The Chronicle 18-19 Issue 03

12 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus
Photograph by Janis Williams
Elder Carolyn King, founder of the Moccasin Identifier Project, visited UOIT Feb. 5, to discuss the Indigenous initiative with future teachers.
Future teachers get Indigenous education
Janis Williams
The Chronicle
Elder Carolyn King regularly visits
schools Ontario-wide to deliver a
message to students of the importance
of Indigenous history. She
spent her time in downtown Oshawa
Feb. 5, with a first-year class of
58 future elementary educators at
the University of Ontario Institute
of Technology (UOIT).
King came to promote the Moccasin
Identifier Project, an education
and awareness initiative she
created for the school system.
The Mississaugas of the New
Credit First Nation Elder says it is
a “simple little program to educate
all levels of school.”
The concept is straightforward -
education followed by an activity.
Her goal is to introduce her program
to schools across the province.
Ideally, during the month of
24
HOURS
DC UOIT
June, students would learn about
the traditional land and territories,
King says.
Schools would receive a kit filled
with information and educational
tools, including stencils of four
unique sets of moccasins, which
represent four First Nations - Cree,
Nishnawbe, Huron-Wendat and
Iroquois.
Then students would mark their
school’s territory by stencilling the
moccasin, using washable paint, on
school grounds, either outside on
the pavement or on a wall.
The symbol is a visual reminder
of the traditional territory of Indigenous
peoples, King says, who
views the activity as both a conversation
starter and a step in the
right direction.
The Elder’s hope is this education
happens annually, so students
“will forever know whose land they
are on.”
It’s a regular reminder of the
traditional territory of Indigenous
peoples, a concept King says is
fragmented in the school system.
King sees opportunity in reaching
future educators because they
will teach new generations.
Her hope moving forward is children
will turn into better informed
adults.
Kimberley Briggs, a current
UOIT student and future primary/
junior teacher, says she was moved
by the Elder’s class visit.
“It is important for us as new
teachers to learn the real history of
Canada and what better way than
to hear it right from the mouths of
those who lived it,” Briggs says.
Following the presentation,
Briggs says she feels “better armed
to incorporate Indigenous perspectives
into my classroom.”
The Elder’s visit is one of many
initiatives organized by the staff at
UOIT’s Indigenous Education and
Cultural Services.
Indigenous programming specialist,
Carol Ducharme, says the
Moccasin Identifier Project is important
on many levels.
Ducharme says it not only encourages
questions and engages
dialogue, it also strengthens relationships
for reconciliation between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous
people.
“It is the responsibility for all
Canadians to understand the history
and impact of colonialism,”
Ducharme says, “you cannot move
towards any direction unless you
first know where you are coming
from.”
For her part, King has served
her First Nation community for
35 years but her work continues
by sharing her message – know the
land where you stand.
“I encourage that all people
check to see whose first nation is
in their land, what treaty land you
are on or whose traditional territory
you’re on,” says King.
The Elder was speaking at
UOIT’s Faculty of Education, 11
Simcoe St. N. in Oshawa. UOIT
sits on the lands of the people of the
Mississaugas of Scugog Island First
Nations, within the traditional territory
of the Mississauga and in the
territory covered by the Williams
Treaties.
Photograph by Janis Williams
UOIT’s Indigenous Education and Cultural Services building in downtown Oshawa.
Elder Carolyn King addresses a class of UOIT students.
Photograph by Janis Williams