Description

The Our Healing Journey Handbook com-plements the Manitoba Residential Schools: Resource Bundles for Nursery to Grade 12. The developers acknowledge the courage of the residential school survivors who share their stories as part of these two resources. All Canadians share the path of a healing journey as they hear and think about what happened to children who attended residential schools. Creating awareness of this histo-ry and its legacy is an important part of the healing process.

This handbook will help schools and classroom teachers prepare and plan for student well-being by providing information about the roots of histori-cal trauma and stress, their connections to current realities, and identifying ways to support students in their learning. The handbook includes exercis-es and activities for daily self-care and strategies for navigating the path of “our healing journey” in classrooms.

Educators can use this handbook as a guide when delivering instruction on residential schools. Exer-cises in the handbook are meant to assist students showing signs of distress while teaching this sensi-tive content. The exercises can be done individually or with the whole class. Learning about residential schools in Manitoba and across Canada is essen-tial for all Canadians but must be approached with tools to ensure wellness both inside and outside the classroom.