Finding Cleo

Content and Trigger Warning

Some episodes contain disturbing material which may be triggering. These lessons and resources have been designed to support students in their encounter and understanding of these issues.

• Podcast as a digital media genre
  
• Journalistic qualities and ethics
  
• The importance of family, culture, and community
  
• The Sixties Scoop and its connections to Residential Schools and MMIWG
  
• The value of empathy, human dignity, compassion

In this episode, we will learn about:

• The importance of family and community
  
• The history of the Sixties Scoop
  
• One family’s search for their missing sister

• The importance of empathy
  
• Experiences with bureaucracy
  
• Adoption of Cleo’s sisters, April and Annette
  
• The connection between truth and healing

In this episode, we will learn about:

• The impact of the Sixties Scoop on individual families
  
• The experiences of Cleo’s brother, Johnny Semaganis

In this episode, we will learn about:

• A major break in the search for Cleo
• The qualities of good investigative journalism

In this episode, we will learn about:

• Finding Cleo
  
• The different reactions to this news
  
• Ethical decisions of journalism
  

In this episode, we will learn about:

• The History of Colonization
  
• Cultural Genocide
  
• How Cleo died
  
• Life on Little Pine First Nations Reserve, Saskatchewan

In this episode, we will learn about:

• The history and legacy of Residential Schools
  
• The effects of residential school on Lillian
  
• Intergenerational trauma

In this episode, we will learn about:

• Analysing the Adopt Indian and Métis Program
  
• Broader impact of this systemic racism
  
• Personal impact on children’s identity

In this episode, we will learn about:

• The vulnerability of Indigenous children in care
  
• Johnny and Christine’s reunion
  
• Cleo’s police files
  

In this episode, we will learn about:

• Cleo’s teenage self
  
• Using voice narratives in a podcast
  
• Answers to what really happened the day Cleo died.
  

The activities in this resource were developed by DPCDSB educators, Maureen Carolan (Consultant - Pathways & Transitions), Paula Nevins (Consultant - Literacy 7-12, Integrated Curriculum Design), and Angela Earle-Ventriglia (Social Science teacher, St. Aloysius Gonzaga).

We wish to acknowledge the advisory role of CBC journalist, Connie Walker, and Cleo’s siblings, Johnny Semaganis and Christine Cameron. We are grateful for reviews and consultation with Michelle Coutinho, Equity Principal; Jodie Williams, Indigenous Education Consultant; Kyl Morrison, Indigenous Youth Advisor, Priya Mohipp, Consultant - Religious Education and Faith Development with a Focus on Equity and Inclusive Education; Susan Sweet, Mental Health Liaison; and DPCDSB’s Indigenous Education Advisory Council (IEAC). Special thanks to Dulcie Belchior, Principal of Program and Learning Services; and Carmel Murphy, Superintendent of Program and Learning Services.