CTF working in partnership with Indigenous national organizations to develop educational toolkit

OTTAWA, June 19, 2015 /CNW/ - In light of the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) invites all students and teachers to make use of educational programs, initiatives and resources as a tool through which to achieve the report's recommendations.

"Reconciliation can only happen together – with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working hand in hand," said CTF President Dianne Woloschuk. "Partnerships in education are at the root of reconciliation. By working together we can bring light to our hidden history so that we can move towards a brighter national future."

CTF is currently working with four national Indigenous organizations in the pursuit of quality education for all. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Assembly of First Nations and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami are joining with CTF on two educational resource projects.

The first resource, Speak Truth to Power Canada, Defenders for Human Rights includes lesson plans related to human rights defenders in Canada and will soon be available online. Out of a total of 12 lesson plans, three present Indigenous rights defenders and will be offered respectively in Cree, Inuktitut and Mohawk, as well as in French and English. The project will be launched at the CTF Annual General Meeting on July 17.

The second resource entitled Truth and Reconciliation: What is it About? will represent the voices of the thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students who took part in discussions during the Commission's mandate. Their feedback will be developed into teacher resources to be released over the course of the next school year.

As part of CTF's ongoing work on Aboriginal education, CTF is planning to conduct a survey in Fall 2015 on teachers' perspectives on Aboriginal education in public schools in Canada.

Founded in 1920, CTF is a national alliance of Member organizations representing nearly 200,000 teachers across Canada. CTF is also a member of Education International (@eduint) which represents 30 million educators around the world. Follow CTF on twitter: @CanTeachersFed and @EnseigneCanada

SOURCE Canadian Teachers' Federation

Comments: CTF President, Dianne Woloschuk; Contact: Francine Filion, CTF, Communications Director, 613-688-4314