Exploring the roles and responsibilities of non-Indigenous allies in the repairing the Treaty Relationship

How to educate ourselves and our students

Abstract

For years at CBU, a small group of settler professors have been discussing what we should be doing for Treaty Day (October 1st) as an educational institution. Our Mi’kmaw College is closed this day, because many L’nu leaders travel to Halifax for Treaty Day events. Typically, the President’s office sends out an email about how “We are all Treaty People living under the Peace and Friendship Treaties”. Beyond that, little occurs apart from individual-efforts in a minority of classes. This is a lost learning opportunity for faculty, staff and students about our roles in the Treaty Relationship. But to what extent is it appropriate for non-Indigenous professors to lead on-campus Treaty Day events? This year we are trying a multi-step process beginning in mid-August, followed by a session one week before Treaty Day, and then an informal learning opportunity on Treaty Day itself. We will also begin offering sessions for faculty to discuss Indigenizing and decolonizing education. This talk will detail these efforts to more adequately ‘plant the seeds of knowledge’ for faculty about what it means to be treaty people and why healing the treaty relationship remains so crucial.