As we near winter break there is so much to reflect back on in Aboriginal Education at Mount Sentinel School. We started the year off with a beautiful Orange Shirt Day assembly. The morning of the assembly some staff and students drummed and sang in the multi-purpose room to help set the tone for the day. The Foods teacher, Chef Hildy, made fry bread with his classes to offer for free to anyone who wanted some. The day truly honored the spirit and intent of Truth and Reconciliation. Several students presented at the assembly and shared their powerful thoughts regarding the importance of the National Day.

On another note…perhaps the note of a drum…the grandmother drum has been beautifully embraced by a diverse group of students at the school, reflecting the powerful teaching of Wahkohtowin, or interrelationality. In October we hosted Jared Basil from Yaqan Nukiy to come and share some of the history of the Ktunaxa people in our area and broke bread with him. The ‘old one’, as she affectionately likes to be called, Donna Wright, has been visiting the school regularly to help open up classes and connect with youth in that way that only one of the old ones can. 

For Metis Awareness month I had my mom come in to speak to the Middle Year program about being Metis and what it means to her, as an example of a primary resource. The main theme that kept coming up throughout her interviews was the importance of family and the land…and of course jigging! We also hosted our first Metis Spirit Day in collaboration with the PhysEd department, aka Joe! We had the four middle years classes compete in some good old fashioned Metis fun. Strength, endurance, dancing, music and lots of laughter were abundant. We hope to make this into an annual event. 

As we move into the winter season I am reminded about the medicine wheel teachings I carry. Winter is a time to nurture our minds, slow down and breathe deeply and fully in the knowledge that the dark will soon be lessening each day. We can almost start to look forward to spring. However winter will have its rightful turn first and provide us with lots of beauty, inspiration and our fair share of hardship I’m sure. In looking forward to spring, we are planning to host a hide camp with a group of Ab Ed students and local knowledge keeper Raven. If you are an Indigenous student at Mount Sentinel, please see Ms. Jenna to inquire if you are interested in participating.  

In closing I want to express that it is a true privilege to be in the role of Aboriginal Academic Success Teacher. It is also a big responsibility. I do my best to honor the work and stay true to the Elders’ guidance that I have been fortunate to receive in my life. The Aboriginal Ways of Knowing and Being poster produced by a group of Elders, knowledge keepers and educators supported by our union sums it up nicely. These are not merely words to be hung on the wall, but ways of being meant to be practiced. It takes real courage to center these ways of being in a systemic structure that was designed originally for a wholly different purpose. I am proud to be a part of this incredible legacy. 

From the BCTF Aboriginal Ways of Knowing and Being: 

Learning is connected to land, culture, and spirit. 

We—the two-legged, four-legged, finned and feathered, plants and rocks—are all related. We must always practice reciprocity through acts of giving and receiving. 

Learning honours our Ancestors, Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Descendents. 

It respects and embraces ceremony, protocol, and teachings that are connected to the sacred medicines including tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweetgrass. 

Important teachings emerge through stories. Learning involves developing relationships, respecting distinct cultures, and honouring the perspective of others in our communities.

The deepest learning takes place through lived experience. It requires exploring our identities, learning from our mistakes, and having gratitude for our gifts. 

Learning is a journey that takes courage, patience and humility. 

It is about striving to become a better human being and living with balance in body, mind, heart and spirit

Baby Moccasins made with BC First Peoples 12 Class.