Canada’s Residential Schools ripped children away from their families and culture for more than 100 years. While the effects of those tragic places are felt today by survivors and their residents, the Canadian public school system is attempting to regain the trust thrown away by Canadian institutions.
Quesnel School District superintendent Sue-Ellen Miller knows it’s a tall task.
“How do you remove that barrier,” she asked after presenting an update to the school board last month. “I don’t know that you do because it’s a historical barrier. If we can make the experience supportive and caring and inviting for students and their families, they will do the pieces they need to.”
Miller presented a PowerPoint and memo on the school district’s progress in enacting the B.C. Tripartite Education Agreement (BCTEA), a partnership between federal, provincial and First Nation governments and educators to improve education outcomes.
For the Quesnel School District, much of the early work has been improving access to education, immediately creating an express bus route to and from Nazko and installing bus shelters in Nazko.
“High school students can get on that bus and go straight to Quesnel Junior School and Correlieu Secondary School — When they are able to do that, it takes an hour off their morning run and an hour off their afternoon run,” Miller said. “We used to have to take all the kids that live out in that area, including elementary, and stop at Bouchie Lake and other schools along the way. [The express route] has really made that a convenience.”
Like most things, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a change in plans. Instead of all students taking the bus, some are learning remotely at Nazko Elementary School.
READ MORE: Quesnel School District outlines where pandemic dollars have gone
The district is also committed to following the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools. Of the 94 calls to action the commission made, there are seven directly related to education.
Miller said the district has dedicated a staff development day to Indigenous education since 2011. At their most recent development day, staff connected virtually with Kevin Lamoureux, a University of Winnipeg vice-president. Miller said that talk allowed staff to move beyond the facts and figures of residential schools.
“[Lamoureux’s presentation] allowed people to feel it on an emotional level because of how he presented information and how he talked about the challenges of addressing racism and privilege,” she said. “I think when we do that kind of work, it allows people to be empathetic and look for opportunities to support children and families.”
Miller said injecting culturally-empathetic learning into younger grades is a challenge, but it is a priority for the district.
“[The district] is really trying to look at the strengths of the Indigenous community and how we embed that in curriculum, and how to embed that in everyday life for all kids so all kids understand and value Indigenous learning,” she said. “If that learning happens at a younger age, it becomes systemic, in a positive way.”
During the board’s November meeting, staff became emotional discussing teaching students about residential schools. Trustee Julie-Anne Runge spoke about students learning Indigenous soldiers during the First World War had to sign away their rights to join the military.
“A lot of my students were quite angry they hadn’t been told this before,” she said. “And slowly, bit by bit, you see the blinders coming off. I heard one little boy in Grade 4, and he finished watching the episode, and he said ‘woah, that’s just not cool what Canada did to their people’… When you focus on Indigenous children, the learning of all children improves dramatically.”
Miller didn’t shy away from acknowledging educators need to do more to ensure better outcomes for Indigenous students, including in Quesnel. One of the priorities for the district is to improve graduation rates for students.
“What is it that the system has created, just by being a system?” she asked. “We need to understand there are reasons [Indigenous students] are not graduating, and what are those reasons — dig into what those are and offer support so we make that pathway clearer.”
Miller made it clear who is leading the work — the First Nations themselves — adding the district is grateful to partner with them.
“Our job is to work alongside them and help take their learning and give them what they need from us, and make that learning happen,” she said.
READ MORE: Quesnel School District prepares buses for COVID-19 restart
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cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com
