In this LE, learners will read or listen to short biographies from survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School and discuss reconciliation as a class. The discussion will allow learners to work through issues at the core of reconciliation, considering their own ideas about the concept.

Learners will...

  • Anchor their understanding of reconciliation to the experiences of survivors, which share common themes: isolation from family and community, cultural disruption and loss, abuse and ill-treatment, ongoing impacts of trauma, lack of genuine education, resiliency and persistence, and hopes for future generations.
  • Engage five primary pathways of reconciliation: education, health, netukulimk, family and leadership.
  • See themselves as part of the reconciliation process and identify ways they can participate as young people.

Focus

Learners are introduced to the residential school experience by reading life stories from survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. These stories (provided) are written in first person and have been reviewed for age-appropriate content. They could be read in small groups, or aloud to the entire class. However learners engage, they should encounter more than one story to understand that there are differences for each survivor, and that residential school survivors share common experiences.

Learners will read the stories of four survivors:

A provided discussion guide for educators covers key issues and discussion outcomes. This discussion lays the groundwork for LE RR7: Reconciliation Brainstorm Posters.

Printable Learning
Experience (pdf)

PE!

It is important that learners have a clear understanding of the following content:

  • The Mi’kmaq as the indigenous people of Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region.
  • Mi’kma’kik as the ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq.
  • Understand the basic history of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. (See Treaty Denial introduction and LE T9)
  • Understand that the residential schools originated from a fear of difference and an aggressive drive to assimilate indigenous children across Canada. (See Treaty Denial introduction)
  • Understand the importance of children to community and generational impacts of residential school. (See Family, Culture, Community and Treaty Denial introductions)

LE Materials

COMING SOON!