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Elder Rep at High Level Native Friendship Centre

Provide protocol and teachings at the High Level Native Friendship Centre Elder Ralph hopes to pass on knowledge of Indigenous ways of life in order to preserve heritage and language.

Provide protocol and teachings at the High Level Native Friendship Centre
Elder Ralph hopes to pass on knowledge of Indigenous ways of life in order to preserve heritage and language.

Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg – Part 1

The overall goal of Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg as stated on their website is, “to provide high quality, wholistic programs and supports that foster Indigenous identity formation and a sense of belonging. The 13 Moons and the 4 seasons are the foundation for Indigenous Pedagogy that is embedded in all program areas” (niwasa.ca). Niwasa provides programming […]

The overall goal of Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg as stated on their website is, “to provide high quality, wholistic programs and supports that foster Indigenous identity formation and a sense of belonging. The 13 Moons and the 4 seasons are the foundation for Indigenous Pedagogy that is embedded in all program areas” (niwasa.ca). Niwasa provides programming in Hamilton Ontario. Niwasa is geared towards preschool aged children 2 – 6 years of age and highschool students, with highschool programming under the Nya:weh program. Families of students are included in the sharing of traditional teachings so that they can learn and reclaim traditional knowledge alongside their children. http://niwasa.ca

Demi Mathias – Trent University Native Association and the Birch Bark Canoe as Cultural Resurgence

Interview with Demi Mathias on the birch bark canoe as a form of cultural resurgence and on the supportive community of the Trent University Native Association.

Demi Mathias is from Temagami First Nation and of the loon clan.  At the time of this interview, Demi was a graduate student in a joint program at Trent University in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies. She graduated with a Master’s of Arts degree in 2019; her research was on the birch bark canoe in the context of cultural resurgence. While at Trent, she was a graduate student representative for the Trent University Native Association (TUNA), which fosters engagement with Indigenous students through networks of support and planning events and cultural activities.

Tłı̨chǫ Community Service Agency

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.

NYA:WEH – Part 1

The NYA:WEH program is “a ‘stay in school’ initiative, to assist and support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students in elementary and secondary education. “NYA:WEH is responsible for empowering Indigenous students toward success, through personal, social, and culturally based educational support” (niwasa.ca). NYA:WEH is offered under Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg at 3 elementary schools and 5 […]

The NYA:WEH program is “a ‘stay in school’ initiative, to assist and support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students in elementary and secondary education. “NYA:WEH is responsible for empowering Indigenous students toward success, through personal, social, and culturally based educational support” (niwasa.ca). NYA:WEH is offered under Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg at 3 elementary schools and 5 high schools in Hamilton, Ontario just outside Six Nations of the Grand River and New Credit. http://niwasa.ca/programs/nyaweh-native-youth-advancement-with-education-hamilton/

Tłı̨chǫ Community Service Agency

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.

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.

Innu Aitun – Volet primaire (Uashat mak Mani-Utenam)

Depuis plusieurs années, les parents demandent l’intégration de l’innu-aitun (culture) dans le programme scolaire de Uashat mak Mani-Utenam. De plus, il est important de mentionner que plusieurs activités culturelles ont été développées et offertes aux élèves innus antérieurement de façon ponctuelle. Le secteur de l’éducation du Conseil de bande de Ushat mak Mani-Utenam a répondu […]

Depuis plusieurs années, les parents demandent l’intégration de l’innu-aitun (culture) dans le programme scolaire de Uashat mak Mani-Utenam. De plus, il est important de mentionner que plusieurs activités culturelles ont été développées et offertes aux élèves innus antérieurement de façon ponctuelle. Le secteur de l’éducation du Conseil de bande de Ushat mak Mani-Utenam a répondu aux besoins exprimés et a initié le Projet Innu-Aitun (PIA). Le PIA donne à tous les élèves des écoles primaires d’ITUM un accès direct à leur culture. L’objectif principal du PIA consiste au développement d’un programme qui sera inscrit au curriculum des écoles innues. Ce développement d’un programme académique s‘échelonne sur plusieurs années.

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Mi’kmaw Birch Bark Canoe Building Workshops – Todd Labrador

Todd Labrador discusses the importance of traditional knowledge and harvesting in the Mi’kmaw birch bark canoe building workshops that he runs in Atlantic Canada and across the country.

Todd Labrador discusses the importance of traditional knowledge and harvesting in the Mi’kmaw birch bark canoe building workshops that he runs in Atlantic Canada and across the country.

Jenelle Duval – First Light – St. John’s Native Friendship Centre

Jenelle Duval, the Events Coordinator at First Light, describes the language camps and land-based learning programs that the centre offers to community members in St. John’s, NL.

Jenelle Duval, the Events Coordinator at First Light, describes the language camps and land-based learning programs that the centre offers to community members in St. John’s, NL.

Exploring Life Experiences and Lessons with Clayton Paul Episkenew

Clayton Paul Episkenew shares his experience as a survivor of residential schools and alcoholism. He uses these experiences to help inmates at the Regina Correctional Centre. 

Born in Fort Qu’Appelle in the late 1940’s, Clayton Paul Episkenew lived in a mud shack built by his father, who was very proud to have built a home for his family. When Clayton was six years old, an Indian Agent told his father that he must send his children to the residential school. Despite his father’s initial refusal, Clayton was sent to the residential school in Lebret. In the three years that Clayton was forced to stay at the residential school, he learned only how to hate and how to be afraid of people. When he was 15 years old he started drinking and he drank for 27 years. Alcohol caused him to do things which kept him in and out of jail.

By 1986, he had joined an AA program and quit drinking. He began to accept authority and the people he worked with when he learned that he was needed. Knowing this made him comfortable to disclose his experience at residential schools and allowed him to hold his job at the City of Regina for 33 years. Since retiring, he works at the Regina Correctional Centre and makes a difference by talking with inmates, giving them advice, and sharing relatable stories from his own experiences. He uses traditional values like the pipe and smudge – he makes his own tobacco and knows how to pick a few medicines.