CTF invites Canadian teachers to learn, generate dialogue and nurture a better understanding of the impact of residential schools in classrooms across the country,” says the CTF President.
Smith points to one recent resource Speak Truth to Power Canada (STTP), a website about Canadian human rights defenders and their achievements. Jointly developed by the CTF, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, STTP includes lesson plans and classroom activities that align with provincial and territorial curricula.
Recommended sections relevant to the TRC report (available in English and French as well as in the Indigenous language chosen by the featured defender, notably Cree, Mohawk or Inuktitut) are:
- Truth and Reconciliation for Grades 5 to 12, featuring former residential school student Chief Wilton Littlechild (one of the TRC’s three commissioners);
- Cultural Identity and Education for Grades 7 to 12, featuring Mary Simon, an advocate for Inuit rights and culture in Canada;
- Equitable Education for All for Grades 5 to 12, featuring Tim Thompson, a renowned champion for Aboriginal education.
The CTF and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Centre are also collaborating on the production of a student voice discussion booklet and lesson plans on Truth and Reconciliation which will be released on National Aboriginal Day 2016.