Education as Reconciliation?: Unpacking the Relationship between Non-Indigenous Canadian/Indigenous Reconciliation and Ontario Secondary School Canadian History Textbooks

Abstract

At the present moment, Canada is at a crossroads. Canada claims to be promoting the restoration of non-Indigenous Canadian/Indigenous relations in an effort to heal from the trauma of its settler colonial past (while limiting recognition of the present consequences of this history). This project, guided by a decolonizing framework, conducts a content analysis of four Canadian history textbooks published for Ontario high schools from 2000-2014 and the associated Canadian history curriculum guidelines for grades nine/ten and eleven/twelve students from 2000-2018. I ask if these history textbooks supported by the Ontario Ministry of Education facilitate students to be interested in reconciliation efforts, particularly looking the attitudes towards Indigenous peoples and the ways various settler colonial events are explained. This research has shown that the Canadian history textbooks used in conjunction with these curricula act as both an encouragement and discouragement to reconciliation through both the content that is taught (or not) and the language used surroundings the subjects covered. As these textbooks and curricula evolve and reflect more of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, particularly Calls 62-65, there appears to be greater opportunities for students to discuss Indigenous issues, their roles in these issues, and ultimately, their roles and responsibilities in reconciliation.