Congratulations Christian Gilera!
CSN Best Canadian Studies Undergraduate Essay/Thesis Prize winner

Treaties, Traditions and Truth: Shifting the Narratives and Valuing Indigenous Knowledge in Education

It is with great pleasure that the Canadian Studies Network awards the Best Canadian Studies Undergraduate Essay/Thesis Prize to Christian Gilera. This an important essay which makes a strong case that reinterpretation of Kanata's treaties through Oral Histories is essential for educators to challenge the historical settler narrative that depicts Indigenous Knowledge as "passive and subjective" in K–12 education. Christian effectively explores this in relation to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Treaty of Niagara of 1764 in order to argue that pre-service and current social studies K-12 teachers must value the ways Indigenous communities have traditionally passed down knowledge if they are to ethically engage in pedagogy related to Indigenous peoples. This is important and impressive work with important pedagogical implications.

The CSN warmly thanks the committee members for this prize.