Land As Life is a third-year course offered at Vancouver Island University in the Indigenous/Xwulmuxw Studies Program. Land As Life is an introduction to land-based skills and learning from the environment where students will learn and appreciate First Nations perspectives on the cultural significance of the land. Topics may include: genealogy, First nations protocols, sacred places, oral histories, sacred water, and indigenous language. This course validates how the land is a living library and a teacher. It teaches students to be together; to work together, and to share, while developing a community of learners. The Land As Life course demonstrates reciprocity through giving back by sharing history and by allowing the people of the land to share their own stories and history as opposed to the stories being told for them.
