Posted on February 27, 2019 by Charity Gladstone
The SENĆOŦEN Survival School and Language Apprenticeship programs value our history and teach the ways and beliefs of our W̱SÁNEĆ homeland and worldview.
SENĆOŦEN Survival School: This program is a fully SENĆOŦEN immersion experience (EWENE W̱ENITEM ḴEN SḰÁL – no English Language is spoken) for Children 5-6 or at the Kindergarten program level. Our program teachers meet the Ministry Prescribed Learning Outcomes of the Kindergarten Curriculum. Children will spend 3.5 hours in classroom Learning the Kindergarten Provincial Curriculum through a SENĆOŦEN medium. For 2.5 hours per day, children will also learn through engagement with nature in the playgrounds and forests around our school and at beaches and culturally significant places. Children can enter the LE,NOṈET Immersion stream at this level.
SENĆOŦEN Language Apprenticeships: The goal of the Mentor-Apprentice Program is to facilitate the development of fluent speakers of SENĆOŦEN language where fluent speakers are partnered with committed learners in an immersion environment in the home and on the land. This is a one-on-one language immersion program. A “mentor” (a fluent speaker of a language) is paired with an “apprentice” (learner).
Posted on by Marisol Campos Navarrete
Bob Lovelace offers a distinction between Indigenous Education and Aboriginal Education, the shift from an ‘Indigenous Rights perspective’ to an ‘Indigenous Responsibility perspective’.
Robert (Bob) Lovelace is a former Ardoch Algonquin First Nations Chief and is the originator of on-campus, blended, and online community and higher education courses related to Indigenous and Aboriginal Education. He has been key in the creation of the Indigenous Studies Minor in Queen’s University and served as the founding manager for the Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre as well as the lead facilitator for the Annual Aboriginal Studies Symposium in this institution. Here, Lovelace discusses the importance of looking into the future, and his perspectives on the current state of Indigenous Education in Canadian Institutions.
Posted on February 21, 2019 by Justina Black
Alumni of the program, Cheryl Mandeville, shares her experience learning out on the land. Dechinta means “in the bush” in many of Dene languages in the Northwest Territories. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning believes in supporting self-determining and sustainable Northern communities rooted in Indigenous knowledge and values. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is […]
Alumni of the program, Cheryl Mandeville, shares her experience learning out on the land.
Dechinta means “in the bush” in many of Dene languages in the Northwest Territories. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning believes in supporting self-determining and sustainable Northern communities rooted in Indigenous knowledge and values.
Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is internationally recognized for its innovative and vital research and university program delivery. Dechinta delivers Indigenous centered arts, culture, language and educational programming in an innovative land-based environment. Its program supports diverse needs and inclusive participation.
Posted on by Justina Black
Dechinta means “in the bush” in many of Dene languages in the Northwest Territories. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning believes in supporting self-determining and sustainable Northern communities rooted in Indigenous knowledge and values. Alumni of the program, Jasmine Vogt, shares her experience. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is internationally recognized for its innovative […]
Dechinta means “in the bush” in many of Dene languages in the Northwest Territories. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning believes in supporting self-determining and sustainable Northern communities rooted in Indigenous knowledge and values. Alumni of the program, Jasmine Vogt, shares her experience. Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is internationally recognized for its innovative and vital research and university program delivery. Dechinta delivers Indigenous centered arts, culture, language and educational programming in an innovative land-based environment. Its program supports diverse needs and inclusive participation.
Posted on by Justina Black
BushKids is exploring the ethical space between Indigenous education and Western education principles in Yellowknife, NT.
BushKids co-founders are both trained as forest and nature school practitioners. Chloe Dragon Smith is a Dënesųłiné – Metis woman from Yellowknife, who grew up learning on-the-land through the Indigenous education principles of her family. Wendy Lahey is a non-Indigenous educator trained in the Western education system and has lived in the north for a long time. The two women are committed to working with the community, as possible, to create a curriculum that equally honours these systems of teaching and learning on the land.
The goal of BushKids is ultimately to affect the public education system and ensure all northern students spend regular time on the land throughout the school year. Programming is currently offered throughout the school year for pilot classes of all ages, from early childhood to high school. BushKids educators also work with teachers in public education systems with the goal of enabling them to bring their classes outside as part of their learning.
Posted on February 20, 2019 by Charity Gladstone
Education that prepares students to lead successful, productive and healthy lives while enhancing and celebrating their identity and pride through language and culture programs and daily education.
The Campbell River School District and the Aboriginal education Advisory Council are committed to ensuring that Aboriginal students receive a quality education. The District provides educational services to a diverse multicultural population. The support from Aboriginal Education is intended to enhance the experience of Aboriginal students. This support is intended to be in class, in school support that can benefit not only Aboriginal students but all students. The Campbell River School District and the Aboriginal education Advisory Council are committed to ensuring that Aboriginal students receive a quality education. One that prepares them to lead successful, productive and healthy lives while enhancing and celebrating their identity and pride through language and culture programs and daily education.
Posted on by Charity Gladstone
The Bakuemgyala Language Group is a community based group working collectively to revitalize the Kwakwala/Likwala language.
The Bakuemgyala Language Group has been undertaking substantial updating of its community-based program and conducting extensive discussions on the approach with key stakeholders such as local Elders, mentees and youth. The community-based program has been developed recognizing that languages are in crisis and that urgent action is required to address the loss of language in our families, homes and communities. Thus, to advocate the preservation of Kwakwala/Likwala language, culture, traditional arts and history. Ultimately, the programs goal is to increase the number of Kwakwala/Likwala language speakers.
Posted on by Charity Gladstone
Elder involvement is an essential element in the development of programming for the Qwallayuw Head Start Preschool Program.
Qwallayuw Head Start Preschool Program provides two half-day sessions four days a week that prepare Indigenous children for their school years by meeting their spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs. They provide programming in six core areas: education and school readiness, Indigenous culture and language, parental involvement, health promotion, nutrition, and social support. Thus, it is an essential consideration to involve Elders for early learning programs in the Qwallayuw Head Start Preschool Program when developing programming. Elders, like Sophia Hansen, are very important members of the Laichwiltach Family Life Society. The term ‘Elder’ refers to someone who has attained a high degree of understanding of First Nation history, teachings, ceremonies, and language. Elders have earned the right to pass this knowledge on to others and to give advice and guidance on personal issues, as well as on issues affecting their communities and nations. It is also important to work collaboratively with the Elder in understanding the specific teachings and beliefs for the Laichwiltach Family Life Society as it relates to Kwakwala/Likwala language.
