Treaty Education

Last week I began discussing the concept of promises with the Kiddoes. When questioned about the meaning, lots of the Kiddoes could give examples of promises, but to actually define what a promise is, they found to be quite difficult. We learned that promises have three distinct qualities. First, they need to be between at least two or more people, second, they need to have a definitive time outlined and finally, they must never be broken.

To illustrate the concept of a promise, we read the story by Robert Munsch entitled, "A Promise Is A Promise".

The story perfectly complemented our discussion as it talked what a promise is, why promises are important and what can happen if promises are not kept. Upon finishing the story, it was our turn to make some promises. We decided to make promises to the classroom and each other. Our promises reflected our commitment to making our room the best place it can be. We held a talking circle where each Kiddoe promised (to the room and each other) that this year (time line) they would .........Once the circle was completed, I asked the Kiddoes if they were going to be able to remember all the promises! It was decided that perhaps, just like Ms. S., our memories were not one of our "gifts". Thus, we figured we should write them down.

Once our promises were completed, I challenged the Kiddoes thinking and asked, "What happens if you don't keep your promise?" There were quite a few funny and interesting suggestions made, but in the end, I introduced the word "Treaty". A treaty is a super special promise which could never be broken.

Using a map of the world, I showed the Kiddoes were many of our ancestors may have lived before coming to Canada. We then briefly discussed how the settlers came to Canada and how the First Nations People who were the original inhabitants of our land, helped the settlers to survive in the new world. I explained that treaties (super special promises that included two entities, had a time frame, were written down and signed) were created between the First Nations People and the settlers enabling all people to reside on the same land. The Kiddoes learned that treaties were promises which could never be broken as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers run.

After learning this new information, our class decided to turn our promises into treaties so they could never be broken. We had an elaborate signing ceremony where each Kiddoe came up and signed his/her promise and turned it into a treaty to our room.

This lesson was for many Kiddoes in the room, their first introduction to the term, “treaty”. We will be revisiting this topic over the course of the year.