Have A Heart Day on Parliament Hill

Have a Heart Day is an annual youth-led reconciliation event to bring attention to the funding gap for on-reserve schools and services for First Nation children. In this integrated Social Studies-Language Arts lesson, Grade 3 students explore contemporary issues facing First Nations communities in Ontario and learn first hand, how young people can participate in the shaping of society. The focal point of the lesson is on the campaign for Shannen’s Dream - which has been called the largest youth-led children’s right movement in Canadian history. Students will learn about Shannen Koostachin, a young Cree girl from the Attawapiskat First Nation, and her fight to get a new school. Students will learn about the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s finding that the federal government is racially discriminating against First Nations children; they will write informed letters on the topic to the Prime Minister, and will attend the Have a Heart Day event on Parliament Hill.

This lesson plan has been developed based on the work of Danielle Fontaine, a teacher at the Lady Evelyn Alternative School in Ottawa. Over the years she has been deeply involved in the Shannen’s Dream campaign and has spoken to me about how she teaches this lesson. Have a Heart Day is an annual event at the Lady Evelyn school; most classes make the field trip to Parliament Hill with a large cohort of parents. The school views this event as a time to teach about reconciliation and our responsibilities toward aboriginal communities in Canada, as well as a prime opportunity to engage students in civics education. I have supplemented Danielle’s directives with resources gathered from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.