Upset and mortified: Sixties Scoop Society objects to education review committee appointment

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020 12:43pm

Image

Image Caption

Adam North Peigan

Summary

What is it going to take Premier for you to listen to the First Peoples and make significant changes in how you govern our province? — Adam North Peigan

An Open Letter to Premier Jason Kenney from the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta:

RE: Alberta Education Curriculum Review

The “Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta” (SSISA) is in receipt and has reviewed a CBC News article dated August 18th, 2020 regarding curriculum review of K – 4. Mr. Premier I can tell you that we are very upset and mortified that you would appoint Chris Champion to the committee that will oversee the review.

Chris Champion along with your speech writer Paul Bunner have a history of making public comments that only fuels racism towards the Indigenous people in Alberta and Canada. Chris Champion’s attitude that calls for the inclusion of First Nations perspectives in school lessons a FAD is absolutely ridiculous. Further, he writes that the KAIROS blanket exercise brainwashes children.  Furthermore, Mr. Champion recently published an article that casts doubt on the suffering of residential school survivors and he also questions the integrity of our elders. His perceptions of the Indigenous people have no place within our school curriculum.

Mr. Premier I do not know how you can continue to push an agenda that excludes the real truth of the history of Canada, it is completely absurd. A few weeks ago, Indigenous Leaders in Alberta called on the immediate removal of Paul Bunner as your speech writer and obviously our concerns continue to fall on deaf ears.

What is it going to take Premier for you to listen to the First Peoples and make significant changes in how you govern our province? We cannot deny the atrocities of the Residential School or the Sixties Scoop survivors. To pretend it never happened is unjust.