I Am Not a Number written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer tells about the experiences of a young girl at a residential school. This book tells of some of the horrible experiences children faced in residential school. It speaks of children getting their hair cut, eating food that made them sick and the physical and emotional punishment children were subjected to for speaking their traditional language. The actions of the adults in this book, while accurate as to what happened in residential school, can be upsetting to younger students. Know your students when deciding to read this book.
Where to next?
Ask your students why they think the nuns wouldn’t let the kids speak their own languages.
Reflect on your own beliefs and what you were taught as a young person about residential school. Many Canadians were taught little, to nothing about residential school and the history of Canada’s relationship with the Indigenous people of this land.
Deepen your own understanding as to why the Canadian government made it law for all Indigenous children to be taken from their families to attend residential school.
The book, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph is a good place to start when learning more about Canada’s relationship with the Indigenous people of this land.
Share your learning with the hashtags #engageLK and #indigedLK
No comments:
Post a Comment