‘I want them to leave and be good people’, says awarded high school teacher
Mi’kmaw leaders recognized “unsung heroes” for advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Islanders during an awards ceremony on Friday.
The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils gave four Reconciliation Recognition Awards to individuals and organizations for their education, cultural awareness and community-building efforts across P.E.I.
The awards, handed out every year since 2021, formed part of last week’s Indigenous Awareness Week activities.
“You forget how the things that you’re doing every day to make school a more inclusive place can have meaningful impacts on others in the community,” said Kelly Gallant, who received an award on behalf of the school goals committee at Kensington Intermediate Senior High School.
“Reconciliation is really important, not just to the Indigenous community but to everybody… To see how much it really means to the Indigenous community in P.E.I. was really powerful for us.”
Gallant said the school had been working to embed Indigenous education into the curriculum, teaching the Seven Sacred Teachings — traditional First Nations guiding principles — to students throughout the school year.
To Abegweit First Nation Chief Junior Gould, the awards provide an opportunity to share stories, acknowledge “unsung heroes” and show people what reconciliation is really about.
“It isn’t about a day. It isn’t about a mark on the calendar. It’s about changing the thought processes which brought us to today,” he said, describing the personal healing that can come through reconciliation.
“My father was a residential school survivor. I’ve only recently found out that I’ve inherited some of the generational trauma… Through educating people and being more engaged in a productive way, I can alleviate some of the other First Nation people by saying it’s OK to talk.”
Alongside Kensington Intermediate Senior High, this year’s awards recognized Geraldine Peters, for her work preserving Mi’kmaq family histories; Olive Crane, for her community-based, relationship-strengthening work within Abegweit First Nation; and Charity Becker, for her commitment to teaching at Charlottetown Rural High School.
“Sometimes as a teacher you don’t really know if what you’re doing is making a difference… A lot of my personal goals with my students is that I want them to leave and be good people,” said Becker, who has taught at Charlottetown Rural High School for 24 years.
“Even if it was just that one, it made a difference for somebody.”
Becker said she tries to teach her students to be open and accepting, and keeps a collection of books by Indigenous authors in her classroom.
She said the awards inspired her to keep learning and making connections with the Indigenous community in P.E.I.
Jenene Wooldridge, executive director of L’nuey, the P.E.I. Indigenous rights organization that hosts the awards, described the initiative as an opportunity to highlight non-Indigenous allies who contribute to reconciliation through education, advocacy and relationship-building.
“It’s amazing to see the unique ways that people bring their talents forward with regards to reconciliation, whether it’s through work they do, helping students, helping families reconnect with identity and ancestry,” Wooldridge told Island Morning host Mitch Cormier.
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