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While all Canadians have a role in reconciliation with First Nations, educators in this country have been .  In conversations with our education customers, we hear how urgently they want to tackle this challenge. But overcoming more than a century of disparity and discrimination is intimidating. Many districts simply don’t know where to start.  is the first school board in British Columbia to begin the reconciliation process. Ted Cadwallader is leading their innovative approach. We sat down to discuss what he’s learned from decades of working to create equity in the classroom. 

When Ted Cadwallader began seeing students who couldn鈥檛 read arriving in his Grade 6 classroom, he started asking some questions.

鈥淚nvariably the large proportion of those kids were First Nations,鈥� Cadwallader says. 鈥淲hen I checked, they hadn鈥檛 missed school. They came from good families. They had good community support. And they couldn鈥檛 read. Then it occurred to me that the problem might not be with those students. It might be with me and the system I worked in.

鈥淪o, I embarked on getting myself up to speed on how to change a large-scale system to better support kids of Indigenous ancestry.鈥�

The business of society building

Cadwallader comes from Fort Rupert, a small First Nations reserve on the north end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He taught elementary school for 17 years before leaving the classroom to work on changing the education system.

His mission has taken him far. After years in district administration, Cadwallader joined the provincial public service as British Columbia鈥檚 Field Director for Aboriginal Education. He went on to serve as the province鈥檚 Director of Aboriginal Education before recently taking on his new role as District Principal of Aboriginal Education at Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS).

Between his time in the classroom and his new role at NLPS, Cadwallader says the landscape for Indigenous people in Canadian schools has shifted significantly.

“What do we do as a generally non-indigenous organization to behave in a reconciliatory way? How do we go about getting guidance from indigenous people to do that, rather than asking them to do it for us?鈥�

Along with progress made by people on the ground across the country, the and Canada鈥檚 have raised the profile of Indigenous rights in Canada. These resolutions have put the spotlight on schools as vital places for making change and doing some heavy lifting on reconciliation.

鈥淲e (school districts) are in the business of society-building,鈥� Cadwallader says. 鈥淎ll our students are going to be the adults of tomorrow. It鈥檚 incumbent upon us to give them the best possible information and skill sets to go out into the world. That includes how they can play a role in reconciliation.

鈥淪o, it becomes incumbent upon us to define for ourselves what that is. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e in the midst of right now. What do we do as a generally non-indigenous organization to behave in a reconciliatory way? How do we go about getting guidance from indigenous people to do that, rather than asking them to do it for us?鈥�

Moving down the right path

Cadwallader says educators will only find answers to these questions through authentic engagement with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. Doing that is proving to be a significant hurdle. 

He uses NLPS as an example:

鈥淲e sit on the traditional territory of three First Nations,鈥� Cadwallader shares. 鈥淲e serve a large enrollment of M茅tis and their families. We have people of Indigenous ancestry from all across the province and country who attend school here. How do I best seek authentic advice and direction from them? How do I go with an open heart and mind to engage those communities and ask the right questions about what it is they think I should be doing?

鈥淲e鈥檝e got tools we鈥檙e very familiar with in school districts like surveys and focus groups. Often, with those, the questions and the process aren鈥檛 right to really get to it.鈥�

“Engagement means we have a relationship with each other and we鈥檙e going to walk down a path together. We鈥檙e going to work together as equals in a respectful conversation.”

Cadwallader says previous consultation attempts by governments have made engaging First Nations harder. Elected leaders have asked them for feedback and then failed to act on what people said.

鈥淚t means the government has gone through the motions of what they think is consultation and engagement,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd they can say in a report that they consulted and engaged with Indigenous communities to come up with plans. But, engagement is different. Engagement means we have a relationship with each other and we鈥檙e going to walk down a path together. We鈥檙e going to work together as equals in a respectful conversation.

鈥淪o, part of the challenge is re-establishing a trusting relationship with people who speak on behalf of Indigenous communities. Then, after we have that trust in place, it鈥檚 moving forward by keeping our attention focused on students and making sure we鈥檙e moving down the right path.鈥�

Keep senior leaders on the front edge

When asked what advice he would give other school district leaders on approaching the topic of reconciliation in their community, Cadwallader hesitates.

鈥淚 hardly ever give advice,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 usually start with questions. We get into a conversation and share what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�

However, he chooses to pass on some of what he has learned.

鈥淚f your district is serious about reconciliation, it鈥檚 vital to have your board chairs, your superintendent, your assistant superintendents to be on the front edge of that. Then it stands a more likely chance of getting integrated into the business of the district.鈥�

鈥淭he presence of your senior leaders鈥攖o have them seen taking action鈥攊s vital to the success of large-scale systems change around reconciliation,鈥� Cadwallader explains. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have that, then you鈥檙e just working in pockets and it becomes person-dependent. When that person鈥檚 no longer there or doesn鈥檛 have the energy, then the initiative fails.

鈥淚f your district is serious about reconciliation, it鈥檚 vital to have your board chairs, your superintendent, your assistant superintendents to be on the front edge of that. Then it stands a more likely chance of getting integrated into the business of the district.鈥�

Cadwallader adds that districts should also ensure they properly allocate funds for reconciliation efforts.

鈥淟ots of times reconciliation efforts are based on funding that comes to districts to increase the success of aboriginal students,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f that鈥檚 the money being used, it鈥檚 not really reconciliation. That鈥檚 targeted funding to increase results for Aboriginal students, not for non-Indigenous systems to engage in reconciliation.鈥�

Not taking no for an answer

When he first left the classroom, Cadwallader set himself to addressing some of the most fundamental challenges facing his Indigenous Grade 6 students.

鈥淭hrough all of that, there was systemic racism and overt racism,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here were resources that didn鈥檛 reflect Indigenous history or families or current realities. There were large gaps in the education system. I got to embark on an overhaul of the provincial curriculum at that time to make sure Indigenous content was part of it.鈥�

When he started in his new role at NLPS in September, Cadwallader got a lens through which he could see the progress made in the nearly 20 years since he embarked on his mission. He鈥檚 excited by the initiatives happening in the district.

“We鈥檙e actually digging into it and turning a mirror on ourselves. We鈥檙e finding out what we鈥檙e doing that鈥檚 working and what we aren鈥檛 doing that could.”

The NLPS board of trustees is working on a policy to guide the district鈥檚 approach to reconciliation, one of the first of its kind in British Columbia. At the same time, a group of non-Indigenous high school students has organized a commission to take their own steps toward reconciliation. On regularly scheduled Monday nights during the school year, senior administrators are taking classes in the Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um’ (Coast Salish) language.

Cadwallader points to the district鈥檚 as a reference for the various other reconciliation projects NLPS has undertaken.

鈥淟anding here, it was quite refreshing to see what the district had done,鈥� Cadwallader shares. 鈥淥ur current leadership, from our board to senior management is just as curious as I am about what we鈥檙e doing and why we might or might not be meeting with the results we think we should.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not taking no for an answer. We鈥檙e actually digging into it and turning a mirror on ourselves. We鈥檙e finding out what we鈥檙e doing that鈥檚 working and what we aren鈥檛 doing that could.鈥�