Program creators hope to instill a sense of understanding

The hope of restoring good will between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people has been manifested in the form of a new school program, meant to enhance the Native studies curriculum in the Six Nations area.
Zig Misiak, a Canadian of Polish descent, and Raymond Skye, Tuscarora of the Six Nations, are co-creators of the Six Nations Iroquois Clans program.
"We sought balance between oral and written history respecting the validity of both," said Misiak.
Misiak explained that through the 'Six Nations Clan Program' he wants to help lessen the building tension between non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals.
"I mean, there are issues- there has been a lot of issues to do with land over the last couple of years and it has escalated on the Six Nations territory and on the Grand River, so our communities here are starting to polarize. There is a lot of anger, every single day something is in the paper and things are heating up. So that is one of the reasons Ray and I thought a couple years ago, if we can help the community understand the (Six Nation's) Haudenosaunee, this alone may help calm things down for people to understand one another. Then it can actually go beyond that because of all this continents First Nations, Inuit all over north America or Turtle Island-we think the same template could apply," said Misiak. "Our long-term goal is that it helps that common element."
Though the program was only launched this October, it has already garnered the attention and support of the Ontario Federation of Elementary Teachers (OTFO).
David Clegg the president of OTFO has had a chance to preview the document and said that as a curiculm resource support for teachers "we think it wll be a valuable asset."
"It's something that our teachers are looking forward to using in the classrooms," said Clegg. "One of the concerns is that there really is not enough materials when it comes to Aboriginal issues to support teachers in the classroom and that is something that we have been working really hard to rectify and when we saw an opportunity to support this initiave we thought it was timely and important and we are very happy to do it."
Misiak is eagerly awaiting news from various school boards across Ontario to see how far the influence of his new program will spread; he has had several orders already. He tells Windspeaker that he has high hopes for his rescources to be implemented.
"I think why everyone is getting so excited about it is because Ray and I created something that educators don't have and we just went ahead with all these images and supporting art that Ray had done, and developed a DVD and CD," said Misiak. "We didnt even check other programs we just knew that there was a real void and created this program that has just gone through the roof in terms of interest. Everyone is in a frenzy here, both the Catholic and the public boards, wanting to make sure that they have an outline and a proper format to teach what they call Native studies.
According to Misiak, the government needs to implement programs such as the one that he and Skye have created in order to complement the Native studies curriculum.
For more information about the Six Nations Iroquois Clans program contact Zig Misiak at (519) 757-0910 or visit their Web site at www.realpeopleshistory.com.