 Well, thank you, you know, it's such an honor and a privilege to come in and open with prayer this morning to bring a good spirit You know, whenever I come into this place here, I can feel the spirit of our elders here very much And you know the it makes me feel good at heart to come and open with a prayer this morning especially when we're going to be hearing of the work that we have done and the work that we still have to do as educators and as workers, you know for the young ones here, you know Our children are the the important ones that we do this work for and so when I asked for Asked to do prayer this morning. I accepted this tobacco in a good way You know and I hold it near to my heart so that as we offer this tobacco, you know back to creator Back to Mother Earth that you know that we know that our ancestors are very much with us the spirit of our people is very very strong and We know that some of the work that we still have to do is going to require that good strong spirit the spirit of our women and our men and and ceremony as well and as well to Open up our spirits, you know the work that the churches are doing is Wonderful work that that is being done And so I asked that the Creator blessed us this morning with a good spirit that we would feel that spirit among us here and as we move forward and do another report of the progress that we are making that when we come back again that we know that the Impacts that we are feeling are positive impacts for the children that we're doing it for Because it is the little ones when I want to know what's going on in school I asked my older grand daughter who is in grade 12 and then I turned to my young granddaughter the youngest of our family of grandchildren and Who's in kindergarten and asked them how it's going, you know And when I hear the good things about language programs language development and and the cultural the land-based teachings that We embark on I feel good about that and when I see and I read the reports about the changing winds that we have You know it in the Ojibwe prayer we We turn to the east, you know and we look to the east for where that new birth comes, you know and we we we we call upon that sun and that moon and the the They the birthplace You know to be our guiding force And and we turn to the south and we give thanks to the south, you know for our physical health and We say thank you Creator for that physical health that you we've been given so we can go on and do this work Of course, we turn to the west and we we call upon our ancestors the wisdom keepers the knowledge keepers that we pray to and Ask them to be with us here, too And then we turn to the north and we just thank they the Give our prayers and thanks for the north from where a lot of resources come and you know where we learned so much about ourselves Those of us that are from the north, you know We we turn to the north and then we turn back to ourselves and we look at our own Spirits our own hearts and we examine those hearts together this morning and then in the work to be done And we give thanks for that good spirit that we have in us as men and women So that when we go and educate our children we can educate them in a good way So that they too can learn the good things about life that we have experienced, you know and bring and bringing us together You know There is a place and a time for everything is what the scriptures talk about and there is a place here now for us to Continue to work and to continue that work in a good way with the guiding spirit, you know That's what it's about Kitchie Manitou We call upon you this morning for that guiding spirit that you have given us over the years and for the work That still needs to be done. We thank you for this place Here this very sacred place that we come together here That we would know the stories of our people and and how it impacts the lives of our children and myself as an elder I call upon you great spirit that you would we would feel that that good spirit here that we would go forward and And do the work that we can do and the best way we can so give thanks this morning as I accepted this tobacco in that way Be which amen Thank you Norma So back 2015 take you back to 2015 in Ottawa when the tooth and reconciliation Commission of Canada Chair Murray Sinclair senator Justice Murray Sinclair released the 94 calls to action and At that time Kairos accepted the challenge that the commissioners presented us with to try and respond By taking on one of those calls to action and the one that Kairos chose at that time was called to action 62.1 which is also called education for reconciliation and it's the call the action that that urges governments the provincial and territorial governments to work with indigenous peoples to develop and implement curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12 that looks at residential schools Treaties and the contributions of indigenous peoples to contemporary and historical Canadian society So Kairos did that and one way that it it it tackled that call to action was by Going across the country and assessing how every jurisdiction Was complying with call to action 62.1 and in October of that year a few months later We released a report card and we updated that report card once in April of 2016 What we're going to do today is announce another update to that report card So starting in last fall or almost a year ago actually a group of researchers came together from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University and Started to look at how jurisdictions had moved forward in terms of their compliance with call to action 62.1 and To help us sort of like make that announcement today We're going to have the director of the National Center Ryan Moran and the executive director of Kairos Jennifer Henry say a few words And then Jennifer and rye are going to be part of a panel that includes elder Norman and Jennifer Lamaroo from The old School division here in Ottawa. So what I'm going to ask here in Winnipeg. I'm from I'm really glad to be in Winnipeg So what I'm going to ask is rye and Jennifer to come up now and have a seat here I'm going to ask rye to sort of say a few words first I know rye is not someone who doesn't need much of an introduction But I'm going to say we'll give one anyways because that's part of my job as a master of ceremony so so rye is a proud member of the Red River Metis and And as director of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation is rye's job to guide his development Growth and reach he came to the Center from the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada where he was director of statement gathering and the National Research Center So while at the TRC rye facilitated the gathering of nearly 7,000 video and audio recordings of statements from former residential school survivors and Others affected by the residential school system He was also responsible for gathering the documentary history of the residential school system from more than 20 government departments and Nearly 100 church archives what we're talking about is hundreds of thousands if not millions of records in all rye is a recipient of the Governor General's meritorious service cross and a national Aboriginal role model award and Before the TRC He was active in many areas including indigenous language preservation and the arts specifically music So it is an honor and a privilege to introduce rye Moran Thank you very much Ed and thank you Norman as always for your wonderful words this morning. I Think it's it's really important to take a step back for a second as Ed did and and understand Why we're together in this room today and how we have been called upon To establish and maintain respectful relationships in this country That Concept of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships is the very definition that the TRC used to describe reconciliation and that comes from a long line of of indigenous elders indigenous knowledge indigenous wisdom that has been shared and and Reiterated time and time and time again in this country through the row Commission on Aboriginal peoples through treaties through international work at the United Nations level The establishment and maintenance of each of the respectful relationships Requires establishing respectful relationships with the past the present and the future and Until we rectify the great imbalances in the presentation of history and how we teach our students in this country And how we share information with them we will remain at peril as a nation because We need the truth and truth absolutely has to precede the reconciliation work that we do In bringing it us all here today, I really want to celebrate the good work of Kairos in Leading the development of this report card Central in any relationship is accountability Central in any relationship is saying I want to see you succeed But sometimes I need you to do more or that you're doing a great job And here's some ways that we can encourage you to aspire to reach greater heights That's I think in many ways what has happened in this report card is this critical accountability Peace that is so necessary in establishing these relationships Reconciliation is not guaranteed in this country It can not succeed We have seen examples of that throughout the country's history And we've all been issued a very powerful call to action a collective call to action at the individual at the collective and at the national level To ensure this time that we do not fail Because the stakes frankly are too high So in creating this report card I think what has been offered to the country is that opportunity to pause to reflect to assess and to reassess the actions that we're taking and Central in this is that this mutual accountability framework has to continue We can't stop here because it is only us as Canadian citizens It is only us as the very humble 35 million people are so in this country that are actually going to ensure reconciliation occurs and We have to remember now That reconciliation is in the national interest This is something that will build a better Canada for all Canadians So that certain members of society are not left behind So that the land is properly respected so that indigenous people see themselves Not only in the textbooks, but also as a vibrant and meaningful part of the very framework of Canadian society So I want to thank you all for coming here today And I want to especially congratulate the good work of Kairos and to all the people that have participated in developing this report Report card and most importantly, I wish you continued success in your ongoing work because you've contributed a lot already through the blanket exercise and a host of other very important exercises to this field of reconciliation education and Thank you for your ongoing commitment to this because we need you Thank you Thank you, Rai when I mentioned that Kairos was at the in Ottawa in 2015 when the commissioners released the calls to action and Kairos was there too in December of that year in Ottawa when the final report was released and For those of you who may have been around about 20 years ago when the report of the Royal Commission was released It was very similar feeling there was a lot of excitement a lot of anticipation positive energy and That's one of the reasons why Kairos chose to take this path Was to make sure that this time that energy and enthusiasm didn't dissipate after a few years Because the energy that was there when the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People's Report was released Didn't last very long or at least not as long as many of us were hoping it would and so in taking on this task of bringing Raising up 62.1 one of the things Kairos was trying to do was keep it in front of the public eye and Now I'd like to call on Jennifer Henry Who has been the executive director of Kairos since 2012 this year. She celebrates 25 years a quarter-century Working in social justice I was gonna say birthday with that word So Jennifer had the honor of being an ecumenical witness at six of the seven national events of the TRC She serves on the Primates Commission on the Doctor of Discovery Reconciliation and Justice and on the board of the Center and Library of the Bible and social justice She remains an activist and educator at heart. She was raised here on treaty one territory She has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba and a Master's in Social Work And a Master's of Theological Studies from the University of Toronto. So it's my pleasure to welcome Jennifer Henry. I am So deeply grateful to be home here on treaty one territory, and I just want to thank Norman very much for your words elder Norman to Welcome us and open us in a good way and and just a real Thank you to the hospitality of the National Center for Truth Reconciliation to Rye and and to all the staff who've been so warm and Welcoming to us here as well It is important to begin with the truth and It is the courageous Testimony of the residential school survivors that gave us that truth and we always have to start there I think because it's out of that truth that the commissioners challenged the country with the calls of action So it's it's very right to be here, which is the place of survivors as we report on call to action 60 to 1 and to try to be accountable back to those survivors for this call and what's happening With respect to this call across the country What we have to say is largely a good news story that our schools across the country in every province and territory Are taking positive steps towards implementing age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools on Treaties and the historical and contemporary contributions of indigenous people to Canada from kindergarten to grade 12 Since 2016 when we did the first baseline report. We really have seen a positive steps forward in all provinces and territories and an example given our presence here in Manitoba we recognize that social studies now mandatory from grade 1 to grade 11 Covers treaties residential schools and the contribution of indigenous peoples and that curriculum has been developed with indigenous peoples via the First Nations Métis and Inuit education policy framework and this and other steps moves Manitoba to one of the strongest ratings both on public commitment and on implementation But when we look all across the country, there are some things that we can observe that there is still Under representation of Métis and Inuit experience in some of the programs Except in the north where there's under representation of Métis and First Nations experience That there's very little focus on relevant content for the kindergarten level at the very beginning of our children's lives in the schools That there's a lot more coverage of residential schools and treaties But less on inclusion of historical and contemporary Contributions of indigenous peoples and this represents something that needs much more emphasis and development It is absolutely Essential because this is the story of resiliency and contribution and gift and it's a story that needs to be told as we as we Speak about our country and Finally to get to successful implementation We need more indigenous teachers and Administrators in the education system and we also need more training Cultural competency anti-racist training for non-indigenous teachers and staff in the system to make this really come to life Now what's critical to say is that this progress did not come out of the air It was because of the truth of survivors. It was because of the challenge of commissioners It's because of indigenous leadership passionate educators dedicated students ardent citizen advocates And it came because there was pressure on Legislatures and ministries to implement call to action TRC-62-1 in meaningful ways and it's also important to say it has not been accomplished There are still lots of gaps and there's much work to be done to fully implement this call And it will require continued pressure all that strong work needs to continue and It's critical to say that pressure will be needed to ensure that we do not move back a Few weeks ago. I was really pleased that my daughter was one of a bunch of young people across Ontario who walked out of class in a coordinated protest and there was a lot of press attention to One of the foci of their protest and that was contemporary self a health then sex education curriculum that had just been repealed by the new Provincial government But the very important story was also that the high school students were clear that there was another goal the Reestablishment of the indigenous curriculum rewrite work that was planned for the summer a kind of phase two That was abruptly cancelled by the new provincial government Well, the government says it will implement the updated curriculum and it claims to be Committed to further developing supports with indigenous people through other means the students lacked Confidence that this will be done and they pledged to hold the government of Ontario to account This was their words we the students will not stop We will not relent not until we win this fight on another note When an example of a very old and extremely offensive curriculum appeared in Alberta It was a student who sounded the alarm and galvanized quick and strong outrage across the country It's exactly that kind of passion that kind of vigilance That's necessary to make sure progress continues to be made and we do not allow ourselves to fall back And we invite all Canadians using our website to do to continue to keep up the pressure We have an online tool that will allow you contact your particular legislators and ministries From your province any retreat from meeting the goals of 62 1 is unacceptable Increasingly we're seeing non-indigenous and indigenous students working together to make this public stand for their own standard of education And perhaps that's a sign in and of itself that change is happening both in knowledge and commitment and so To adults. We can't let them down We have to make sure that we support this emerging leadership in all provinces and territories If our young people are educated in the full spirit and intent of TRC 62 then our country will change That's what the commissioners and the survivors knew So this progress is important, but we also recognize that this is part of One of the 94 calls to action that require continued implementation by this nation To honor the courage of the survivors. We must stay the course I want to thank you for your presence this morning Thank you. Thank you, Jennifer. Now. I'd like to call up Jennifer Lamarue and Ask Norman to join us here at the front I'm going to ask Jennifer to say a few words about Call taxing sixty two point one as someone who is a vice principal at Riverbank Community School and Then elementary school in the seven-of-school division that houses a K to five Ojibwe bilingual program Jennifer has been for over ten years teaching in K to five schools and working with education related organization as an Educator she welcomes the opportunity to share here knowledge and understanding of treaties Residential schools and deals indigenous children's books and the calls to action in 2012 Jennifer was recipient of the Aboriginal Circle of Educators Research and Curriculum Development Award and she is co-author of the book Warrior women we making post-secondary places through relational narrative inquiry Jennifer grew up in Winnipeg Disconnected from her traditional culture and community, but she is proudly reclaiming her Anishinaabe culture through language and cultural events With her six-year-old daughter Mina so Jennifer if You want to say a few words about 52 one Okay, sure Hello, good morning everybody I Didn't prepare anything ahead of time because I didn't really know exactly how this would work, but I'm glad to be invited today, so thank you for having me As Ed said, I've been working for ten years as a teacher here in Manitoba and I've always made it my goal to ensure that Indigenous history is taught or that indigenous perspectives are are there in the teaching of Canadian history because it really is all of our history I'm happy to see that we are getting a good grade here in Manitoba I know that I'm very fortunate to be working for a school division That has made it a mandate that is very committed to teaching indigenous perspectives to Ensuring that it's infused in all of the curriculums in all of our schools So it is very present and I feel like we are we are on a really really good path It is true that we don't want we don't want this This good movement like this movement forward to die down And I would agree that we need to keep talking about it and sharing our you know Celebrating the good work that's being done, but just to also give the message that there is more to do You know, I see a lot of good work being done by teachers and administrators in my school division And I kind of wondered how how are things going with the province and when I looked at the curriculums that are there? I'm you know, I'm glad to see some things in print, but really it's the work of the teachers And it's really the people who are in the front lines who who are doing the work and who are making the change You know a curriculum is not really any good unless there's somebody who is working with that curriculum And then there's you know on the other hand that there is more work to be done There's a lot of people who don't have the knowledge Or the experience to be able to teach curriculums that are there or even to to be Being to be a leader in this in this area of reconciliation So it is necessary to continue to work with teachers On creating curriculums that people can access and resources. I remember hearing a video that Senator Maria Sinclair where he talks about Reconciliation and he talks about the fact that you know, it's going to take a while And that's a good reminder for me that it is going to take a while But it does get hard, you know, it becomes difficult sometimes when you when you know, there's a lot of work to be done But as my husband Kevin Lamarou has always reminded me and that I hear the words here today At the center National Center of Truth and reconciliation that Reconciliation is a gift that are that the survivors gave to us by telling their stories and that we must honor that and Keep the work moving forward. So make which Thank You Jennifer not bad considering you didn't know you're gonna say Finally I just want to give a little give us all a little bit more information about Norman And give him a chance to just sort of like give us a little bit of his reflection on the call to action 62 one and the calls to action in general and reconciliation in Canada Norman is an elder in residence at the University of Manitoba. He was born in Bisset grew up in the Métis element of Manny Manny go to gun and in the early 60s worked in the gold mines in Bisset in the mid 70s He began a 26 year career working in the provincial government he was executive director of the Northern Association of Community Councils and a Métis service officer for the Manitoba Métis He is active in the community as an elder and a pastor and and as a member of several boards belonging to the city of Winnipeg And he's also an avid curler and the founder of the Aboriginal curling League of Winnipeg We're most impressed by that In 1967 Norman married Thelma Barker of Hollow Water First Nation And I have two children and six grandchildren. So once again, let's welcome Norman and Norman if you'd like to share a few words and Then after Norman's done, we'll open it up for questions to the panel question a little bit of a discussion Thank you again for Introducing me and telling a little bit about my life you know at one point in my early life when I was looking for spiritual my spirit I Was having difficulty finding my spirit Where I thought I would find it We grew up as a Catholic boy and in the church the Catholic Church And I was having a little trouble finding my spirit there So I went to the land where in my early life when we grew up in Manitoba again in In the bush and by the river I had no trouble finding my spirit of who I was when I was in nature and that's why I believe strongly and in land-based education or language-based education But the land-based education I think is so very important to our children and when I Asked my little granddaughter the one who goes to the school who are you working? She she tells me that she is learning her language She's a part Dakota and Ojibwe and and Cree and so I Really like that when she comes home and and and recites words that she had learned at school you know Her initial abbey words or Dakota words and I really I really like that I think we're on the right track there when I read the report card of you know, Kairos and and the work that they do I was really touched by that report card Because as a pastor, you know, I I know that the spirit of our people And I think Kairos is one of the organizations that really acknowledged that the spirit of our people is In the ancestors of our people those that have been there before For me as a pastor and as an elder now, I don't have to worry about creating new pathways The pathways are already there for for us. We have to follow them, you know And when I think when teach about faith, you know to be faithful and the work that we do You know faith is something that we hope for but the evidence of it not yet seen But the evidence of it is being seen here today in that report card and and I like that and I say, you know We're on the right track that faith will take us to where the places we want to go but we have to keep our spirits strong and as we Go about in doing our work. I know that we will find out I always pray for the togetherness spirit because together we can get things done Alone sometimes the road gets a little lonely, but together we can do things and go further And and supporting each other in the work that we do. So I say me which today to Educators my wife, you know as an educator for many many years and still even today. She's an educator and Working with elders and seniors and I I really I do need to It's a good reminder for us that the women among us, you know My wife and my daughter my granddaughters my little great-granddaughter The youngest of our family is the one that I turn to for a lot of the spirits that I need as I do my work as An elder a male elder and as a pastor me which Thank You Norman Okay, and so it's now if there are any questions for the any of the panelists if you just could identify yourself and Identify who you're directing a question to or if it's a general question But So I think one of the things that we found Across the country is very much what Jennifer was saying that well the teachers may have the curriculum in front Maybe they don't always feel confident in In in offering that curriculum. So that might be non-indigenous teachers who are Feeling like they don't have the competency to to address the curriculum in a good way They're feeling out of their their league and that that felt that come comes up across the country where in Alberta For example where there's very strong? Curriculum a sense from some of the teachers that they're reluctant there. I'm they're not necessarily comfortable So I think that's that continued work of having to address those kind of things But Jennifer, I think you could speak to us. I just want to just before we go there I think Leah I just wanted to point out that that if you're looking at the report card That you'll see that the needs improvement was the last report card that in fact That in fact now Manitoba has progressed to an excellent grade in terms of implementation But the details are Jennifer mentioned were some of the reasons why in 2016 they they got that rating, yeah, and I think it's significant to notice that that not just that that Manitoba has received excellent grading both in commitment and implementation But how far it's gone in only two years and that's what we're trying to emphasize here with the report card It's the progress that is being made and the ongoing commitment that is obviously there And how like when we learned from Jennifer this Jennifer on this side how it's obvious that the schools Divisions are taking a seriously and that's what we wanted really to emphasize it underline here Well, I would just say that yes, it says excellent rating But I also think that it continues to need improvement that you know just because it says excellent doesn't mean we're done And I don't know enough about the actual report card and as a teacher You're always skeptical like what is what are we actually saying when we're writing this down? And what are people actually thinking when we say this so yes, of course there there still needs to be more implementation And yeah, I think that there's a lot of teachers who are not necessarily comfortable Because there are some difficult conversations that need to be had when you teach the true history when you teach the truth And these are teachers who have grown up without that information And are now having to have difficult conversations inside classrooms. So that that you know, they might not be completely prepared Both indigenous and non-indigenous teachers, I'd say Yeah, so there's there's work to be done on that front for sure Oh, yeah, I think I think you've raised something really important in terms of the excellent grade as well and I think What we do need to do is we need to to frame where this report card is coming out At a particular moment in time in history, and I think the exciting thing that we can recognize is that The future remains as yet unwritten and if we do this education work now if we start really having these honest conversations We have the potential to realize something that we've never seen before in this country So the the Canada that we're building 20 30 40 years out is The Canada that we're starting with now and at least these kids I think what's happening now is at least they are Having a much better sense that Canada itself is a is a highly imperfect nation and that it has Substantial work to do to just race recognize basic human rights And if we can start recognizing and affirming that indigenous people's do in fact have it have human rights And that we're an essential part of this country You know the work that Norman was talking about about land-based education about you know full incorporation of indigenous languages You know for all students, you know in a in a in a classroom We're not there yet, but this is how we need to Approach the work now in order to realize that goal down the road I think that's a department that really needs Education in there because there's a lot of students in there going through their not knowing my history at all And that's quite concerning for me at the time but I think There's one way That is to go to the education department simple secondary education because we're talking about K to 12 But we're not talking about full secondary And I think that's one of the big challenges vis-a-vis education in the country is that when you look at the TRC's calls to action holistically It does imagine a Transformational step change in how we approach education Overall in this country So there are calls to action that relate to the K to 12 system There's calls to action that relate to post-secondary institutions There's calls to action that relate to public servants that are making the decisions and the policies on what happens inside of schools There's education on newcomers as we welcome newcomers to the country There's education for businesses that are called for and then there's all of the specific kind of frontline areas that are specifically Targeted in terms of health law social work so on and so forth so That is the complexity of this change that we're trying to go through and one can't happen without the other We need public servants We need we need the people that are teaching educators to rectify their imbalances in order to ensure that we're putting the children at the center of the conversation and That those children are given the full opportunity and ability to really understand what it means to be Canadian in today's time I just wanted to add to the conversation again about implementation and I know we're talking about implementing a curriculum and sometimes I think that Curriculum is a little bit slow to come And the resources that go with it sometimes are a little bit slow to come to be able to support that I think that the curriculum needs to be viewed as almost a living document and also You know because we don't have a lot of indigenous teachers and administrators in the school system It kind of makes sense that you know when we're talking about indigenous perspectives or indigenous history You know those things that haven't been been shared in schools. It kind of makes sense that that people would be You know wouldn't have the experience necessarily to do to do that I think we need to bring in our indigenous brothers and sisters into our schools You know we have we're I'm grateful in my school division to have two elders in in residence in our division And we also have two elders in our school as well for our Ojibwe bilingual students for our program there So I mean really like how are we going to learn about indigenous people? How are we going to? Understand how to have those difficult conversations about our history if We're just looking at from what from one perspective or from a document, right? So I think that bringing in our indigenous brothers and sisters and family and friends into into our into education Will really help that implementation piece That's a critical piece of this call was that it did say very clearly even the development of curriculum in consultation with indigenous communities and And it's critically important because when that doesn't happen it it doesn't come out well And so if you look at one of the poorer ratings There's an improvement, but an improvement from a pretty poor starting place That's Quebec and in Quebec part of the reason that that it hasn't improved is because they aren't working Effectively with indigenous communities directly so they it means that what they have done they've done it is riddled with some inaccuracies and bias that and so the critical piece of at every part of this process having direct Relationship with indigenous communities. I can say I'm a parent of a high school student And I remember growing up here right going to school here. I remember what I didn't learn I Remember the siloed communities where the only indigenous communities I grew up in a white sub suburb The only indigenous folks I knew were 60 scoop kids who were adopted into white homes There was so much racism. That's what I was taught. That's what I was taught. I Go into my daughter's school. I see a beautiful image of a jingle-dead dress dancer I see an incredible Piece on missing and murdered with red dresses I see their indigenous their art program only focused on indigenous art. This is in a Toronto school And I just I do see that we're making the progress and not and this is a living document, too Because it's intended to help us keep looking to see that we are continuing to make progress and be absolutely sure that We're not falling behind because we need to encourage all of us need to catch encourage each other to stay the course and And and and as I was saying before this is only one of the calls We need to also engage our children in all the calls so that they're working with us around holding the country to account Based on the truth that the survivors offered us It's kind of hard to you're working in a system that this doesn't seem to look at indigenous education as an equal period Right you get to this point and then also in your press Right, and then you keep getting the press to just later some layers But you're trying to break through, but it's also hard on the indigenous educators to try to Horde ahead But there's always that walk, right, but we have to We endured so much in our but you know our history in my ancestors, but it's just that It's tired Years all the time, right? Absolutely. I agree. I felt that too as an indigenous educator And I'm you know, I'm just so grateful for the conversation to be able to frame it in terms of truth and reconciliation again, you know thinking about Their survivors and how they share their story and what a gift that is and when it gets hard to always remember that I haven't forgotten that myself All that pain too So we're looking at our children's children who are passing that on and we need to kind of stop that somewhere We need to stop that cycle because we have no sense of belonging So we're trying to break these barriers and it's just like Okay, I'm trying to reach you, but something's telling me I can't I don't know what that is Great question you open up a lot of discussion there is another question right beside you Well from what I know Just when I sort of took a survey last year Well, we are a bilingual program. So not a not an immersion program, but a language program, right? So about about approximately 50% of the day is taught in the Nishinaabe language. I Know that in Winnipeg school division, they have an immersion program and I believe it's I Think it's kindergarten is the immersion and then there's a grade one that is bilingual And then I believe in River East Transcona. They are not necessarily doing like a bilingual immersion, but more They are doing language. They do have language programming, but I don't really know very many other details about that Not that I know at this moment Well, I think it's the two things to pick up one is the Consultation with indigenous peoples and the creating of the program together through that framework But also that it's mandatory in social studies from the grade one to grade 11 So the program has been changed and that's a mandatory program So we tried to pick up on all the key points of the actual call and those were mandatory from K to 12 And then speaking to those three areas, right residential schools treaties and the contributions of First Nations in New York and Métis to Canada. So we tried to look at that So Canada so Manitoba was advancing in those The majority of those areas both at the public commitment line and the implementation line But even an excellent rating as is identified here is identified as you're on the path To meeting this call to action and we still need to work together to make sure that it's fully implemented. So excellent is Not perfect. It's excellent And actually when we were putting the grading system together and you can imagine there was a lot of discussion around Do we use letters? Do you use numbers? Do we use words and we sort of settled on on the words? Because we felt they were more descriptive in terms of being more helpful in terms of like indicating where in what direction the jurisdiction was going and We had some talk about should we use excellent or not because do people interpret excellent as meaning? That's it. It's everything's been done And I'm glad that Jennifer brought it up that it doesn't mean that everything's been done It means in part that there there are a lot of bright things are being done compared to other jurisdictions across the country It's it's really excellent, but of course it's not over yet, and there's still a long way to go I'd like to just add a little bit and say that I'm not surprised as an elder that you know I'm a little boy is kind of leading the way and And the work that we're doing and reconciliation being that you know, we are at the center of Turtle Island You know Manitoba Manitoba Bay where the spirit rests, you know I think that it's really important that we acknowledge that work We do in this place, you know Manitoba You know, we know that the spirit has to be with us in whatever we do And so when we are that close to the center, you know the medicine wheel would teach us that we are in the right place Not only geographically, but at the right time in this place that Manitoba would lead in In the work that has to be done and we have reconciliation. It also doesn't surprise me that you know I'll say my cousin. He is that senator Murray Sinkler You know kind of leading the way leading that Being one of the commissioners that he is from here and that he brings us back and grounds us in some of these The work that needs to be done Never allowing us to forget that education is a process It's a process that has brought in You know some damage results and and some damage that we are now on the road to repairing and That we have to know that to be grounded spiritually that you have to be grounded Not only in the traditional teachings, but that is important But also to be grounded in the international pardon me in the intergenerational way I know when students come and sit with me in the elders office here at the campus here You know the first question I ask them is if they know what they're who they are spiritually Who are you spiritually? Do you know that you know and and many times after an hour or so of talking with them they get They get the idea of what I'm talking about when ask them if you're if you're grounded spiritually because it's so important That are young people, you know that are older students that are going to go on to the university level Poes secondary are grounded because they always tell us That when you work with your young children between the age of two and twelve That they will always connect and reconnect to the spirit of who they are And I think that is so very important. So thank you again Are you I think everybody's probably got a lot to say about what's happened I I am concerned and I think there's a lot of people that are concerned about it and I think it Is particularly concerning because it shows How fragile this work of reconciliation can be if leadership does not embrace the fundamental idea that Reconciliation is necessary for building a better country If we continue to maintain the idea that somehow we're going to lose out as a country by fully incorporating indigenous peoples And that that has been the dominant narrative in this country. We are we are heading to very difficult times so the The rollback is concerning for two reasons one it shows the status of leadership and two it shows the or it affirms that kids in those systems may be denied Their right to receive a proper and truthful and honest accounting of who we actually are and The sad thing now is that we know what the truth is We know what we need to do At this point not fully embracing these calls to action is simply turning a blind eye to that history and it is it is a It's a continuation of a process that has been deemed Frankly intolerable and inexcusable in this country and that's precisely what was said by the most senior elected officials When the apology was given that the attitudes and ideals that led to the creation of the residential schools have no place in Canadian society Which means that the silencing of indigenous voices and perspectives Has no place in Canadian society Alternate is inclusion and incorporation One last round. Yes And The academic achievement of the students Because they were actually learning something that they could Identify with right and they were becoming proud of traditions and their culture because they were learning to study sacred teachings and All of the other things that the others would come and teach and then so I'm not surprised that Manitoba specifically would have a better raid because that's been going on for for many many years When I was around and so And I'm hoping that with this report that as opposed to cross Canada Maybe the next report you can say, you know, just how it has impacted students And exactly Where they were before What are they are Yeah, so just briefly I just want to pick that point up I I we did a survey using what was accessible to us across this country and There there could be some really good research done here specifically on that question of effectiveness So how is the implementation moving forward? But how is it changing and how is it changing indigenous kids experience and how is it changing non-indigenous and newcomer kids experience? because we were we as a country repressed indigenous teaching and And and that the possibility of bringing that back to benefit both indigenous kids and the whole of the community That that's an incredible powerful Hopeful moment. I think for us as a country So I just I just want to lift up that we could use some researchers to look at effective this That's certainly beyond our capacity Indigenous perspective into the it's all of this curriculum the racist and Fights between indigenous and non-indigenous people Because the non-indigenous kids were learning Perspectives and and so there was hardly any there was some there was hardly any racist Comments or fights Okay, thank you very much as if there are no other questions I'm just going to wrap this up with the heartfelt thank you to The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation for hosting this event and for Rai for participating Norman thank you again for your opening and for all the wisdom you shared with us Jennifer Sorry for putting you on the spot this morning But I'm really I'm really glad you were here and Jennifer Henry of course very much appreciated your participation So thank you again everyone for joining us here today and for sharing in what I think is very good news going forward Thank you very much