This interview is part of a special series of the Teaching Canada's History podcast where we spoke with the finalists for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

After participating in an Indigenous-focused interdisciplinary class, students in Jennifer Maxwell’s class created real-world projects that could contribute to reconciliation. Throughout the course, students explored Indigenous contexts and histories, with topics about the legacy of colonial oppression including land claims (and the LANDBACK movement); Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit persons; the Sixties and Millennial Scoops; residential schools and day schools; the Indian Act; the Band Council system; and the reserve system. Students then researched and explored the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, specifically around the Calls to Action. Finally, for students to participate in their own act of reconciliation, they chose a topic, an audience, and a product to design to help their targeted audience engage in reconciliation.

To learn more about the Governor General's History Awards or to nominate a teacher in your community, visit CanadasHistory.ca/Awards.