Me tis S ettlements G eneral C ouncil
In the spirit of reconciliation, we see the importance of Métis people providing the authentic syllabus on our pre-colonial story to present day lifestyle, identity, and challenges. It is our sincere desire to join your experts in the establishment of educational goals. Our measure of success would be an overwhelming endorsement of the Métis component by our own people. We see an integration of this important Alberta history starting early in those seven years and continuing till grade six.
We have several concerns with the curriculum as we have reviewed it, including elements relating to assimilation practice, extended integration of US history, diversification, and age appropriateness.
It is a missed opportunity that we were not in the discussions and review of the K-12 curriculum. There are some challenges in correcting the existing body of work, it is our preference to start over with regards to the Métis component. We offer these recommendations for moving forward: • Create an advisory group of Metis Settlements member, including those who work (or have worked) as educators. • Include acknowledgements and factual elaboration on the truths of Metis history and experiences. • Address the age appropriateness of how the material is introduced to students across each grade level. We recognize that this may result in a rewrite of the curriculum, or portions thereof, but we believe it is an important and imperative effort at this time – and given that there is an opportunity to do so thoughtfully over the coming year. The voices of the land-based Metis are looking forward to a working collaborative relationship with proper consultation to contribute the Metis history to a new curriculum.
Sincerely,
Herb Lehr, President Metis Settlements General Council CC: Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement East Prairie Metis Settlement Elizabeth Metis Settlement Fishing Lake Metis Settlement Gift Lake Metis Settlement Kikino Metis Settlement Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement Peavine Metis Settlement
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