Started in September 2018 by The Downie Wenjack Fund (DWF), the Legacy Schools program is a free, national initiative to engage, empower, and connect students and educators to further reconciliation through awareness, education, and action (#reconciliACTION).
Upon signing up as a Legacy School, educators receive a Legacy Schools Toolkit free-of-charge, containing resources to engage students, staff and the school community and to act as a catalyst for their commitment to the work of reconciliation. Toolkits contain: Secret Path Books; a Legacy School poster, stickers, and t-shirt; a USB key and/or link to vetted educational resources; curriculum, worksheets and learning tools; a ReconciliACTION Guidebook with suggestions and examples to help engage the school community.
DWF is part of musician Gord Downie’s legacy and embodies his commitment, and that of both the Downie and Wenjack families, to call Canadians to action in solidarity with Indigenous peoples of this land. The goal of the Fund is to continue the conversation that began with Chanie Wenjack’s residential school story, and to support the reconciliation process. Schools are invited to sign up to become a Legacy School with DWF here: bit.ly/2VsZr3V.
