Happy New Year, and kiʔsuʔk kyukyit.

As we head into the second week of January, we are slowly getting back into daily routines at Homelinks Creston. The buzz of children can be heard in the building and teachers are busy meeting with their students. It was great to see many smiling faces in the classrooms last week.

As the Homelinks/Wildflower/DESK Indigenous Academic Success Teacher, I continue to search for ways to support both teachers and students in our building and online with Indigenous resources. My goal is to create a culturally inclusive space where students feel safe and can learn, collaborate, and make connections with their peers.

My learning journey in becoming more culturally responsive includes the discovery of an amazing web page called First Voices. Many of you may already know about this resource, but if you have not, I encourage you to visit the site. Upon navigating my way through the First Voices Ktunaxa page, I learned that there are many words and phrases which are accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about the language and to bring Indigenous voice and language into the classroom. This has inspired me to create a more visual presence of Ktunaxa language and culture into our classrooms and workspace. 

The first step I have taken so far is posting lists of commonly used words and phrases on our workspace wall. In the coming weeks I will be adding words to our classrooms and library areas, so they are visible to everyone. If teachers are not sure how to pronounce words in Ktunaxa, the First Voices website includes a voice recording of Ktunaxa Elders speaking most words and phrases. I encourage you to visit the site with the links attached.

One way that I have shared Ktunaxa language is through my monthly newsletters to families and students. I highlight a word of the month and attach a link to the voice recording to help learn how to pronounce the word. First Voices has done an amazing job in organizing this site for easy access for Indigenous and non-Indigenous language learners, allowing access to a number of words and phrases based on the category you choose.

Moving forward, my goal is to work on bringing cultural connections to our Homelinks students by highlighting Indigenous Role Models in our monthly newsletter. To do so, I will be referencing a book I purchased from Skinku¢ Treasures at the Cranbrook Mall and have included a photo of the cover below. This book is packed with information and is a great resource that shares stories about local Indigenous communities (land and people), culture, language, and traditions. In my opinion, it is a must have for all teachers on their journey towards bringing Indigenous voice into their practice.

I hope you visit my January Newsletter to see one of the ways I connect with my students each month.

Taxa.