EDMONTON — Alberta students are to be taught about the horrors and the painful legacy of Indian residential schools.
The province has announced that all kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum will include mandatory content on the significance of residential schools and First Nation treaties.
Aboriginal Relations Minister Frank Oberle made the announcement Thursday to wild applause at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in Edmonton before hundreds of residential school survivors and their families.
“Starting with the youngest members of our society, Alberta commits to residential school survivors, their families and communities, that Albertans will hear your stories and know your truths,” he said.
Oberle said the pledge will help heal a sad and very painful wound.
The curriculum is to include the perspectives of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples living in Alberta.
People in the audience gave Oberle a standing ovation.
There were 25 residential schools in Alberta, more than any other province. The commission estimates there about 12,000 survivors in Alberta.