"If we want future generations to tell a different story, we have to teach them differently today."

It was never my life plan to write curriculum. I had completed curriculum writing during my years with the Lung Association. Still, I never imagined I would find myself creating lessons for Christian schools or children's ministries. It certainly wasn't on my bingo card.

What I really wanted was for adults to care.

I have seen firsthand the harm colonial policies have caused. My own family was deeply affected by the Indian Act, and its effects continue to ripple through our lives today. I have also discovered that the idea of being both Indigenous and Christian is still difficult for many people to accept. For some, those identities seem impossible to hold together.

For years I spoke in churches about Indigenous history, reconciliation, and the church's role in both. Some people listened. Some leaned in. But many were hesitant. Some questioned whether reconciliation was still necessary. Others preferred not to revisit painful chapters of Canada's history.

Eventually I found myself asking a different question.

If adults are reluctant to learn, where do we begin?

The answer surprised me.

We begin with children.

I had been invited to speak to our local GEMS club during the Attawapiskat youth suicide crisis. I later returned to help the girls learn about Orange Shirt Day. I also had opportunities to speak with students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 in a local Christian school.

Every time I left, I was encouraged.

Children ask honest questions. They are curious. Compassion comes naturally to them. They don't arrive carrying decades of defensiveness or political assumptions. They simply want to know what happened, why it happened, and how they can respond with kindness and justice.

Those experiences led me to begin developing an Orange Shirt Day badge for GEMS.

Around the same time, Christian school teachers were asking if Indigenous Ministries had resources they could use to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day from a distinctly Christian perspective. What began as a single lesson soon grew into a Kindergarten through Grade 12 curriculum that will be shared with schools this fall.

A few weeks ago, while attending the British Columbia Elders Conference, I was reminded why this work matters. During one conversation, an Elder told me about starting kindergarten with all of her siblings. Not because they were all the same age. She was nine years old. Some siblings were older. Some were younger. They all started school together because, until then, it wasn't safe for them to attend. Had they gone earlier, Indian Agents might have taken them to residential school or their family feared they could be swept into the Sixties Scoop. On days when the Indian Agents were known to be in the community, the children literally hid inside the walls of their grandparents' home. The wall panelling was removed, the children stood quietly between the studs, and the panelling was replaced until it was safe to come out.

This wasn't the 1870s. It wasn't the early 1900s. It was 1970.

That conversation stayed with me. The effects of residential schools are not ancient history.

They are living memories. That is why this curriculum matters.

Truth and Reconciliation Day is not about making children feel guilty.

It is about helping them become people who love truth, pursue justice, and recognize Christ in their neighbours.

If we hope the next generation will tell a different story than previous generations, then we must teach them differently.

One day, today's students will become teachers, parents, Elders, pastors, church leaders. They will become the ancestors someone else remembers. My prayer is these students inherit both the truth of our shared history and the hope found in Christ's reconciling love.

• I hope a Grade 2 student learns that every child is created in the image of God.
• I hope a Grade 7 student begins asking honest questions.
• I hope a Grade 12 student discovers that reconciliation is not about blame, but about relationships.
• And I hope churches discover that Truth and Reconciliation Day can become more than a date on the calendar. It can become an opportunity to tell the truth, nurture compassion, and point children toward the reconciling work of Christ.

Because perhaps that is where reconciliation truly begins—not only by changing minds, but by shaping hearts while they are still young.

If we want future generations to tell a different story, we have to teach them differently today. We become better ancestors by telling children the truth and helping them inherit both history and hope.

Explore the Resource:

The complete, free Orange Shirt Day curriculum is available online through Indigenous Ministry. Consider sharing it with your local school teachers, children’s ministry leaders, or fellow parents.