Posted on février 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 février 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
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 février 19, 2019 by Trisha Campbell
Philip Brass advocates that land-based activities are memorable experiences that can plant a seed to propagate relationships with the landscape and the ecosystem.
In 2014, Philip Brass began to work with his band, Peepeekisis Cree Nation, as the Community Wellness Coordinator at the Health Centre. His goal at the time was to reach out and connect with youth during a time of violence, vandalism, and gang activity. He offered to go hunting with some of the youth as a way to connect with those that were tough to reach, and eventually he introduced them to ceremony. Getting the youth involved in traditional values and practices resulted in a positive ripple effect throughout the community. His work with the youth continued with the File Hills Police Service and then working within the schools on-reserve and off-reserve, in nearby towns, within Prairie Valley School Division and Treaty 4 Education Alliance. Some land-based activities Brass has led with youth include: fishing, filleting workshops, hunting big game, hunting small game, talking circles, sweats, and attending ceremonies. He has been a valuable resource for teachers that are having difficulty navigating issues on reconciliation, the history of colonialism, and on-going Indigenous struggles within Saskatchewan and Canada. Philip has witnessed how the land can be a powerful tool for learning, engaging, and shifting negative behavioural patterns in youth. Philip infers that for Indigenous people to reconnect with their languages, land-based activities are essential because languages are emergent from those activities and gives language relevance.
Posted on février 18, 2019 by claraakulukjuk
Meeka is a well-known teacher of education, healing, and Inuit culture. She started teaching children in 1971, and moved onto adult education at Nunavut Arctic College for 18 years. Meeka believes that elder knowledge from experience is necessary have a foundation for living an Inuit life as our ancestor did. She hopes that healing and education from Inuit go a long way.
Meeka is a well-known teacher of education, healing, and Inuit culture. She started teaching children in 1971, and moved onto adult education at Nunavut Arctic College for 18 years. Meeka is also a member of various organizations that focus on Inuktitut and Inuit culture. Meeka believes that elder knowledge from experience is necessary have a foundation for living an Inuit life as our ancestor did. She hopes that healing and education from Inuit go a long way. Some of her work can be found online as Inuit Wellness and Healing videos – Meeka Manuals. The manuals she has developed are applicable to adults, families and education.
Posted on février 1, 2019 by Julian Stonechild
Terry and Vic Amos are Nuu-chah-nulth fishermen from Hesquiat First Nation. Vic is Terry’s uncle and they have fished together for many years. They both share parts of their story and the importance of fishing with family. Both Terry and Vic own and operate their own commercial fishing vessels.
Terry and Vic Amos are Nuu-chah-nulth fishermen from Hesquiat First Nation. Vic is Terry’s uncle and they have fished together for many years. They both share parts of their story and the importance of fishing with family. Both Terry and Vic own and operate their own commercial fishing vessels.
Posted on janvier 28, 2019 by Jeremiah Sharpe
Elder Audrey Bone’s perspective on healing, education, and reconciliation.
Elder Audrey Bone discusses Urban Circle Training and its holistic methodology. She emphasizes the role of ceremony and the need for purpose, recognizing that the healing of reconciliation is needed for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike.
Posted on by Jeremiah Sharpe
Urban Circle uses multigenerational holistic education in efforts of reconciliation and healing.
Urban Circle is a community organization operating in the North End neighborhood of Winnipeg. Urban Circle takes a holistic attitude towards education, working with its stakeholders to achieve its goals, and prioritizes engagement with its elders.
Posted on janvier 22, 2019 by Mary Ellen Simon
The programs at the Niagara Regional Native Centre work together and Philip works to raise cultural awareness and foster wellbeing on a community and individual level.
Philip Davis is the Cultural Resource Coordinator for the Niagara Regional Native Centre and this program provides Indigenous educational services, that are focused on providing children, youth, family and community access to cultural knowledge. This is done through a variety of approaches with the aim to foster wellbeing and positive Indigenous Identity. Music is a tool that Davis uses to pass on cultural knowledge with regular drum nights. An exploration of colonial history is an important element in self-discovery which empowers individuals to learn about who they are and where they come from.
Additionally, Davis coordinates learning experiences for outside agencies (churches, community services, etc.) about Indigenous history, colonialism, and residential schools. These services help to raise awareness and to reduce racism.
Posted on janvier 11, 2019 by Justina Black
Lucy Lafferty, Tłı̨chǫ Citizen shares her experiences with Indigenous education in the Tłı̨chǫ territory. The Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency delivers child and family services, education and health programs and services in the four NWT communities of Behchokǫ̀, Gamètì, Whatì and Wekweètì. For all general enquiries please contact the regional headquarters of the Agency in Behchokǫ̀.
Lucy Lafferty, Tłı̨chǫ Citizen shares her experiences with Indigenous education in the Tłı̨chǫ territory.
The Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency delivers child and family services, education and health programs and services in the four NWT communities of Behchokǫ̀, Gamètì, Whatì and Wekweètì. For all general enquiries please contact the regional headquarters of the Agency in Behchokǫ̀.
