Indigenous - Settler Political Relations in Canada: An Overview

The purpose of this activity is for students to gather in a sharing circle and answer some minds-on prompts provided by this lesson and/or the teacher.

If you’re in the classroom, gather students in a circle. Ensure COVID protocols are followed if required. Put prompts up on the board or smartboard so that students are able to remember the question and to think of their answer. Set the rules of the sharing circle before you begin (for more information on Sharing Circles and Talking Circles, see Appendix 5 in the resource included with this activity, Our Words, Our Ways): 

• You may pass if you’d like, or come back to you after the circle has had a chance. Allow students the choice to pass. Oftentimes they will have you come back to them, but this also respects students who may be having a hard time, etc.
• One by one, students will answer the prompt. Allow a talking stick, or if you are a non-Indigenous educator, choose an object or similar rule that aligns with you. If you need to follow COVID protocols, a “talking wipe” is a great alternative (sanitizing wipe). Remind students that everyone has a role. They either have the responsibility of listening or speaking. No discussion is required and no responses are required, negative or positive. 
• I would share first as the educator, it provides students with an example of a response you are looking for. It also allows them some time to think about their response. 

You can do this activity as much or little as you want; everyday, once a week, or not at all. You can select it for before a specific topic in this lesson (i.e., Indigenous - Settler identity politics, discourse, Indigenous rights, treaties, and/or general political relations). 

Here are some example prompts:

• How do you identify yourself?
• What does identity politics mean to you?
• Where have you seen stereotypes about Indigenous peoples in Canada? If you use a prompt like this, please ensure that you are not reinforcing stereotypes by saying them; this can be harmful in the classroom. Make sure you are clear that you are looking for examples such as “Sport team names,” or “systemic issues in authority positions”. 
• What do you know about Treaties and/or Indigenous rights in Canada?
• What Indigenous treaty covers the land you are presently on?
• What is discourse and what discourse am I speaking now?

Materials: 

• Talking object or wipe
• Smartboard or white board
• Whiteboard markers

Sitting in a circle together and respectfully sharing knowledge and perspectives on the various topics covered in this lesson plan provides for a physical structuring of co-learning through the equal positioning of participants around the circle, which fosters a sense of inclusion and respect.  This activity can further connect with spiritual and emotional learners through the fostering of positive, relational connections with all participants.  Lastly, this activity connects with intellectual learning as it provides for a time of self-reflection on the existing knowledge and perspectives of the participants in term of the main topics to be covered in the lesson plan.    

The purpose of this activity is for students to complete the framework after engaging with the Indigenous - Settler Identity Politics Voice Thread Talk ("The Politics of Identity") and engage in reflection of their own views and the views of those around them. For an Indigenous way of assessment, this activity allows students to engage in an open and respectful dialogue with each other as well as to personally reflect on their own identities as a way of better understanding their biases and views of Indigenous and Settler people in Canada and around  the world.

1) Instruct the students to first watch Voice Thread Talk 1: The Politics of Identity, Indigenous - Settler Political Relations can be found at the following link: https://voicethread.com/share/17717696/

2) After engaging with the Voice Thread Talk on Indigenous - Settler Identity Politics, hand out the Identity Framework to each student. 

Instruct Students to do a reflection of each of the categories. There are four sections for each of the six categories for the students to demonstrate the reflection. Allow students to choose a word or sentence in the four sections.

Watching the Voice Thread Talk 1: Indigenous – Settler Identity Politics and then engaging in the Identity Politics framework exercise connects with intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical learners.  Intellectually, it encourages the teacher and students to reflect upon how they self-identify and how their identity(s) are either recognized and affirmed by others or how they are instead challenged by others and what this interplay means for them and/or has meant for them over time.   This activity further connects with spiritual and emotional learners in that it highlights the fundamental relationships that we have with others as part of the very process of coming to understand ourselves as individuals.  Moreover, it is a process that is often very emotional, particularly in the context of Indigenous – Settler relations, as it can be very difficult to not have one’s understanding of oneself  -- one’s identity(s)—affirmed or recognized by others.  As well, coming to understand the hurtful and exclusionary processes of racialized stereotyping of Indigenous peoples as well as the privileges associated with being white in Canada can be very emotional, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people; there is often feelings of guilt for non-Indigenous people and anger and pain for Indigenous learners.  All students will need to be supported through the often difficult feelings which may arise as part of this activity.  And lastly, this activity connects with physical learners as it is a physical handout that is printed out and filled in by hand. 

The purpose of this activity is for student's to focus on the Voice Thread Talk on Indigenous - Settler Political Relations in Canada. The students will create a classroom resource through the style of an infographic to summarize Indigenous - Settler Political Relations in Canada.

1) The second Voice Thread Talk is on Indigenous – Settler Political Relations in Canada and can be found at: https://voicethread.com/share/17729467/

2) After viewing the Voice Thread Talk together as a class, have the students complete the Classroom Resource activity. This activity has students engage with the content they’ve learned about Indigenous – Settler Political Relations in Canada and create a corresponding infographic (a collection of imagery, charts, and some text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of your topic).

Encourage students to do further research on this topic through access to the Additional Resources section within this lesson plan as well as online and to include this additional information in their infographic. Depending on the class, allow time for students to share their infographic with their peers. Programs like Canva (see the link in the 'Materials and Resources' section) are linked with Google and have many free resources and templates to support students in creating their resource. 

• Students will focus on selecting information from the Voice Thread Talk as well as their own research on Indigenous - Settler Political Relations in Canada to create an infographic to share as a class resource. 
• If time allows, ask if any students would like to share their infographic that they have created, or have a shared drive with everyone given access to the finished resources. 
• Provide the students with creative choice on how they would like to create this resource. Direct them to Canva or Google templates through their Google account.

Watching the Voice Thread Talk 2: Indigenous – Settler Political Relations: An Overview, and then creating an infographic based upon additional research connects with intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical learners.  Intellectually, it encourages the teacher and students to reflect upon the many dimensions of Indigenous – Settler Political Relations in Canada and to select one or two key facets that most resonate with them to further research and explore these topics as well as the discourse(s) that they themselves speak about the topics.  This activity further connects with spiritual and emotional learners in that it highlights the many relationships that form the basis of Indigenous – Settler relations in Canada.   Moreover, coming to understand the violent processes of colonization in Canada can be very emotional, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people; there is often feelings of guilt for non-Indigenous people and anger and pain for Indigenous learners.  All students will need to be supported through the often difficult feelings that may arise as part of this activity as it can be very difficult not to have one’s understanding of oneself - one’s identity(s) - affirmed or recognized by others.  Lastly, this activity connects with physical learners as students are required to present publicly on their infographic and to share their ideas with their fellow students and teacher.

The purpose of this activity is consolidation towards the end of the lesson. This activity encourages students to engage in important dialogue surrounding the topics they’ve learned. This lesson also allows for student choice and creativity should they want that.

Now that students have learned and engaged with important topics throughout this lesson, it’s time for them to get creative about how they would like to present a conversation about what has stood out to them. This actvity provides students with choice and creativity. Allow students the choice of working with a partner for a conversation-type dialogue, or independently for a reflection dialogue.

Instruct students to choose a topic that has stood out to them in this lesson. If students are working with a partner, have them present a conversation around the topic through a variety of ways such as: a podcast episode, a YouTube video, or a talk show set up, etc. If students are working independently, have them present a reflection piece around the topic through a variety of ways such as: a Tik Tok video, YouTube video, Podcast episode, etc.

Materials: 

• Computer or phone
• White board or smartboard

Apps that would help with this activity:

• Computer or smartphone
• Google accounts
• Canva, video maker or iMovie
• Social media accounts
• Voice memos on smartphone
• Quicktime player on computer

Creatively documenting a conversation with a fellow student and/or a personal reflection on one or more of the topics covered in this lesson plan connects with intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical learners.  Intellectually, it encourages the teacher and students to consider multiple points of views relating to the key characteristics of Indigenous – Settler Political Relations in Canada that resonate most with them.  This activity further connects with spiritual and emotional learners in that it requires student to fully consider the many relationships -  including their own relationship positionality-- which form the basis of Indigenous – Settler relations in Canada as part of their consolidation of the lesson plan content.   Moreover, in working to consolidate the lesson plan content through the documentation of an important conversation or personal reflection, the violent processes of colonization in Canada can lead to strong emotional reactions for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people; there is often feelings of guilt for non-Indigenous people and anger and pain for Indigenous learners associated with this material.  All students will need to be supported through the often difficult feelings which may arise as part of this activity as it can be very difficult to not have one’s understanding of oneself  -- one’s identity(s)—affirmed or recognized by others.  And lastly, this activity connects with physical learners as students are required to creatively document their conversation and/or personal reflection.