FEATURE
Awards
OECTA’s past presidents, along with the Provincial Executive and more than 800 guests, attended the Annual Dinner, where six individuals were honoured for their contributions to the Association, Catholic education, the teaching profession, and the labour movement.
LOUIS CLAUSI
DAN MALTAIS
MICHAEL MONK
VICTORIA HUNT
JEREMY COX
IHOR BACZYNSKY
LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARDS
MARION TYRELL MEMORIAL AWARD OF MERIT
PEARSE SHANNON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION SERVICE AWARD
Ihor Baczynsky, Jeremy Cox, Victoria Hunt, and Michael Monk
Louis Clausi
Dan Maltais
Life memberships are granted to former active members who have given distinguished service at the provincial level or for their local unit. These members have devoted their professional lives with generosity and dedication to the service of Catholic education in Ontario.
The Marion Tyrell Memorial Award of Merit honours an OECTA member who has made an outstanding contribution to education in Catholic schools or to the Association.
The Pearse Shannon Memorial Association Service Award honours an OECTA current or past president, or bargaining unit president who has made an outstanding contribution to the Association.
HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS The Human Rights Caucus set the tone for a fantastic AGM. We were privileged to share in the knowledge and perspectives of an incredible group of Indigenous women panellists: Riley Yesno, Tesa Fiddler, Marina Westbrook, and Elaine Kicksnoway. Riley Yesno is an Anishinaabe Indigenous youth advocate and student at the University of Toronto; Tesa Fiddler is an Anishinaabe Indigenous Education Resource Teacher with the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board; Marina Westbrook is an Anishinaabe First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education teacher; and Elaine Kicknosway is a Cree Sixties Scoop survivor and co-founder of the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network. The four women began by discussing their own experiences, heritage, and the paths that led them to become educators, advocates, and activists. This formed the groundwork for an exploration of a wide range of Indigenous issues – identity, language, at-risk Indigenous youth, access to services, and Indigenous ways of knowledge and learning.
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The panellists also discussed the work teachers can and should be doing to support Indigenous youth and the teaching of Indigenous education. “There’s a lot of education that needs to happen among those who are given the privilege to provide those services,” Elaine Kicknosway told attendees. Marina Westbrook added, “Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and learning are valuable and rich and should be part of how every child is taught. I think it’s the responsibility of all teachers to take that on.” However, Tesa Fiddler acknowledged that we are certainly going in the right direction. “The current [provincial] government is slowing down the work that needs to be done,” she said, “but I am excited for the future. There has been a shift.” Woven into this discussion was the importance of allyship. The panel spoke to attendees about what they think being an ally means, and offered advice and resources to support the work of an ally. You can find the Indigenous Ally Toolkit at ontariopresents.ca/ resources/indigenous-ally-toolkit.