Education and Acknowledgments... The First Step To Change
In order for my future students to understand what reconciliation is and how each of us are apart of the process, I must hold myself and others accountable for mending broken promises, as change can only occur when we own up to what we have done. “Every time we do take action, we create change, and it may not be change that happens that day, or that week, or that month, but it is change" (Balfour, n. d), which is why I feel that if I hold myself accountable for mending broken promises, change could occur. I feel the way I can hold myself accountable is through education and teachings within and outside of the classroom setting. This could include having those tough conversations about what happened and what our next steps are. I think the first step is through these conversations we can come to understand what has been done, which will inform our next steps. Change cannot occur without education or understanding. As Cardinal and Hildebrandt (2000) discuss what must be done to reach improvements to the school system, “negative stereotypes of Indigenous peoples must be eradicated and accurate histories of North America and First Nations need to be developed, including origin stories. I hope that this happens and are distributed among Canada as a step of reconciliation and school system improvement. This may be possible with proper comprehensive education to truthfully reflect Canada's past involving Indigenous peoples.” We must accept what we have done in order to change the future.
This relates to my miskasowin as I have come to understand how my white privilege has shaped me and how in turn, I am apart of the blame and guilt of what happened in the past due to my whiteness and how I am a settler. I am a treaty partner and through this acknowledgement, it allows me to move past my white guilt. By understanding and acknowledging who I am and where I come from, allows me to see how history has shaped us into the individuals that we are today. Acknowledgements and education are the first steps to change and truth telling. I am just at the beginning.
