Indigenous Day of Learning

All School District 83 staff, members of the Quelmúcw Education Council, Shihiya School staff, the Mayor of Enderby, and members of Council from Armstrong, Enderby, Salmon Arm, and Sicamous, took part in a virtual learning session with bestselling Ts’msyen author Jo Chrona during the District’s Indigenous Education Day of Learning on Monday, January 29, 2024. The day was co-planned by the Quelmúcw Education Council and the District Professional Development Committee.

As part of the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, one day of professional learning each year is reserved for Indigenous Education. “We are incredibly grateful to live and work here, on the ancestral and perpetual, stolen and unceded lands of the Secwepemc people, and we work closely with representatives from Adams Lake Indian Band, Neskonlith Indian Band, Skwlāx te Secwepemcu’lecw, and Splatsin in ensuring that the voices of local First Nations are not only heard, but are deeply valued and acted upon,” said Chelsea Prince, Director of Instruction – Indigenous Education.

Chrona’s book, Wayi Wah: Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education, has become a touchstone for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, guiding them in learning their roles in contributing to Reconciliation. 

Prince and Kenthen Thomas, a Knowledge Keeper from Neskonlith Indian Band, opened the day at South Canoe Elementary School. Kenthen’s story about Porcupine and Coyote provided a thoughtful inspiration for participants to lean into courageous conversation and to persevere through learning that sometimes feels a little uncomfortable as we wrestle with new understandings about the world and ourselves. 

In the afternoon, school staff members continued their learning by participating in school-planned activities. Most schools worked alongside a Knowledge Keeper or a member of the Local Indigenous communities. For example, Kenthen Thomas stayed for the whole day at South Canoe Elementary, treating staff members to a storytelling workshop. At Shuswap Middle School, Dodie Jones, a retired school district Indigenous Education Worker who is now on the Knowledge Keeper list, shared medicine wheel teachings. 

This day was also a chance for some schools to gather together and deepen relationships with fellow educators from other schools. At Splatsin Community Centre, staff members from four schools were together to take part in a learning session that was co-planned by Principals and Vice Principals from Pleasant Valley Secondary, A.L. Fortune Secondary, M.V. Beattie Elementary, and Head Teacher from Shihiya School, and the Splatsin Education Department. The Carlin gym was filled with staff members from Carlin Elementary Middle School, North Shuswap Elementary, and Sorrento Elementary. Len Wood Middle School joined the staff of Armstrong Elementary to take part in an Interactive Timeline Activity with Indigenous Education Helping Teacher Tina Lepine. 

One of our School District’s values is Reconciliation, and we are so proud of the level of commitment, prioritization, and caring demonstrated by all of our schools in planning and participating this day. Reconciliation, as we’ve come to know it, is recognizing that our country has perpetuated past wrongs (some in the quite recent past) that continue to have intergenerational impact, and rebuilding a new normal, with positive intentions behind the creation of a new relationship, one based on moving forward, collaborating in meaningful ways with Indigenous communities, and changing outcomes for Indigenous students. We all have a part to play in that.