Students and staff across the St. Clair Catholic District School Board are taking part in a series of learning experiences to mark Treaties Recognition Week, observed from November 2 to 8.
The annual observance deepens awareness of treaty rights, relationships, and the shared responsibilities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Ontario.
Throughout the week and beyond, students are engaging in Treaty Education and land-based learning guided by local Knowledge Carriers, Elders, and Indigenous community partners. Activities include exploring Indigenous histories and worldviews, reflecting on personal relationships with the land, and expressing learning through art and storytelling.
Guest speakers and facilitators include Dean Jacobs of Bkejwanong Territory, who will discuss identity, relationships, and sovereignty; Cedric, Sandra, and Leigh Ann Isaac, who will use story and song to connect students to land and community; and Neva Isaac Sands, who will teach about the Dish with One Spoon and Two Row Wampum Belts.
Additional sessions feature Steve Tooshkenig on responsibility and ownership in treaty relationships, Lynda Lou Classens of Walpole Island First Nation Library on land-based storytelling, and artist Moses Lunham of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation leading an Art for Action Treaty Awareness Series.
Filmmaker and graphic design artist Derek Sands of Bkejwanong Territory has also created commemorative We Are All Treaty People flags, which are being raised at all St. Clair Catholic schools and buildings this week.
Each grade is using materials from the Board’s Treaty Learning Tool Kits, which include texts by Indigenous authors, wampum belt teaching kits, and land-based resources. Later this month, Biindegaygizhig of Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and Jason Henry of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation will continue the learning with discussions on local treaty history and commitments.
Treaties Recognition Week serves as a reminder that treaties are living relationships built on peace, partnership, and shared care for the land and one another.
For more information and classroom resources, visit the Board’s Indigenous Education Treaties Recognition webpage: https://fnmi.sccdsb.net/treaty-recognition.
