A group of Pickering College students wanted to do their part on the long road to reconciliation by embracing the Change The Bill campaign.
The initiative, created by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, is a call to action that aims to promote reconciliation through art by commissioning Indigenous artists to re-imagine the $20 bill with the images of Indigenous women who are their heroes.
The Grade 8 class at Pickering led by teacher Ethan Bishop saw this as an opportunity to learn about the legacy of Indigenous women in Canada, educate others, and voice their opinions to the federal government.
“When I heard about this project, I was really excited to take this opportunity because we have a really interested bunch of students who have learned a lot about reconciliation,” said Bishop. “I thought this would be a natural way for students to learn more about the Indigenous community.”
Given that for more than 150 years, Canada has been printing money, but there’s never been an Indigenous woman featured on a Canadian bank note, the Native Women’s Association of Canada began this initiative to help with representation and education.
Bishop’s class researched the women featured on the bills created as part of the Change The Bill initiative and printed them to create a display in the school. The students also designed their own $20 bills that acknowledge the contributions of other 19th-century Canadian history makers.
“They were really enthusiastic about trying this and they thought learning more and presenting it would be something they’d be really interested in,” said Bishop. “From that point forward, they ran with it.”
The really enjoyed learning about unsung Canadian historical figures, he added.
“We learned their stories,” said student Alexis Youell. “I think it was very important because we chose underrepresented people and we need to learn about them because they all did great things and they weren’t always recognized for them.”
On Monday, the students invited visitors to the school to view the bill designs and cast a vote for which designs they feel are most worthy of being featured on Canadian currency. Students will use tallied data to prepare a summary report they will share with the Bank of Canada.
Newmarket-Aurora MP Tony Van Bynen was one of the visitors and he encouraged the students to write to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland about how they would like to see an Indigenous woman featured on Canadian currency.
“Your work on this exhibit is a wonderful example of what can be done as we walk the path to Truth and Reconciliation,” said Van Bynen. “I’m delighted to see members of this community take an active role. You’ve done amazing work and I urge you to continue working hard to bring about change in this country.”
