Reconciliation as Relationship: Exploring Indigenous Cultures and Perspectives Through Stories

Responding to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, a non-Indigenous author and her coeducator embarked on a learning and research journey with 4-year-old children in a preschool program. The challenge for the educators was to make the experience meaningful to the children rather than handing down a set of information on Indigenous cultures and history. Through exploring Indigenous stories, both the educators and the children shared their wonderings and coconstructed the meanings of them. Developing authentic appreciation toward Indigenous cultures and values through the power of stories became a first step toward reconciliation.