2 class periods
day One options (choose one):
Activity A: Colonization Road
Students take notes with a graphic organizer based on different ideas in the film. After watching, students take a closer look at four important quotes from the film and discuss or write their answers to a series of 10 questions. Depending on time and classroom dynamics, students can discuss (in small groups or with partners) before a whole-class discussion and/or write answers (independently or with partners) before discussion.
Activity 1: Canada's History of Colonialism
In this activity, students will explore the perception that many Canadians hold (including former Prime Minister Stephen Harper) that Canada has “no history of colonialism”.
Activity 2: “Squarely on our feet”: Settler Colonialism
This activity helps students understand the ways in which settler colonialism continues to be an ongoing issue in Canada. Since many students may view colonization as something that happened a long time ago, they may feel like they have no part in it (especially if their families have only been in Canada for a few generations).
day two
Activity 7: “We want to be who we are”: Culture and Assimilation
Using one quote from Sir John A. Macdonald and a series of others from the film, this activity asks students to examine the reasons for and effects of cultural assimilation while also considering some future ways forward.
