This amazing CBC report features long-time Project of Heart teacher Lisa Powell from Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary in Gatineau who explains how she pairs local seniors with her own young learners from James Bay and Kitiganzibi.

One of the most gripping moments is realizing that the “senior buddies” are hearing the story of Jordan River Anderson for the the first time; the saga of how one child was forced to live his entire life in a hospital bed because no level of government would agree to pay for his home care is a shameful blot on Canada’s reputation and not one the Federal government is eager to discuss. So schoolchildren just a few short blocks away from INAC headquarters are telling the story instead.

And while we are talking about Jordan, here is a link to the Broadbent Institute’s petition calling on the Federal government to respect the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal rulings that Canada must cease discriminatory practices against Indigenous children.

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 →

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!