Way, Kisuk Kyukit & Tansi from Mount Sentinel Secondary School and Sequoia 

This year has been busy and full of so many great opportunities through the Aboriginal Education Program. In September we started off our year with school wide engagement around the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Inspired by Aboriginal Education Staff at LVR, MSSS decided to join in on their initiative. This initiative featured the book “52 Ways to Reconcile” written by David A. Robertson. Students and staff were invited to reflect upon the author's suggestions through an interactive display set up in the Multi Purpose Room. 

In October staff and students were given the opportunity to bead a poppy during lunch and recess in the Ab Ed room in honor of Indigenous veterans and their contributions to the Canadian Armed Forces. Several teachers incorporated lessons on the topic to help students appreciate this enduring legacy. 

The Middle Years program has recently embarked on a curriculum that was created by the SPCA about the Ojibwe 7 Sacred Teachings. These teachings are universal in nature and provide lots of opportunities for students to consider First Nations philosophies and all the ways that they can relate to them through their own personal worldviews. 

In collaboration with District Aboriginal Education staff and community Elders and the help of some other really special community members, we are able to offer a ribbon skirt and shirt making program this year. Several students jumped at the opportunity and have already successfully made and gifted their very first Ribbon Skirt. 

We had a local Metis community member come into the school to present on Metis Identity and history. The presentations were engaging and incredibly informative. The students were so respectful and appreciative of the presentations. 

We also had a special visit from a Walastoq First Nation choreographer named Nipahtuwet Naka Wespahtuwet (Possesom), who was in Nelson to tour his one of a kind ballet: Pisuwin. Possesom spoke to the youth about his community on the East Coast and their unique identity and heritage as Walastoq First Nations. It was incredibly inspiring. 

We are also looking forward to running another traditional hide tanning camp spring 2026 with the guidance of First Nations Traditional Knowledge Keeper, Raven. This will be our second year offering this program and we are very excited. We are looking for a group of roughly 10 dedicated Aboriginal Youth to participate in processing several hides and helping to develop themes and workshop ideas for our 3rd Moose Hide Campaign at MSSS/Sequoia. 

This year we are going to be putting our own grassroots spin on the Moose Hide Campaign. In the spirit of transparency and learning, we are going to be creating our own unique student directed Healthy Relationships Summit inspired by the Moose Hide Campaign.

We have all of this, and so much more, to look forward to as the sun graces us with its majestic presence more and more with each passing day.