Chatting with Rebekah Goertzen: Honoring Truth with Ongoing Commitment

Reconciliation isn't a one-day event—it's a continuous journey of relationship building that extends far beyond September 30th. This thoughtful conversation with Rebecca Goertzen, Inclusive Education Consultant at Central Quebec School Board, and member of the Anishinaabe Nation, explores the complexities educators face when honoring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Quebec schools.

During our conversation, Rebecca talks about a cultural exchange project that took place last year between Quebec City students and Jimmy Sandy Memorial School in Kawawachikamach. This project created lasting connections between communities and demonstrated reconciliation in action. Through immersive experiences, such as language classes, cultural teachings from elders, and shared activities, students built relationships that transcended the program itself, demonstrating how thoughtfully designed initiatives can create ripples of understanding that extend far beyond classroom walls.

You can listen now to gain insights that will help your educational practice and deepen connections with the diverse communities that make up Quebec.

Interested in the free Truth and Reconciliation course that Rebekah and Drew Wapachee McDougall created? Visit the LEARN Moodle platform for more information!

Transcript

Introduction to Hello Quay

Stacy 0:07

Welcome to Hello Kwey . Let's Talk Education , a podcast where Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices from across Quebec come together to share knowledge and experiences related to education . In each episode , you'll encounter new perspectives that we hope will enrich your practice and deepen your connection to your communities . In this episode , Daphna and I will meet with Rebekah Goertzen from Central Quebec School Board . We will talk about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and how schools can honour this commitment to truth and reconciliation throughout the school year . So , hi everyone , Thank you for joining us for another episode . We are here with the lovely Rebecca . Rebecca could you introduce yourself a bit and tell us a bit about the work you're doing at Central Quebec ?

Truth and Reconciliation Day Challenges

Rebekah 1:04

Sure . So my name is and I am the Inclusive Education Consultant supporting modified programs and Indigenous student support at the Central Quebec School Board .

Stacy 1:17

So , Rebecca , I've had the amazing privilege of working with you a bit over the past few years and every time I talk to you I am super inspired . And I'm just thinking it's September and I have a lot of teachers that reach out , or I see a lot on my Facebook , my Instagram , that they want to honor the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in their schools and they're not sure how they can do that in a good way and I'm wondering if you have any tips , suggestions or ideas for them .

Rebekah 1:48

Sure , this is something I just gave a professional development workshop for my school board , so I have lots to talk about . I'll try and keep it short . So in Quebec it's really complicated for finding activities and honoring such a solemn day because it's very similar in feeling to like November 11th , when we honor fallen soldiers and victims of war . In the same regard , this is a solemn day . So in other provinces it's technically a vacation day , in the same way that Remembrance Day is , but for us we don't have that .

Rebekah 2:23

In Quebec it's not recognized as a national holiday or provincial holiday .

Rebekah 2:28

So we're at work , we're in schools and it's also attendance day . So we have this conflicting message in schools where we're trying to get as many kids to be in attendance that day as possible and I've seen bouncy castles and barbecues and you know , face painting and stuff on this day when it's supposed to be a solemn day of remembrance . It's very conflicting for people , especially if we want to kind of do this topic justice in a way that is respectful , and we can't do that when there's a celebration happening in the rest of the school . But there are 364 other days that we can work on , including this topic and making sure we have representation for Indigenous perspectives on our classroom walls , in the materials we present and in the activities we present and in the activities we teach to our students . So , while I'm not expecting teachers to go out on September 30th , because it's a very busy day , think of the long-term picture is what I would suggest

Resources for Year-Round Indigenous Education

Rebekah 3:41

. There are many other days that you can work on , including this topic . It should not just be one day .

Stacy 3:49

I love your stress on commitment to action throughout the year , because I see a lot of times that schools and educators do a lot for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation , but then that follow-through in that continual commitment throughout the year is really where change , I think , and acknowledgement happens . I'm wondering are there any other days of significance that you can think of , or festivals and events that schools could honor ?

Rebekah 4:21

Well , there are a lot of other days of recognition throughout the year . Honor Well , there are a lot of other days of recognition throughout the year . One great resource is actually the calendar you get if you sign up to be a legacy school through the Gordown and Chani Wendak Foundation . They send you a calendar and it has a lot of different days of remembrance and days of significance for Indigenous communities , such as like Rock your Mock Days or Ribbon Skirt Day , missing and Murdered Indigenous Women , girls and Two-Spirited Peoples Day . Things like that are on this calendar and it's sent free to educators . When they sign up to be a legacy school , they have a huge kit that's sent to them , including books , flags , other resources , access to lesson plans . So I recommend educators check that out . It's a great tool .

Stacy 5:06

I love that you mentioned the Gord Downey Wenjack Fund Legacy School Program because I am a huge fan of all their resources and I recently found out that every teacher in a school can sign up to get that kit . So it's not like one principal or you know a colleague had signed it for the school . You can each individually sign up and get a kit with a ton of different resources .

Rebekah 5:32

And I actually recommend teachers sign up and have it shipped to their home address Because if , for example , you're on contract and you might not be at the same school next year , you'll still receive your kit to be able to use wherever you're teaching the following year .

Stacy 5:48

That's great and I like they have a lot of resources and webinars too . I noticed on celebrating different Indigenous cultures and arts , because I think sometimes when we talk about truth and reconciliation , sometimes there's a focus

Cultural Exchange Project Success Story

Stacy 6:05

on the trauma , when it's so important for schools to also bring in those pieces of celebration and appreciation for the 11 nations in Quebec .

Rebekah 6:15

Absolutely . I really love that you mentioned this , because I've said this so many times that this truth and reconciliation in residential schools and in day schools is just one aspect and it's something that happened to us , but it's not about us and it's as indigenous people . You're not learning about us by learning just an event that happened to us . And reconciliation is about repairing a relationship and getting to know each other and live together as neighbors on a shared land . And what better way to do that than by learning more about us as people , what we believe in , what we celebrate , our perspectives , and come join us in cultural activities in the community , like through local Indigenous nations , if you're close to a specific nation , or friendship centers .

Stacy 7:27

I love that you mentioned that Indigenous tours in Quebec because they have a ton of different resources and it's incredible some of the activities that are in some of the communities across Quebec I know you mentioned about , like the importance of getting to know , like your local Indigenous community and the nations and communities that are around you . Do you have any like key resources for an educator who might just be beginning that they could check out ?

Rebekah 7:54

Yeah , so Voices from the Land is a great website , or Voix de Terreffetoir from the First Nations Education . It's a council or committee . I can never remember the city . Anyway , they have created this amazing resource and it has all of information from the 11 different nations in Quebec . And if you are looking for a specific resource , you can even go to their contact page and they can connect you with someone local too .

Stacy 8:19

I'm thinking about PD that teachers and consultants could do , and we had worked together with Drew Apache McDougall on a truth and reconciliation course . I was wondering if you could just kind of give a quick snippet of some of the content in that course for teachers that might be listening .

Rebekah 8:37

Sure , yeah . So the Moodle takes about four-ish hours to do .

Stacy 8:42

There's four different sections and each one has a different aspect of Indigenous perspective and history and things we can do to come together as neighbours and we've kind of focused on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation , but I'm kind of curious if there's any cool projects that you're working on this year , because I know last year you took a group of students , I think , on a trip . Yeah .

Rebekah 9:07

So last year we did , and it was , we almost became second place for an award for this Second place . Okay , we did this huge cultural exchange project where we took Sec 4 and Sec 5 students from three different English high schools in Quebec City up to our Nisgapi school in Kawashikamesh for a four-day trip there and the students were immersed in school life . They were taking classes with Nisgapi students . So they were going to Nisgapi language and culture classes . They were going in and reading to younger kids . They were going in and reading to younger kids . We had a karaoke night and we hosted a supper . We did events out on the land where they actually one of the nights they slept out in traditional prospector tents on a cultural site there and I stayed the night with elders teaching them Nisgapi culture , traditional medicines and what it means to be educated on the land . So we are very thankful that Elder Mike Sandy was there to help teach that and lead that , along with several other people that I can't think of off the top of my head . But Loretta Robinson was my key collaborator in planning this event and it was just a wonderful experience . We're hoping , should we have funding this year , to do part two of that project and have the Nisgapi students come down to Quebec City and be hosted by our English high schools here to see what it means to go to school in a big city .

Rebekah 10:34

Because the reality is many of our Nisgapi students , for some reason or another , end up coming to school in Quebec City , whether it's because their parent is receiving medical treatment , going back to school for higher education , or they're here for work .

Rebekah 10:49

There are plenty of reasons why they would sometimes come down here for a period of time to live and to help make it less of a transition for them , to see what it's like to live here , to give them tools and resources should they come here , like how to use a transit , going to the adult education center , coming to class at the high school , taking them on cultural trips , like to go pick apples local farm here , because that's not really something that's , up north , available to them .

Rebekah 11:17

So , just seeing the other perspective and it was such an impactful thing for us to do last year , this phase one of the trip we actually had some students who were from Jenny Sandy Memorial School and they were here for a very serious medical procedure and the day before I actually went to go find the students they had met at Quebec High School just to try and connect with somebody and feel like they had a safe place here in Quebec City . So the day before her surgery she came and just walked into the school , found the resource teacher who was on the trip with us . We recognized him and , you know , hung out for the day and playing basketball with the kids they had met on the trip with us . We recognized and , and you know , hung out for the day and playing basketball with the kids they had met on the trip . So it was random but a beautiful example of what it means to build relationships and reconciliation and the impact long term that these projects , these types of project , when planned well , can have on a community .

Stacy 12:16

I think that's story you're sharing is beautiful , like just the relationships that are built from an event like that at school and the fact that that student could have came to you know Quebec City and knew somebody there and could feel just like having a relation there . She wasn't alone .

Rebekah 12:37

You know she had someone she could reach out to for support and , you know , to be friends like , and that was the intention . That was actually beyond my wildest dreams that this could have had the impact that it did my original goal when we planned this trip , we hand-selected the students from Quebec City to go on these trips Kids who were in positions of leadership in their school communities , who are looking to you know , who will probably more likely in their adult life have positions of leadership in the community , so that we can create a bigger ripple effect , and I hope both sides would equally benefit from this opportunity , and I just didn't expect it to happen so soon .

Stacy 13:27

Well , I'm just even thinking about the power of that exchange project like that a student now , example , if they want to go to Sejep , you know , and they're coming from a northern community that kind of an exchange project where they at least get a week or so to experience what life is like in a big city , yeah , like how to use the transit , how to , you know , go buy things from the store and use the self-checkout .

Rebekah 13:53

Things like that I would take for granted , that are just normal here , they've never experienced there . So we're hoping we'll be able relationships

Indigenous Student Success and Identity

Rebekah 14:14

that often schools have with Indigenous people . I'm going to pay you to come in and give a speech and then that's it . Or like , give a talk or show us something , come do a dance . It's performative . We want to get away from that and building something more meaningful and long lasting .

Stacy 14:30

Beautiful . I love that . I love that you touched on reciprocity and relationships .

Daphna 14:41

And Daphna , did you have any questions or anything to add ? She's putting me on the spot . No , I'm just . I'm thinking in school by school , you know , and how we can , you know , support , you know , any projects or actions towards increasing the student success rate , you know , etc . You know , and academic outcomes . So I don't know if you had anything to say about that anything to say about that ?

Rebekah 15:14

So yeah , so during my master's research I looked at how other colonized peoples across the world have tackled this challenge of increasing student success in education for their communities , and I looked at the Sami communities in certain Scandinavian countries like Sweden , norway and Finland I believe are the three where the Sami communities in certain Scandinavian countries like Sweden , norway and Finland I believe are the three where the Sami communities live and their way of tackling this was to create a Sami immersion program where the students have a greater access to language and culture and schools to revitalize their languages and cultural traditions but also reinforce their sense of identity . And our school board has collaborated with certain research projects from McGill University regarding Indigenous student success and that research showed that when students have a stronger sense of cultural identity and ties to their language and people , they have more success in their life in a multitude of facets . So not just education but , like you know , mental health and social , emotional well-being . So I think that perspective of inclusion , not just making them feel welcome . But where do Indigenous kids see themselves represented in our education systems ?

Rebekah 16:35

We talk about residential schools , especially for September 30th , but in reality the school system's approach to educating Indigenous kids has not changed much . We're still forcing Indigenous students to assimilate to European languages and European , white , european , christian norms culturally . So it's like being a foreign person in your own territory , because you're not . You're no longer the majority of the population , because you're no longer the majority of the population . So we're still expecting these Indigenous students to assimilate . We're still expecting them to assimilate and change themselves to fit the standard norms , and this is a wrong way of going about it . We need to Indigenize or anti-colonize our approach . Do kids , indigenous kids see themselves represented in the artwork in the classrooms , in the way the schools are , the school is designed , the shapes of it , like ? If you look at architecture of schools , in the Cree school board , for example and how they are created ? I remember the new elementary school in Shesasabe . The elementary school had this round .