Truth and Reconciliation Week

Katie Freeland Community, Native Studies No Comments

September 30, as we know, is an important new federal holiday, now known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. But even before the establishment of the holiday, schools like ours were recognizing Orange Shirt Day. This year was no different in that respect, with numerous activities, both in classes and as a larger group, taking place that week in recognition of the painful legacy residential schools in Canada, in honour of the stories and voice of those impacted, and in hope for a better future born of “truth and reconciliation and justice.”

With our cross-curricular assemblies happening on Wednesdays this year, it was on the morning of September 28 that all high school students gathered together. Leading up to this, students from the Grade 9 Information and Communication Technology in Business class had made posters to advertise assembly and remind students to wear their orange shirts on Friday. On the Wednesday morning, students from three different classes — two Grade 11 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices English classes plus the Grade 10 FNMI history class —- contributed presentations.

The history students presented individual, thoughtful land acknowledgements that showcased their learning about the history of Toronto and the surrounding region, reflecting on their relationship to this land and drawing attention to the past, present, and future Indigenous presence where we live. The English students then presented on poems by Indigenous writers, or read their own poetic creations on the theme of truth and reconciliation, drawing lines and inspiration from what they have been reading. Following the student presentations, most students headed to their choice of rooms to learn more about one of several topics: language, expression, and identity; unequal access to basic services, including health and education, in First Nations communities; or Missing and Murdered Indigneous Women and Girls. After watching a short film highlighting the issue, students discussed and worked on posters that drew attention to several relevant Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. A smaller group spent their time making art for display or decorating t-shirts while listening to music from contemporary Indigenous artists.

But Wednesday’s assembly was not our only special event that week, as several classes headed down to the Indigenous Legacy Gathering at Nathan Phillips Square the next day. By the time students donned orange shirts on Friday, we trust that they did not feel it to be an empty or isolated gesture.

Of course, truth and reconciliation doesn’t end with September. As teachers and staff of non-Indigenous backgrounds, we know that our own learning must continue. At the same time, students in a range of courses will continue to have opportunities to learn about and from Indigenous issues and perspectives throughout the year. In fact, just the following Tuesday, a group of students took part in a two-hour Okichitaw martial art workshop with Indigneous knowledge keeper and Chief Instructor George Lepine. Come back to our blog for more about that exciting activity soon!

Cross Curricular Connections: Woodland Art Meets Ecology

Brydie Smith Native Studies, Science and Math No Comments


Last week two classes took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for walking field trips exploring Woodland art and Ecology.

The Indigenous studies class visited a mural by the woodland artist Philip Cote called The Original Family. After recording their descriptions of the mural, through audio notes and sketches, the class identified features of Woodland art, and learned about the history and significance of the art form. The class then sauntered over to Allan Gardens and applied their newfound knowledge to sketching native species in the woodland art style.

The science class is currently studying biology and we recently learned about the levels of ecology. We wanted to connect our learning to real life so we went on a mini adventure to identify levels of ecology in our own surroundings. We walked to Allen Gardens in order to observe the living organisms and non-living matter. We admired the scenery then categorized what we saw into either an organism, population, community, ecosystem or biosphere.

The science class and the Indigenous studies met up after they finished their respective activities and shared what they learned. As a final cross-curricular learning challenge the scientists identified the level of ecology of each species the artists had sketched.

Feast of Thanks Celebration

Katie Freeland Community, English and Humanities, Native Studies No Comments

Especially in a year when many people are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, a holiday like Thanksgiving can pose challenges to communities concerned with honouring Indigenous perspectives and with the process of reconciliation. Students of The YMCA Academy worked to meet such challenges in preparing for our Feast of Thanks.

Students from Katie’s Aboriginal Voices English class presented to the whole school their research and ideas on the Indigenous past and present of the Toronto area, as well as inquiring into the question of how to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in a way that is inclusive and respectful of Indigenous experiences and perspectives. Several students even read an original short story they had written collaboratively to further address these issues. With the potluck feast set up in the cafeteria, we were treated to foods ranging from savoury turkey and roasted vegetables to homemade donuts and pumpkin pie! Our thanks to the dozens of families that contributed.

As teachers committed to inclusiveness and other social justice principles, we cherish events like this as opportunities for diverse voices to be heard, and for our community to gather together in learning from and sharing with one another. And while students were most vocal in expressing their love of apple pie, they also expressed plenty of thanks for such opportunities, and a desire to learn more.

The Academy community is also thankful for the contributions of students from Brandon’s Drama class, who applied their developing knowledge of set design and props to set up the space for everyone, and to the Literacy class, who had created posters to advertise the event and then helped clean up afterwards.

Of course gratitude should never be confined to just one weekend, but we hope to see this particular tradition of learning, sharing, and thanks continue for years to come.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

Feast of Thanks

Katie Freeland Community, Healthy Living, Native Studies No Comments

On Tuesday, October 11th, the YMCA Academy community celebrated the school’s Feast of Thanks for the fifth year. With dozens of families contributing food — from savoury turkey and ham to delectable desserts — for the potluck feast, we gathered in the cafeteria at lunch, to hear and view presentations from students and from our special guest, and, of course, to feast.

Students from Katie’s Aboriginal Voices class presented to the whole school their research and ideas on the Indigenous past and present of the Toronto area, as well as inquiring into the question of how to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in a way that is inclusive and respectful of Indigenous experiences and perspectives. Meanwhile, Brandon’s Origins and Citizenship class contributed visual displays looking at Thanksgiving and related festivities from a newcomer point of view. As teachers committed to inclusiveness and other social justice principles, we cherish this event as an opportunity for diverse voices to be heard, and for our community to gather together in learning from and sharing with one another. And while students were most vocal in expressing their love of meat and homemade cookies, they also expressed plenty of thanks for such opportunities, and desires to learn more.

For the second time, we were fortunate and honoured to welcome Darlene King, who took time out of her busy day at the nearby Native Women’s Resource Centre to speak briefly to students about her own experiences, as well as to bless and open out feast. After thanking our students for their thoughtful presentations, Darlene spoke of her own background and the importance of learning about, and in some cases reconnecting with, Indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions. She also opened our feast with an Anishinaabe prayer, and then began it by preparing a “spirit plate,” a plate of food reserved to acknowledge our ancestors. Darlene would later take this food with her in order to return it to the earth.

The Academy community is also thankful for the contributions of students from the Literacy class, who helped set up on Tuesday and had created posters to advertise the event.

Of course gratitude should never be confined to just one weekend, but we look forward to seeing this particular tradition of learning, sharing, and thanks continue for years to come.

Check out more photos from this event on our Facebook page!

Exploring ancient stories of the night sky

Zareh Demirdji Community, Experiential Learning, Native Studies, Science and Math No Comments

Visitor to the YMCA Academy Astronomy class shares stories about constellations in the night sky.

Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. As long as humans have been able to look up at the sky, we have done so, wondering what our place is in the universe, where we came from, and how the universe itself came to be. Many (if not all) ancient civilizations have creation stories of how the universe came to be, and of constellations and celestial objects. As we started our new unit of Earth and Space exploration, we had the pleasure of having master orator Jim Adams share Aboriginal stories about celestial objects, constellations, and the universe as a whole.

We first heard a story about Sky Woman, which connected the Earth and the sky. Next, we heard about Atima and Atchaksuk, the dog and light/star respectively. Lastly, we heard three stories about constellations. The first story was one about a wolf which related to the little dipper. The second story was about Mista Muskwa (the big bear) which is commonly known as Ursa Major which has the Big Dipper as part of it. The last story was about the Pleiades constellation. By the end of the class, students were still thirsty for more stories. We may have to call in Jim again in order to appease the students’ desire to hear more Aboriginal stories.