The spirit of inclusion ... helps some indigenous students feel more positive about their relationship with Canada.

One Toronto school is helping foster understanding, write Craig and Marc Kielburger.

Singing O Canada is a morning ritual familiar to every Canadian student. But at one Toronto school, they’ve added another tradition.

Recently, Craig and former prime minister Paul Martin visited Eastview Public School in Scarborough, Ont. They were ushered into the gym in time for assembly. The last note of the national anthem had barely finished when a student marched confidently up to the pair. From a pot in his hands came a sweetsmelling smoke, which he wafted over the visitors with a feather.

Students perform this traditional indigenous smudge ceremony every morning alongside the national anthem.

Eastview is, in small scale, a model and road map for national reconciliation. The school is taking cultural education beyond abstract facts to real understanding through experiential learning.

“Before I came to this school, I had no idea about the First Nations. It has made me more open to learn about other people,” says Maria Sethi, a Grade 8 student who has attended Eastview for three years.

One-third of Eastview’s 410 students identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis, says principal Kenneth Morden, while the rest come from other diverse backgrounds. Craig and Martin were there as part of the We Stand Together campaign, designed to build bridges between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples through classroom education (supported by the Martin Family Initiative).

Eastview’s commitment to integrating indigenous culture is evident throughout the school. Morning announcements recognize that the campus resides on six First Nations and Métis territories. (The entire Toronto School Board has adopted this honouring practice, but Eastview is proud to have been among the first.) Hallways and offices are decorated with indigenous art. In June, Eastview hosted a powwow with more than 2,000 attendees.

But integration goes much deeper than events and décor: It’s woven into the curriculum.

Both indigenous and nonindigenous students can choose to learn Ojibwa or French. All grades take classes in indigenous culture and history, including residential schools. Students making dreamcatchers in visual art will also learn its symbolism and traditions: the four medicines and the seven sacred grandfather teachings.

Eastview’s efforts are having a positive impact on students, staff and families.

Métis student Jahnya Michael, 14, tells us she finds her nonindigenous classmates more accepting than students she meets from other schools.

The spirit of inclusion at Eastview helps some indigenous students feel more positive about their relationship with Canada.

“I feel more connected. I identify as both Canadian and indigenous,” says Jahnya.

Seeing their children in a welcoming environment that reflects their culture is also slowly winning the trust of indigenous parents, who still fear an education system that once created residential schools, Morden says.

For teachers, the program has provided opportunities for growth and development. Morden admits he and the other non-indigenous staff still make occasional blunders when it comes to cultural sensitivity. One of the hardest but most important lessons, he says, has been accepting criticism gracefully and learning from mistakes.