I love this video!
The young people in it start from a basic truth – the forerunners of the current Canadian government made treaties with the indigenous people already living on the land. This makes us all treaty people.
“As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the wind blows.”
The youth in the video recognize that there is racism in this great land, but they don’t beat themselves up: they want to move forward.
“Learning about treaties is the first step to getting rid of racism,” one says.
“Why didn’t I know this?” they ask. “We’ve got lots to learn.”
It is amazing that this is not already being taught in school, because if we’re going to start closing the divide between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians, we have to educate our children.
Mandatory treaty education in the province of Saskatchewan is a great step.