Decolonizing Indigenous Resources 

As part of our commitment to honouring the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, Surrey teacher librarians are embarking on an act of reconciliation by decolonizing Indigenous resources in our school libraries and elevating and centering authentic Indigenous authors and illustrators in the library collections. 

A committee of Surrey teacher librarians and helping teachers developed a locally focused classification system that both honours Indigenous people, stories and knowledge and increases ease of access to authentic resources.  Surrey teacher librarians will adopt this system to develop an Indigenous Peoples Collection, removing Indigenous resources from the current colonial structures of organization.   

The district, through Priority Practices, is supporting the growth of these collections by providing $1000 to each school library towards purchasing authentic Indigenous resources.  Visit your Library Learning Commons and connect with your teacher librarian to learn more and check out authentic Indigenous stories and knowledge! 

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action #63 (on page 11)  

We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues: 

i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.  

ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history.  

iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.  

iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.  

United Nations Declaration of Human Right for Indigenous Peoples: Article 31 

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions. 

2. In conjunction with indigenous peoples, States shall take effective measures to recognize and protect the exercise of these rights.