In the 2020-21 school year, Michael Graham (Curriculum Coordinator) and Raquel Oberkirsch (Instructional Coach for Indigenous & Treaty Education) facilitated an action research project through the McDowell Foundation - an organization that funds teacher-led research projects in Saskatchewan. This project investigated the impact of developing a community of SECPSD educators to take up the deep, unsettling work of Treaty Education.
Participants engaged in three and a half collaborative learning days on Microsoft Teams, where 13 presenters (seven First Nations, three Métis, and three settler descendants) shared their knowledge and experiences with the group. Session topics included Cultural Connectedness, How to Connect with Treaty, Nakota Language and Land-Based Learning, Métis Identity and Community-Based Learning, The Role of the Métis in Treaty-Making, Understanding Residential School Experiences, a Treaty Walks Workshop, and more.
Through these sessions, educators deepened their understandings of settler colonialism and reflected on their
responsibilities as Treaty relatives. This school year,
Michael and Raquel are facilitating a “Phase Two” of the action research project with a combination of new and returning participants. They look forward to building and strengthening relationships between educators in SEPCSD and local Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and
community members from Ocean Man, Pheasant Rump, and White Bear First Nations.
responsibilities as Treaty relatives. This school year,
Michael and Raquel are facilitating a “Phase Two” of the action research project with a combination of new and returning participants. They look forward to building and strengthening relationships between educators in SEPCSD and local Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and
community members from Ocean Man, Pheasant Rump, and White Bear First Nations.