Beginning in September, students throughout Nova Scotia will hear about the deep-rooted connection the Mi’kmaq people have to the province.
“I think it’s a great thing as children, as young people are beginning to take a lot of pride in their culture and history,” Daniel Paul said, a Mi’kmaq Elder.
READ MORE: Halifax classrooms could acknowledge Mi’kmaq land in daily announcements
“So the statement will read; we acknowledge that we are in Mi’kma’ki, which is the traditional ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people,” Nancy Jakeman said, a HRSB member.
The idea for the statement was originally proposed by member Jennifer Raven in early spring.
READ MORE: National Aboriginal Day celebrated in Halifax
Paul believes increased education around the history of Indigenous people is the key to breaking down barriers and moving towards reconciliation.
“Curriculum’s are changing in schools, not only here in Nova Scotia but across Canada and the United States and people are beginning to learn the true history. Slowly but surely it’s getting there. It’s a matter of educating people and the educating is just getting underway in the last 20 years or so and it takes a long time to change attitudes and bring people on board,” Paul said.