Finding Inclusive Resources for Remembrance Day

There are many of poppies, representing the different groups of people we should be including in our Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Remembrance day is a political day.  There are many thought about how and why it is acknowledged.  I'm not really going to get into the political nitty gritty of the day, but I'm going to provide some resources that can be used to make the day more representative of the students we teach.  Ultimately, providing the different views on Remembrance day will provide students with enough information for them to come to their own understanding and opinion about Remembrance day.  For some information about how to reframe Remembrance Day through an equity lease, please have a read through Like Ojo's essay for teachers: https://kojoinstitute.com

For the purpose of this blog, I'm going to use poppy colours to organize these resources.  A visual cue that students will be seeing are poppy pins, and in Canada there a number of different colours of poppies that people wear to show they focus on different aspects of Remembrance day.  

The Red Poppy

This is the traditional poppy colour for Canada and Britain. To make Remembrance day more inclusive, it would be prudent to add the contributions of Sikh-Canadian in WWI/ WWII.  According to the Government, 65 000 Sikh combatants fought in the World Wars on behalf of Britain (like Canada).  

http://canadiansoldiersikhs.ca This is a documentary available for viewing on YouTube.  This is the site that explains the project.  

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sikh-canadians-in-the-first-world-war This link includes an episode of the podcast "The Secret Life of Canada" about Buckam Singh, a Sikh solider in WWI (3:19 minutes)

http://www.sikhmuseum.com/remember/ This is a virtual Remembrance day honouring Sikh soldiers. 

The Black Rose Poppy

Much of WWII was fought in Northern Africa, and affected African people immensely.  Additionally there were black soldiers who fought for Canada, even though their roles in the military were segregated, and they lacked the basic freedoms that they were fighting for.   Some resources that you could use in your classroom include:

CBC's story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion: https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/we-stand-on-guard-for-thee  

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-black-on-the-battlefield-canadas-forgotten-first-world-war-battalion/ 

This site looks at the Battalion, and the inequity of the Canadian military for black soldier.  It is an age appropriate look at the roles and responsibilities of the No. 2, and its legacy.  

Veterans Affairs Canada: Black Canadians in Uniform: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/those-who-served/black-canadians-in-uniform 

This is a more in-depth site that includes interviews with Black veterans to hear they stories in their own words.

CBC News articles: "They Fought to Fight" and "Remembering a Black Solider in a White Man's War"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/black-soldiers-memorial-wall-garden-toronto-1.4391333

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/military-remembrance-day-black-soldier-1.3837273

Both stories look at the racism that Black soldiers faced in serving in the military during WWI and WWII.  

In my research I also found these articles from Toronto Star and the The Evening Times from New Brunswick about Black soldiers, however, I can't find the article linked anywhere.  I have included this image of the article.  Click on the picture for a larger version. 

The Beaded Poppy 

The Beaded poppy is a handmade symbol recognizing the contributions of Indigenous veterans.  They are made by Indigenous artisans as a symbol of honour and healing according to Joy Ward-Dockery, an official with the Canadian Aboriginal Veterans and Serving Members Association.

Indigenous Veterans day is November 8, and honours the more than 7000 indigenous peoples that served during WWI / WWII and the Korean War.  

Veteran Affairs Canada: Indigenous Peoples

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/people-and-stories/indigenous-peoples

This page from the VAC, has a large amount of information on Indigenous people in combat, as well as a good introductory video, and some lesson plans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE9W5tdQ230 

This video was created by the Canadian Military to mark Indigenous Veterans Day 2020.

The White Poppy

Also known as the peace poppy, the white poppy looks to memorialize civilians and other non-combatants who were victimized by war in some way.  In Canada, we can remember the Japanese-Canadians interred in camps for no other reason that their race.  A song called "The True Cost of Peace" is available on the Peace Poppies site: https://peacepoppies.ca/classroom-resources/ 

Looking at Japanese Internment in Canada and the US:

https://humanrights.ca/story/japanese-canadian-internment-and-the-struggle-for-redress

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has an article about on woman's experience in Internment in Manitoba.  

https://www.tolerance.org/search?query=Japanese%20Internment&page=1

Teaching Tolerance has several lesson plans on teaching about Japanese internment, however, they are largely from the US perspective.  

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/rare-views-of-japanese-canadian-internment-19-images-remembering-one-of-canadas-darkest-hours 

This article has 19 images in a rare-view of internment during WWII.  

The Purple Poppy

VAC: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/classroom/tales-of-animals-in-war 

Veteran Affairs Canada have a site a kid-friendly comic style readings for students about the roles that animal played in war.  For Canadian focus, explore the roles of Bonfire Jr. the Horse, or Sargent Bill the Goat. 

"No, I Won't Calm Down!": A Crash Course in Tone Policing

What is it?

Tone policing is when a person (usually in a position of privilege) purposefully (or not) tries to silence others (usually marginalized people) by focussing on the tone of what is being said- rather than the actual content of the conversation.  

Why is it harmful?

It is used to derail a conversation by trying to control the people participating and the conditions under which the conversation is occurring.  Usually it is under the guise of telling people to be "civil." 

Tone Policing is especially harmful because it tries to suppress the voices and outrage of marginalized people by trying to invalidate the anger they may feel in response to injustice or oppression.  It makes that anger and passion secondary to preserving privileged peoples feeling and comfort.  

How is is used in Education?:

I have seen this used in education numerous times.  In one of my schools that was populated predominantly by white students- some intermediate students threw around the "n-word" frequently.  A black student became very upset at this and was angry that the administrators weren't doing anything about it.  A number of well-meaning teachers tried to talk to him and "calm him down," which only made the situation worse, as he became even more angry that he wasn't being listened to.

This student had a legitimate concern here.  Hate speech was being used, he had to listen to it everyday, and when he became angry, the intervening adults focussed on his actions- not the actions that caused the anger in the first place.  (Combined with this is racial profiling of Black male students and the "threat" that their anger could "lead to violence," which is a whole other post that needs to happen.) Asking the student to "calm down" did not diffuse the situation- it heightened it.

And with children, this is what tone policing does.  It signals to them that their feelings of anger are invalid- and should be controlled.  And this is wrong- BIPOC people are entitled to feelings of anger and frustration because of the oppression they feel everyday.  

So, what would have been better?: 

First, acknowledging the actions that lead to the anger the student is feeling is a start.  Acknowledging that the students has the right to feel angry in that situation would help.  Providing them a space where they can feel angry and express that anger would help.  Listening to what the students says instead of how they say it would help.  How can we as educators expect our students to speak about trauma, exploitation and oppression without strong emotions?  We should not need our students to be gentle and calm in order to be heard or helped.  

In Conclusion:

Tone policing hinges on the idea that emotion and reason can't coexist. It prioritizes the comfort of the privileged more than the lived experience of the marginalized by derailing the conversation and invalidating a person's argument because it isn't presented politely.  It diverts attention away from the real problem that is being expressed by someone living through it, and centres the person of privilege in the conversation. 

As Educators, what can we do?:

As educators we need to acknowledge the anger, frustration and fear of our BIPOC students, and empathize with their experiences.  We need to provide space for them to express that anger without fear of retribution by administrators or the police.  We need to be allies for our students and their anger.  Their feelings are valid and understandable- not something to be silenced.