NEWS FROM THE INDIGENOUS PROGRAM

Ey Swayel,

Welcome to the new and returning students to Fraserview Learning Centre (FLC). FLC is dedicated to Indigenizing the school curriculum and embedding Indigenous ways of learning and being and equity. The Indigenous program, not only provides different kinds of support to the Indigenous students and their caregivers, but also the cultural teachers and ways of the Stó:lo First Nation's culture and other Indigenous cultures. Some of the cultural activities may involve other Indigenous groups.

The Medicine Wheel teachings are about balance with the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual parts of ourselves. In addition to doing school work, some of the other activities the students engage in are:

S'olh Temexw is the traditional territory of the Stó:lō people. According to our swxoxwiyam, we have lived here since time immemorial. The Stó:lō traditional territory extends from Yale to Langley, BC. Retrieved from: Sto:lonation.bc.ca

HALQ'EMEYLEM LANGUAGE CORNER

Sto:lo means river. So, the Sto:lo First Nations are known as the People of the River.

Temqoqo (June) Highwater Time: When the rivers are high with melted snow water.

Tl'l:q' means get jammed in, get wedged in, get stuck.

es means a periodic cycle of time

t'elem means on the hand

Temtl'lq'es probably refers to getting jammed in one's house because of snow and ice.

*Retrieved from Siwal Si'wes Indigenous Staff Calendar*

INTERGENERATIONAL QUILTING ON MONDAYS

MUSIC ON WEDNESDAYS

INTERGENERATIONAL GARDENING ON THURSDAYS

HIKING ON FRIDAYS

HOOBIYEE (CULTURAL EVENT)
At the end of February, the FLC students had an opportunity to go to Hoobiyee at the PNE Forum. Hoobiyee celebrates the Nisga’a First Year. The New Year is celebrated on the crescent moon in February which may fall at the end of February or the beginning of March. This celebration is about the harvesting and the return of the Oolichan fish run. The Nisga’a First Nation opens the celebration and other B.C. First Nation’s dance and drum groups join in the two-day celebration.

Before heading back to Mission, the students enjoyed lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Don.

FATTY LEGS PRESENTATION (CULTURAL EVENT)
In early November, Christy Fenton, visited the school to talk about the book, Fatty Legs. Fatty Legs is the story about Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's residential school experience.

BEADING WITH SUSAN O'SOUP (CULTURAL EVENT)
Pre-contact Indigenous groups used natural objects, such as abalone shells to trade with. Early contact introduced glass beads which the Europeans used to trade with. Some Metis and Indigenous women saw the embroidery work of the Nuns which gave them the idea for creating designs with beads on their clothing, moccasins, and so on.

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Indigenous Education Department Siwal Si'wes (Our Forefathers' Teachings)

MISSION STATEMENT
To work collaboratively with all schools to ensure that Indigenous students are successful in Mission Public Schools. While promoting and respecting the traditional territory of the Stó:lo People, we help to foster an awareness and respect of all Indigenous peoples for all students and staff in Mission Public Schools.

We would like to acknowledge that the Mission School District is on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Sq'ewlets, Leq'a:mel, Matheqwi and Qwo:tlt'el First Nations, who have resided on these lands since time immemorial.

Click here to visit the Indigenous Website