School year begins with indigenization update

 

On Monday, Gabriel Whiteduck, an Indigenous educator originally from Saskatchewan, led the group in a welcome prayer circle ceremony, assisted by Wáhiakatste Diome-Deer, an Indigenous woman and educational consultant from Kahnawake who is helping the school develop its indigenization plan.

 

On Tuesday, the two spoke at a full staff meeting, updating faculty on the progress of the plan, which was first launched in 2019. A community-wide survey shows overwhelming support among staff and parents—well over 90 per cent—for the Selwyn House indigenization project.

 

The survey also showed that staff members, generally, are curious about indigenization issues, but feel they have scant knowledge of the subject. This will change over the coming years, organizers pledge.

 

“Through this multi-year process, our vision is to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating into the educational, organizational, cultural and social structures of the school,” says Selwyn House Headmaster Mike Downey. “It is essential that this is done in a sustainable, personalized, and meaningful way.”

 

Outdoor Education Program Coordinator Cory Deegan spoke to his fellow faculty about how an awareness of the Indigenous peoples who came before us has influenced his view of the natural and cultural landscape of Quebec. Immigrant settlers who came here from Europe flourished and prospered on a land that was forcibly taken from the Indigenous peoples who had lived here for millennia, he pointed out.

 

Courtney Prieur, Director of Experiential Education at Selwyn House, says these opening-day sessions were designed to bring the entire school up to speed on the progress of the indigenization initiative. “We’re wrapping up the assessment phase,” she says. “In the coming months, there will be community briefings to present the findings to all our stakeholders.”

 

“We invite people to listen, ask questions, comment and understand.”