André Boutin-Maloney was one of 15 teachers from across the country shortlisted for the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Co-teachers André Boutin-Maloney and Elizabeth Ingram worked with their grade 11-12 students to create Finding Common Ground: A Treaty Walk (& Roll) of Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Their work culminated in the development of a self-guided walk of Fort Qu'Appelle that encourages people to look at physical spaces in the community through a Treaty lens. "The students enjoyed seeing their community in a new way, and there was good learning happening, so we just chased it," Boutin-Maloney said. To see the tour, click here.
Boutin-Maloney was planning a mapping exercise for his outdoor education class and decided he wanted to include opportunities to learn about larger social issues. Building on the concept of Treaty Walking by fellow educator Sheena Koops, the team used mapping software to overlay information onto geographical points to show the community's shared Treaty history.
For example, one of the mapped locations is the Fort Qu'Appelle farmers market, which is situated on land owned by Starblanket First Nation. The information plotted on the map connected to this location describes how government policies had a negative impact on the ability of First Nations to prosper through agriculture. "There's a little bit of learning out there for all of us to understand that it's not just what we've been taught in schools, there's another side that we often don't hear about," he said.
This isn't the first time Boutin-Maloney has been nationally recognized for his innovative approach to teaching about issues related to Canada's Treaty history and reconciliation. Last year, he received the Award for Excellence in Teaching Economics for middle school teachers from the Bank of Canada Museum for an instructional game about the fur trade.
To find out more about the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching, and to see the other nominees, click here.