Roots of Reconciliation
Foundations
Treaties
Renewal and Reconciliation

RR2: Roots of Reconciliation

Overview

This Learning Experience explores the many roots of reconciliation that extend back more than five decades. It also works well as an exercise in consolidating the key narratives that have weaved their way through the entire Roots of Reconciliation resource. Learners will populate a tree—which acts as a metaphor for the reconciliation process built into the treaties themselves—with leaves that represent various events along four primary branches:

  • Mi’kmaw communities and organizations.
  • Education.
  • Canadian society.
  • Residential schools and survivors.

As learners grow their tree, they will follow primary events and historical processes that mark major reconciliation milestones in Canada’s relationship with indigenous peoples, while remaining rooted in Mi’kma’kik.

Learners will...

  • Create an integrated visual graphic of multiple timelines consisting of events and actions that led to and supported reconciliation in Canada.
  • Understand that pathways to reconciliation were laid out in the Peace and Friendship Treaties.
  • Understand that reconciliation started many decades ago.
  • Understand that achieving reconciliation means working together on many related issues.
  • Be exposed to the many Mi’kmaw organizations that have had a role in challenging the Government of Canada to address reconciliation at a national level.
  • See that reconciliation means many things to many people across Mi’kma’kik and Canada.

Focus

This LE is designed for large groups of learners, such as an entire class. It begins with a brief introduction (included in the detailed educators’ guide provided in the supplementary materials) that activates learners’ prior knowledge and sets up context for the activity.

After the introduction, each learner receives a nipi (leaf) on which an important event or fact is printed, along with a number to keep the nipi’k (leaves) in chronological order. One by one, following the numbers, learners read what is on their nipi and place it on the proper tree branch.

Some nipi’k have prompting questions, which are opportunities to stop and have a group discussion about the emergence of reconciliation.

This Learning Experience is scalable, and can serve as an anchor for working through the entire Roots of Reconciliation resource, or be completed in a single lesson. For scaling suggestions, see the included educators’ guide.

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.
  • The primary periods of Treaty-Making, Treaty Denial and Treaty Renewal. (See the introductions to each of these sections)
  • A basic definition of reconciliation. (See Reconciliation introduction)

Teacher Tip

While this LE covers 50 years, the roots of reconciliation go much further back in time—right to the treaties themselves! Learners can be encouraged to create nipi’k (leaves) for things they’ve learned in earlier LEs to add to the tree.

LE Materials

COMING SOON!