2. Book the Workshop
All PSI workshops must be booked at least three weeks prior to the date of training using the form below.
If you have an idea, special circumstance, or request, please contact psidworkshopbooking@bctf.ca to book Professional and Social Issues (PSI) workshops.
BC Blanket Exercise: Exploring Historical Relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples
(2-3 hours)
This experiential workshop will help participants understand how colonization of the land we now know as British Columbia and Canada has impacted the people who lived here long before settlers arrived. Through this exercise participants will explore the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, how this relationship has been damaged over the years, and how we can work toward reconciliation.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Deconstructing Myths
(90 minutes)
In this workshop participants are submerged into the depths of the mistruths that have made up the belief systems of mainstream Canada for far too long. Participants will be challenged to dig deeper through research, which must include historical documentation and oral testimony as opposed to acceptance of archaic misinformation and hidden fabricated narratives. In a commitment to the continuation of the work that teachers started with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, BCTF invites all teachers to join in the effort to seek truth through the deconstruction of myths in curriculum.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Disrupting Anti-Indigenous Racism
(90 minutes)
Anti-indigenous racism is the issue of our time. The history of colonization in Canada was based on stealing the Land and developing social-political attitudes that justified theft and abuse. COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to look squarely at the racism responsible for marginalizing First Nations, Métis and Inuit, residential schools, impoverished reserves, the Sixties-Millennial Scoops, boil-water advisories, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, environmental degradation, and more. The outrage we feel over the recent police killings of innocent young men and women are not new, but people everywhere are paying close attention and demanding justice. This workshop will explore this history and energize the movement to end the ongoing genocide.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Education for Truth and Reconciliation: Using the Aboriginal Lens
(3 hours)
This workshop will explore the seven “R” concepts of the Aboriginal Lens, help educators challenge the current Eurocentric practices that have silenced other ways of knowing and being, discover ways to apply the lens in a variety of circumstances, and highlight the importance of evolving our practices and demonstrating commitment to educating for reconciliation.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Employment Equity for Aboriginal Teachers Action Plan
(5 hours)
The Employment Equity for Aboriginal Teachers Action Plan workshop is a follow-up to the Introduction to Employment Equity for Aboriginal Teachers workshop. Participants will learn about facilitating discussion and problem-solving on the issues, and building an understanding of employment equity for Aboriginal teachers. This workshop provides locals with the tools to create an action plan.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Gladys We Never Knew Cross Curricular Lesson Modules for Secondary Schools
(3 hours)
Gladys Chapman, a student at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, died of tuberculosis at the age of 12. The spirit of Gladys is at the heart of this workshop that provides a cross-curricular module of lessons for teachers who want more ideas to help meet the ministry mandate of infusing Aboriginal content and perspectives at the secondary level. Like the intermediate module, participants will have the opportunity to engage with the activities and speak with the module developers. The goal of the session is to provide teachers with the resources, background, and support that will prepare them to take their students to a deeper level of truth and reconciliation education. This is a developing e-book resource.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Gladys: The Life of a Child in a BC Residential School
The short life and tragic death of a BC residential school student
An elementary and middle school teaching resource
(3 hours)
Somebody’s sister … somebody’s auntie … somebody’s daughter …
Designed for the intermediate grades, this teacher and student-friendly, ten-lesson module was written with the New BC Curriculum in mind. While learning about the true-life story of Gladys, a local Aboriginal girl from the Nlaka’pamux Nation in Spuzzum, BC, students are taken on a local, land and place-based journey of inquiry and ethical judgement. Students are encouraged to connect personally to Gladys as they work together to examine and evaluate a wide range of primary and secondary resources. The goal of this session is to provide teachers with the resources, background and support that will prepare them to take their students to a deeper level of truth and reconciliation education.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Indigenous Perspectives
(3 hours)
This workshop briefly examines key events in settler-Indigenous relations in Canada, raises awareness of the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous people, explores Indigenous perspectives on child rearing and education, and examines our assumptions and how they impact our educational practices and what should change.
Infusing Aboriginal Content and Perspectives (K-9)
(90 minutes)
While teachers express interest in incorporating more Aboriginal content in their classrooms, they are sometimes unsure of where to start and how to find authentic materials. This workshop is designed to create awareness around integrating Aboriginal perspectives and quality Aboriginal resources in the classroom through hands on activities.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Introduction to Employment Equity for Aboriginal Teachers
(3 hours)
The letter of understanding between the BCTF and the BC Public School Employers' Association was signed over 10 years ago yet Aboriginal teachers remain vastly under-represented in our public schools. We must redress this under-representation through well-established proactive employment practices. This new workshop will revisit the challenges we must confront to address equity for Aboriginal teachers.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Project of Heart
(90 minutes)
Project of Heart is an inquiry-based, hands-on, collaborative, intergenerational, artistic journey for seeking truth about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada. This teaching resource examines the history and legacy of Indian residential schools, commemorates the lives of the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result, and prepares students to engage in social justice activities that contribute to the developing truth and reconciliation movement.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Secret Path: Building Indigenous Allyship Honouring the Memory of Chanie Wenjak
(3 hours)
This workshop explores the story Secret Path, examines the role of an ally through Gord Downie’s contribution to Truth and Reconciliation, and investigates and applies the Principles of Allyship and the BCTF Actions of Indigenous Allyship.
Sixties Scoop
(90 minutes)
This workshop invites educators to open their hearts and minds to understanding the colonial impact of Canada’s history on Indigenous families and their children. Educators will be challenged to unlearn the history taught to them and relearn how to value the lives of Indigenous peoples. Educators will follow the lead of Indigenous educators who may be directly connected to the lived experience of the generations of ‘stolen children’.
This workshop is only available in-person.
Their Voices Will Guide Us
(90 minutes)
This workshop builds knowledge around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), while reviewing historic events leading up to the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls final report. Educational resources such as Their Voices Will Guide Us are introduced, as well as The REDress Project initiative.
This workshop is only available in-person.
215 Le Estcwicwéy: Honouring the Children buried at Kamloops Indian Residential School
(90 minutes)
This workshop brings together lessons and strategies for teachers to help students come to terms with the shocking evidence of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of Kamloops Residential School.
This workshop is only available in-person.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(90 minutes)
This workshop provides participants with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The BC Government passed Bill 41 last year as a means of acknowledging the need for governments to align policy with these important principles. Teachers will become acquainted with the document's history and explore the educational implications of Bill 41.
This workshop is only available in-person.