November 4 to 9: Rainbow Schools take part in Treaties Recognition Week

Staff and students in Rainbow Schools will continue to learn about treaties and the importance of the treaty relationship during Treaties Recognition Week from November 4 to 9, 2024. Educational activities and learning are part of Rainbow District School Board’s continued focus on Truth and Reconciliation.

Indigenous education has developed a resource for schools to support the ongoing work and board commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, Mental Health and Well-Being, Student Success and Achievement, Equity and Inclusive Education, Environmental Education and Sustainability, and Literacy and Numeracy.

“During Treaties Recognition Week, students will continue to deepen their knowledge and build understanding of the truth as we align our commitment with our actions,” said Bruce Bourget, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board. “Ongoing learning about treaties and the treaty relationship will move us forward on our path towards reconciliation.”

The Province of Ontario passed legislation in 2016 that recognizes the importance of treaties, brings awareness to treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Ontario, and bridges understanding between treaty partners.

Treaties Recognition Week was implemented in response to the 94 Calls to Action identified in the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Resources were provided to schools to support classroom teaching and learning.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s happening in Rainbow Schools:

A.B. Ellis Public School
Students from A.B. Ellis Public School will explore treaties including the Robinson-Huron Treaty, the meaning of treaties, as well as our collective responsibility to continue the journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Information will be shared during daily announcements, and classroom discussions will continue with read alouds to encourage students to make connections and ask questions. Some classes will explore the book “We Are All Treaty People” and will design wampum belts that represent friendship promises.

Adamsdale Public School
During Treaty Recognition Week, staff and students at Adamsdale Public School will support the ongoing work and commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about treaty rights through First Nation stories, multimedia resources and inquiry-based learning. Students will also learn about Wampums and the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.

Algonquin Road Public School
Algonquin Road Public School students will explore treaties and their meanings. Information will be shared during morning announcements, and dialogues will continue in all classrooms. Students will engage in age-appropriate lessons and activities designed to deepen their understanding of treaties as well as their duties, roles and responsibilities. Younger students will focus on the importance of upholding their roles in preserving the integrity of treaties, including keeping a promise and the significance of honoring commitments. Older students will delve into a more advanced study of treaties with an emphasis on the Robinson-Huron Treaty. All students will engage in discussions and connect how our land acknowledgements directly relate to the Robinson-Huron Treaty.

Assiginack Public School
During Treaty Recognition Week, staff and students at Assiginack Public School will support the ongoing work and commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about treaty rights through First Nation stories, multimedia resources and inquiry-based learning. Grade 4 students will read “A Promise is a Promise”, examine the “A Dish with One Spoon” treaty wampum belt, and build it with LEGO. After examining oral memory images, students will design their own “Promise Treaties”. In Grade 7/8, students will read from “Indigenous Life in Canada” to explore the idea of core beliefs of First Nation Peoples related to land and land use, the core beliefs of European settlers related to land and land use, and how these beliefs differ. All students will engage in discussion and reflection about the importance of treaties to increase awareness of the treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Barrydowne College
Students at Barrydowne College will learn about treaties in the “Worldviews and Aspirations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Communities in Canada” course. Various topics will be taught including the creation of treaties, their intent, wampum belts, and the ever-evolving relationships between Indigenous communities and Canada. An information table will be available to students in the Indigenous Support Room to explore resources. Students can also create a poster that reflects their thoughts on what it means to be treaty people. Wellness Wednesday will take place on November 6th, and students are invited to join a beading circle to learn traditional Indigenous beadwork pattern making and sewing skills.

Central Manitoulin Public School
Students from Central Manitoulin will continue to build on their knowledge and understanding of treaties. Students will engage in daily opportunities for learning and reflection through lessons, morning announcements and books including “We Are All Treaty People” by Maurice Switzer. Students will learn about Manitoulin Island treaties while watching videos of Indigenous speakers sharing their knowledge about the importance of treaties.

Churchill Public School
Students at Churchill Public School will learn about treaty rights and relationships through classroom learning activities, including wampum belt making and read-alouds of Kelly Crawford’s books “Alex Shares his Wampum Belt” and “Dakota Talks about Treaties”.

C.R. Judd Public School
Students from C.R. Judd Public School will participate in a series of activities to learn about treaties. To recognize our Treaty Land, classes will participate in creating a mural board that will be placed around the school.  Classes will read books such as “We Are All Treaty People” by Maurice Switzer, “A Promise is a Promise,” by Michael Kusugak and Robert Munsch, and make wampum belts to understand their significance. A group of primary students will conduct an inquiry: “What can we learn about the land our school is on?” Intermediate students will learn about treaties in social studies/history. Some classes will engage in dialogue about Indigenous voices on treaties.

Lasalle Elementary School
During Treaties Recognition Week, students from Lasalle Elementary School will engage in lessons and activities designed to develop and enhance their understanding of treaties, including discussions about what a promise is and why keeping a promise is important. Younger students will engage in classroom read-alouds to emphasize the importance of agreements and respect. Various classes will discuss the wampum belt and create their own classroom agreements. Older students will engage in learning about the Robinson-Huron Treaty and examine treaty maps. Discussions will focus on the importance of understanding about treaties and how this is connected to reconciliation.

Levack Public School
Students and staff at Levack Public School will learn about treaties through various classroom-based activities. Read alouds of “We are all Treaty People”, “Dakota Talks About Treaties” and “Alex Shares his Wampum Belt” will support their learning. A bulletin board “What we have learned about Treaties” will be created, and students will post and share information about their learning.

Little Current Public School
During Treaty Recognition Week, staff and students at Little Current Public School will support the ongoing work and commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about treaty rights through First Nation stories, multi-media resources and inquiry-based learning.

Lockerby Composite School
Staff and students from Lockerby Composite School will honour the significance of Treaties in Ontario by learning about collective treaty rights and obligations regarding two particular wampums: “Two Row Wampum” and “A Dish With One Spoon”. This will expand upon the importance of building relationships to address common obligations, particularly around protecting and advocating for clean and safe drinking water. Lockerby Composite School will host an Environmental Policy Analyst from the Anishinaabe Nation to provide perspective and to build an understanding of the sacredness of water as a precious resource for all living beings.

MacLeod Public School
During Treaty Recognition Week, staff and students at MacLeod Public School will support the ongoing work and commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about treaty rights through First Nation stories, multimedia resources and inquiry-based learning.

Manitoulin Secondary School
Students in the First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Canada class will continue studying treaties, including wampum belts in the 1700s, the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850, the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement, and a detailed analysis of the Treaty of Manitoulin Island from 1862. Segments of the book “We are All Treaty People” will be enjoyed in period 1 classes detailing history from the long foreseen arrival of Europeans to the Treaty of Niagara, war of 1812 and subsequent treaties. A treaty display will be posted in the Three Fires Room with resources about Indigenous Veterans who will be honoured on Indigenous Veterans’ Day – November 8, 2024.

Markstay Public School
At Markstay Public School, students in all grades will learn about the importance of treaties through stories and dialogue. Students will deepen their knowledge of treaties during morning announcements and classroom lessons. The whole school will read “A Promise is a Promise” by Robert Munsch and students will learn about treaties being promised and the importance of keeping a promise.

Monetville Public School
Students from Monetville Public School will learn about the importance of treaties, treaty rights and nurturing relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples with the “We Are All Treaty People” kit and a treaty map focused on Dokis First Nation. Students will watch videos from the “Indigenous Voices of Treaties” to hear Indigenous speakers Chad Solomon, Maurice Switzer, Gerry Duquette Jr., and Brenda Collins share their knowledge.

N’Swakamok Alternative School
A staff member from the Friendship Centre will speak with students from the N’Swakamok Alternative School about treaties. Students will also watch a video and engage in dialogue and discussion about treaties.

Princess Anne Public School
Princess Anne Public School students will deepen their knowledge of treaties during morning announcements and classroom lessons. Staff and students will engage in dialogue about promises. All classes will learn what a treaty is, and will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of wampum belts, and the role we all play as treaty people and partners.

Queen Elizabeth II Public School
Students from Queen Elizabeth II Public School will engage in treaty learning through texts. Primary students will read “Dakota Talks About Treaties” and “Alex Shares His Wampum Belt”, and junior students will read “Treaty Words: For as Long as the Rivers Flow.” All students will dialogue about promises and their importance. They will also discuss our responsibilities to the land we live, learn and play on. As a culminating activity, all students will receive a paper “bead” with the goal of creating a school wampum belt.

R.H. Murray Public School
Students from R.H. Murray Public School will participate in age-appropriate learning activities in classrooms. Students will learn about Treaties as promises and the importance of keeping a promise. Classes will access virtual living library events, watch “Indigenous Voices on Treaties” videos, participate in shared reading activities, and create wampum belts.

Redwood Acres Public School
Students from Redwood Acres Public School will learn what treaties are, specifically that treaties are like promises as well as the importance of keeping a promise. Various texts will reinforce this message to students, including “We Are All Treaty People” by Betty Lynxleg and “Alex Shares his Wampum Belt” by Kelly Crawford. Various classes will also make wampum belts and discuss their significance. A Grade 2 class will participate in a mapping activity to identify treaty lands in Canada focusing on the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.

S. Geiger Public School
S. Geiger Public School students will participate in various activities to deepen their understanding of treaties and engage in conversations about promises. Students will read “Dakota Talks About Treaties” and “Alex Shares His Wampum Belt” by Kelly Crawford. Students will design their wampum belts to represent class treaties. Other activities include making bracelets to join together to represent the unity of treaties and friendships.

Sudbury Secondary School
Students at Sudbury Secondary School will focus on various learning opportunities throughout Treaties Recognition Week including treaty trivia and Ojibwe language. Treaty facts and language will be shared during morning announcements. Poppies will be distributed for Indigenous Veterans Day on Friday, November 8th. Students in the Indigenous Art class will participate in a treaty scavenger hunt. Indigenous Studies and Ojibwe Language students will engage in treaty territory learning. Classes will also work on a wampum puzzle.

Walden Public School
Students from Walden Public School will learn about what treaties are, specifically that treaties are like promises and the importance of keeping a promise. Various books will help reinforce this message including “We Are All Treaty People” and “Dakota Talks About Treaties”. Learning opportunities will deepen student understanding of treaties, their significance and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Westmount Avenue Public School
During Treaties Recognition Week, teachers will read “A Promise is a Promise” by Michael Kusugak and Robert Munsch. Teachers will take time to reflect on how treaties are promises shared. Students will sign the pledge with a handprint signifying their commitment. The pledge will be proudly displayed in the school.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171 ext. 7217