Aboriginal education festival comes to B.C. school

Over 270 elementary school studentspacked the hallways and classrooms of John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver for a hands-on learning experience on Aboriginal culture.

"It's important for all these young people to know that we are right now,"said ShanePointe,Musqueamelder and Vancouver School Board's first knowledge keeper and elder in residence.

"Weare not historical, we are right now," Pointe said.

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First Nation artisans taught students about the medicine wheel, walked them through canoe protocols, and showed them West Coast designs.

It was allpart of the school's first step atintegrating the newB.C. curriculum, which has been re-designed to emphasize Aboriginal culture.

"It's one of our schools goals...to infuse First Nations understanding throughout the curriculum, not just in history class but in math, science and P.E.,"saidTimMcGeer, principalat John Oliver Secondary School.

Exploring the arts

The Grade 6 and 7 students also took part in a powwow dance class that required serious stamina.

"It's pretty fun, I can say that, but it is pain too sometimes," said Daniel Krishna, a Grade 7 studentfrom JohnHendersonElementary Schoolon trying the dance steps for the first time.

Students also learned about traditional cedar weaving.

"It was really cool, I didn't know you could make a bracelet out of tree bark," said Shahna Venkatesh, aGrade 6 studentfromWalter Moberly Elementary School.

LorettaWilliams from theTsawwassen First Nation taught the students how to make bracelets usingtraditionalcedar bark weaving methods. She said students are often surprised these methods are still used.

"Sometimes kids thinkwe are just kind of mythical beings because it is all history. Everything is taught in the past tense," she said,"butthis is what we still do."

Proud moments

Tanner Mitchell, a Grade 12Lil'watNationstudentat John Oliver Secondary School, guided the students through the activities and was glad he could teach them about his culture.

"I like expressing myculture," he said, "I don'tfeel like I get to express it much because other people think it's a fragile subject because of the residential schools."

The festival waswrapped up with a First Nationgraduation ritualwhere students Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal were clothed in Coast Salishgraduationgowns and took part in raising a poleto mark their transition into adulthood.