Ontario to introduce Indigenous curriculum content in early grades: Lecce
Published September 29, 2021 at 2:26 pm
TORONTO — Ontario is planning to add Indigenous learning to the social studies curriculum for grades 1 to 3.
The government says the social studies curriculum in grades 4 to 6 already includes Indigenous issues, as well does the history curriculum for grades 7, 8 and 10, including learning on residential schools in grades 8 and 10.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says that in September 2023, children in the earlier grades will learn about the role of family and resilience in First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities, their historical and contemporary realities, and the residential school system.
Lecce says the new curriculum elements are being developed with Indigenous partners, elders and knowledge holders.
The announcement comes a day before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
While the federal government has said Sept. 30 will be a statutory holiday in honour of the lost children and survivors of residential schools, Ontario has not made it a provincial statutory holiday.
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Lecce says it’s critical for the province’s two million children to be in school learning about reconciliation.
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