Public Inquiries, Political Tensions, and Settler-Canadian Perception

Proceedings of ‏The 2nd World Conference on Social Sciences

Year: 2021

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/2nd.worldcss.2021.02.30

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Public Inquiries, Political Tensions, and Settler-Canadian Perception

Lorenzo Cherubini, Ed.D.

 

ABSTRACT: 

There have been several key publications over the last 50 years related to Indigenous education in Canada. Among these, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People (RCAP) report (1996) and the Truth and Reconciliation (2015) report are considered momentous for their attention to the socio-historical and socio-political implications of colonial education paradigms imposed upon Indigenous peoples after first contact. Both the RCAP and TRC reports cite specific recommendations and calls to action for the settler-peoples of Canada to reform current education practices that better reflect and meaningfully include Indigenous histories, knowledges, and traditions across the respective provincial curriculums in Canada.  Among other objectives, the intent is to educate non-Indigenous students about the dark legacy of church-operated residential schools and the oppressive policies of assimilation and cultural genocide. This presentation will discuss, among other considerations, the 2018 decision by one provincial Ministry of Education in Canada (legislated by the Ontario Conservative government) to cancel curriculum writing sessions meant to infuse Indigenous content and history into the Ontario school curriculum, as per the recommendations of the aforementioned public inquiries and commissions.

Keywords: Commissions, Public Inquiries, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.