PED 3102 Blog Post #3

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First Nations People, Representation and the Ontario School Curriculum

Fletcher (2000)

Fletcher delves into the history of the representation of First Nations people in the Ontario School Curriculum since the first Canadian History textbook was published in 1895. The earliest representations explain the First Nations people as allies to the white men and focuses solely on their appearance and artefacts leading to misrepresentations among teachers and students. From 1972 until 1998 several positive changes were made that aimed to change the representation of First Nations students in Ontario Schools and guided teachers to overcome stereotypes and prejudices. Over the next few years, changes were made to the curriculum that completely ignore colonialism and once again focus on stereotypical ideologies of the First Nations people. By 1998 the curriculum had a heavy focus on Eurocentrism and seemed to ignore the past 500 years of resistance that they have faced and instead focuses on the stereotype of First Nations people being the “Romantic Mystical Other”.

Fletcher raises many critical and concerning points about how First Nations people are represented in the Ontario Curriculum. I strongly believe that knowledge and appreciation of the First Nations people needs to go past the surface level when teaching it in schools. From my own personal elementary school experience I did not learn enough about the oppression that First Nations people experienced. This year in the B’Ed program we were fortunate enough to have representatives from the Project of Heart come in and speak with us about what they do in schools. Even more than that we heard an elder speak about his past and the struggle that he went through. I was extremely disheartened to learn the immense hardships that first nations people had endured and even more angered that I had not been educated about it sooner. I want to learn as much as I can about the history of First Nations people so that I can do my best to educate my future students to have a greater respect and understanding of the subject matter.

How do you plan to teach your students about First Nations people and their history?

Will you go past the surface of materials and environments and look at the relationships between First Nations and Canadians in the past and present?