Students at S-hXiXnu-tun primary school at Stz’uminus nation learned all about Canada’s elections. They even had a candidate from the NDP visit them recently prior to the Oct. 19 vote.

The truth about Canada’s Aboriginal history will be introduced into public school curriculum (K to Grade 9) across BC over the next three years. That’s the response from the province’s education system to the recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.

The report concluded that Canada’s residential school system was a form of cultural genocide. History topics will now include inequality, oppression and the impacts of colonialism on the First Peoples in BC. Education Minister Peter Fassbender announced that a professional development day for teachers will focus on Aboriginal education. “The new curriculum does not shy away from Canada’s dark and racist history,” he said. “We will be sharing the truth of what happened in residential schools.”

When asked why schools would focus on Aboriginal culture and not that of other ethnic groups in the province, Jo-Anne Chrona,curriculum coordinator for the First Nations Education Steering Committee, said: “This is the only place in the world that holds this knowledge… If it’s not taught and learned here, it will not be taught anywhere else.” “I’ve been in education for 18 years,” Chrona added. “I’m seeing so much more receptivity and excitement about the integration of First Peoples’ content and people recognizing that this is an important part of who we are as a country.”