Learning & Events

Below are 20 resources that middle and high school teachers can turn to when developing lesson plans related to the roles of Native American peoples in American history and contemporary life. These resources include online exhibitions at the Smithsonian; the Smithsonian’s Native Knowledge 360° Educational Initiative; the work of the Mitchell and Hood Museums; and the growing work of Facing History in these thematic areas.

In this conversation with Jasmine Wong—Senior Program Associate for Facing History Canada—she discusses her team’s groundbreaking work on their case study and curricular program Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools, including the wins and challenges her team has encountered while executing this work, and takeaways that educators can consider as they explore how to address settler colonialism in their own contexts.

Explore Canada’s restrictive immigration policies that led to the refusal to accept Jewish refugees from Europe during the years 1933–1948. Joined by Dr. Harold Troper, Jewish Canadian historian and author of None is Too Many: Canada And The Jews Of Europe 1933-1948, we will study how antisemitism contributed to these policies and helped define Canada’s universe of obligation. We will specifically examine how Canada turned away the MS St Louis, a ship carrying 937 Jewish refugees attempting to escape Nazi Germany. 

Explore the gendered nature of colonization and genocide in Canada, with particular reference to the histories of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirited and transgendered people. Drawing on the testimonies shared during the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, as well as traditional stories from Metis, Inuit and First Nations communities, Dr. Karine Duhamel explains the varied traditional roles of women in community, the particular gendered effects of so-called “blind” policies historically, and contemporary impacts on the safety and security of Indigenous individuals and families today.

Learn about the increasing number of hate crimes fueled by antisemitism in recent years in Canada, as well as examples of individuals, groups, and civic leaders standing up and speaking out against hate. Jeff McGuire, Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police will speak about the rising rates of Antisemitic hate crimes in Ontario and the ways that police units across Ontario are responding.  We will also explore the role of upstanders, and provide models for addressing hatred and intolerance for all of us to follow.

Delve into the testimonies and experiences of those who were part of the National Inquiry in Canada, both in the past and in the present, while maintaining the importance of intersectional and Indigenous-led storytelling in documenting genocide.

Learn ways to support students in discussions about identity and to invite their identities into classrooms. 

In this interactive, facilitated online course, participants join a virtual community to explore the history and legacies of Canada’s Residential Schools, using primary source texts, survivors’ personal testimonies and live online learning classes that will equip educators to better understand the devastating history and the long-lasting impact of the Indian Residential School system, as well as Indigenous communities’ historic and contemporary fight for a promised education.

This online course offers an approach, strategies and resources for teaching about the Holocaust today.

In this facilitated online course, we will explore the history and legacies of Canada’s Residential Schools using primary source texts, survivors’ personal testimonies and live online learning classes that will equip educators to better understand the devastating history and the long-lasting impact of the Residential School system, and how to teach about it.

In today’s global climate, the urgency of sustaining democratic societies that are pluralistic, open, and resilient to violence is more pressing than ever. Studying the Holocaust allows students to wrestle with profound moral questions raised by this history while fostering their skills in ethical and moral reasoning, critical analysis, empathy, and civic engagement - all of which are critical habits of mind for sustaining democracy.