EducationBeginning in 2005 FONV began exploratory discussions with chiefs Roger William of XGFNG and Joe Alphonse, Director of Government Services for the Tsilhqot’in National Government, to see if we could assist in the development of school curriculum which would be more relevant to Tsilhqot’in primary and secondary students. In part this initiative was prompted by a long held belief by FONV directors that a First Nations community should be in control of the education of its own children and that education should be grounded in their own cultural traditions and the values embodied therein. Since the colonial era First Nations children have been taught a curriculum mandated by a provincial ministry of education that provided little or no reference to their own cultural experience.The triggering factor for our discussions was the realization that the court case for rights and title had resulted in the accumulation of a massive amount of material that documented the history and culture of the people of Xeni to an unprecedented degree. Chief Roger had expressed the desire to see this information made available to his people and that a kindergarten to grade twelve curriculum be developed using it as a foundation. We are currently working on the details of how to make the court case information accessible. From the environmental perspective of FONV a culture solidly based on the traditional values of a people respectful of their land and secure in their place in it would provide the best possible guardianship for those ecological values that we have worked so hard to protect. These traditional values were expressed time and again in court testimony by Xeni Gwet’in elders. It seemed we had the perfect elements for a new and exciting initiative. A further element was an apparent willingness on the part of the provincial government to provide funding through various channels which appeared to be in sympathy with this kind of development. At that first meeting it was apparent that a K to 12 curriculum was only one of many possibilities, and that an ultimate goal might be the creation of a distinct Tsilhqot’in school district. A loss of culture and indigenous values, highlighted by the progressive loss of the Tsilhqot’in language begun under a brutal residential school system, was a major concern. By the summer of 2006 FONV had increased its capacity to respond to the foregoing concerns. We hired Blue Heron Global Educational Services with Dr. Robin June Hood and Nick Stanger under the direction of a FONV committee headed by Doug Funk. Several visits to the Nemaiah Valley and consultations with Chief and councilors, local educators and elders resulted in a Report on the Status and Initiative of the Xeni Gwet’in Education Programme . FONV presented this report to the Xeni Gwet’in community at a meeting in the band office on November 21, 2006. This meeting was attended by a representative of the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) as well as chief and council, educators, elders and band members. Now, a Xeni Gwet’in committee is being formed to work with FONV to decide on priorities and begin implementation of the first phase of this very large project. We believe that, if successful, the work begun here may be expanded to encompass the entire Tsilqot’in First Nations community with positive implications for First Nations throughout British Columbia, across Canada, and even globally. Watch for up-dates on this exciting project! |
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