The history and effect of boarding schools throughout the US and Canada has left many indigenous communities torn apart. Participants will read an essay (2010), by Ojibwe member Theodore Fontaine, who was forcibly taken as a child and endured many hardships in a residential school in Canada. Afterwards, participants will have the opportunity to talk in small groups (break-out rooms) about how this reading affected them.

Instructor will read personal accounts of how current tribal members feel about the history of boarding schools and instructor will give another example of how teachers can discuss this difficult history with students by reading the children’s story, Stolen Words, by Melanie Forence.

The teacher emphasis is on acknowledging this history, not trying to make it better. As a result of listening closely as students share about their home lives and cultural beliefs, a teacher can create a more authentic bond with his/her tribal students and, if continued, students from all cultures will benefit in this focused interaction.

Cost: One hour presentation $350.
One-and-a-half-hour presentation: $500.