Category Archives: POH_news

POH_news, Post-Secondary, Regina / Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Massive turn-out for Truth and Reconciliation Education Day at University of Regina

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A wonderful story from yesterday’s Regina Leader-Post, with video featuring survivor Eugene Arcand and Charlene Bearhead from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Teaching about the Residential School Era is still not a mandatory part of the Saskatchewan K-12 curriculum but thanks to the events of the day, 1500 students and teachers went home having experienced a crash course on Canada’s hidden history. The Faculty of Education at the University of Regina organized the day’s events and Project of Heart was also on the program; students decorated tiles as witness pieces.

Our thanks go out to Dean of Education Jennifer Tupper for taking the lead in organization a superb day of Truth and Reconciliation!

POH_news, _Quebec

Commissioner Marie Wilson and McGill students use POH to send Kairos message to Province of Québec

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Tiles from Dr. Marie Wilson's class, McGill University.
 

This academic term saw an opportunity for students at McGill University in Montreal to learn about Project of Heart. Dr. Marie Wilson, Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, now McGill’s “Professor of Practice in the Global Governance Institute for the Study of International Development” within the Institute for the Study of International Development, arranged for Project of Heart be presented to her students. Her course, “The Healing Imperative of Truth and Reconciliation” is taught to students who come from a wide range of disciplines and an impressive array of life-experiences. Continue reading Commissioner Marie Wilson and McGill students use POH to send Kairos message to Province of Québec →

Edmonton and Area, POH_news, Post-Secondary, _Alberta

University of Alberta Medical Students Learn About IRS era

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UofAMedicineFaculty

This past term at the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine saw first and second year students participate in a 12-hour Aboriginal health elective course. As a part of their course, students learned about the role of culture in health care, visited the Edmonton Native Healing Centre to learn about smudging, and attended a workshop on residential schools and inter-generational trauma. Continue reading University of Alberta Medical Students Learn About IRS era →

POH_news

Zombie history text refuses to die

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Face of a Nation
 

It’s 426 pages long, was published in the year 2000, and it just might be the artifact that launched Project of Heart. It’s “Canada: Face of Nation”, by Gage Educational Publishing, and it manages to give exactly 2 paragraphs to the national shame that was the Indian Residential School era.

It was this same “Face of a Nation” text that had students in POH founder Sylvia Smith’s classroom in 2007 scratching their heads and wondering where to go for a real history lesson when they attempted to do their own research on the IRS era. Continue reading Zombie history text refuses to die →

POH_news, _Quebec

Bishop’s University opens its doors to Project of Heart

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Education students at Bishop’s University’s recently opened their hearts and minds to learning about the Indian Residential Schools. What you are about to see is Professor Lisa Taylor’s class fully engaging in visual design, art education, and the history of the Indian Residential Schools era. Ena Greyeyes, Plains Cree artist and Elder (an IRS survivor from the St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan) spoke to them about the arduous but inspiring process of healing the intergenerational trauma that is part and parcel of the IRS legacy. Students in the course had already studied the impact of ongoing settler-colonial policies in Canada and personal family histories of implication.

Charlene Bearhead, Education Lead at the National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, launched the project in October by introducing Project of Heart to all levels of teacher-education candidates in the Bishop’s programme, and from the beginning, they were hooked.

Dr. Lisa Taylor’s students have put together an incredible slide-show that tells the story behind each decorated tile. You may even click on parts to hear students speaking. Several Aboriginal students joined the class and painted tiles in response to the Project. Click the link to see, hear, and feel!

British Columbia, POH_news

BCTF’s Project of Heart ebook launch: coverage in Vancouver Sun

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BCTF_ebook

 

As the Truth and Reconciliation Commision has released its findings this past June — and published 94 calls to action — the timing of the BCTF’s initiative couldn’t have been better. The book is available free online.

The existence of this amazing resource is down to the commitment and inspiration of editor Gail Stromquist, the Assistant Director for Aboriginal Education and project lead for BCTF. Click here for the Sun’s story.

Many thanks going out to the BCTF teachers for their efforts in moving along the truth and reconciliation movement!

POH_news, _Alberta

Chestermere Lake remembers: Alberta middle school students have hope for a better future

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Our thanks to teacher Dana Witte who sent us this heart-warming report about Project of Heart and her Grade 9 students at Chestermere Lake Middle School:

Two classes of grade 9 students, 9W and 9N, participated in the Project of Heart in January, 2015. We were learning about collective rights in Canada and spent time exploring the impact of residential schools on the culture and identity of our First Nations people. Students were surprised at the fact that the Canadian government at the time had made such questionable choices. They expressed regret and empathy, and noted how our indigenous people had suffered as a result. The art that was produced on wooden tiles is reflective of their respect for our First Nations and is a symbol of their hope for a better future.

Chestermere Lake is the latest Alberta school to partner with Project of Heart; click here to see a listing of other schools and workplaces in the province that have partnered with POH.

POH_news, Southern Alberta, _Alberta

Langdon School creates heartfelt Gesture of Reconciliation

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This just in from Langdon, Alberta – classroom 9T:

My name is Susanne Moskal and I am a grade 9 teacher from Langdon School in Alberta. My students have spent the last few weeks working through Project of Heart. What an incredible project! This had a huge impact on myself and all of my students. We prepared our Gesture of Reconciliation and presented it an elder (residential school survivor) that visited our class. It was such a touching and powerful moment. My students put together the attached powerpoint to explain our project and showcase pictures of what we created.

Meegwetch Susanne – your classroom’s response is an inspiration to us all!

POH_news

Rideau Hall’s “Heart Garden” could be first of many!

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memoriesAs a tribute to all students of the Indian Residential Schools and their families, 500 children from the Ottawa-Gatineau area will join residential school survivors in creating a Heart Garden at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence, by planting 1000 hearts with messages of reconciliation from across Canada. This is a joint initiative by the TRC, Project of Heart, KAIROS and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. Individuals, schools, community groups and communities are invited to join us in this initiative… Create a Heart Garden in your own community!.