Moving Toward Reconciliation in Ontario’s Publicly Funded Schools /

THE CALLS TO ACTION significant steps toward improving education for We are governed in our approach to reconciliation Indigenous students and engaging all students with this thought: the way that we have all been in learning about the cultures, experiences, and educated in this country…has brought us to where perspectives of Indigenous peoples. [...] The agree to work together, the work we do today, will second is the knowledge gap that permeates the system—the immeasurably strengthen the social fabric of Canada lack of knowledge about the history, cultures, and perspec- tomorrow.3 tives of Indigenous peoples in C anada.1 In order to close The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair these gaps, we need targeted programs, resources and Chair, Truth [...] All students will benefit from a deeper understanding of Canada’s history of colonization and its influence on current relationships between Indig- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) enous and non-Indigenous people.2 was established in 2009 to examine the impact of Canada’s Indian Residential School system, and bear witness to the In this report, we examine the Calls to Action [...] Pamela Toulouse outlining Action’ related to education.4 If implemented, these actions the benefits of an Indigenous approach to education and the will help to close both the achievement gap and the knowl- importance of broader goals for our public education system. [...] Policy Framework.10 The plan includes strategies and initia- WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ONTARIO’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS tives to be undertaken by the Ministry and school boards with several identified goals, including: The overriding issues affecting Indigenous student achievement are a lack of awareness among teachers • improved achievement and graduation rates for of the particular learning styles of Indigeno