Reconciliation Ambearrister

 Reconciliation Ambearrister

We have been gifted an Ambearrister from First Nations Caring Society.

We will be working with our district's Indigenous Education department to complete the Ambearrister Program.  We are hoping that our grade 4/5 class can work with the Ambearrister to help younger children understand that everyone, no matter how small can make a difference.  You can scroll to the bottom to read the program goals as well as all of Division 2's learning since 2021.  Each year, Mrs. Elie's class will share how they have taken part in peaceful and respectful actions in support of reconciliation and equity.

"No matter who you are or where you’re from, you can take peaceful and respectful actions to stand with First Nations and all children to make a better Canada." First Nations Caring Society What Can You Do?

2023-2024 School Year - Division 2

February 2024

This month was a month of ReconciliACTION for our class.  We finished our presentations and were so grateful to all the teachers that let us come and present about Have a Heart Day.    We shared what we learned about Jordan's Principle and Reconciliation.  River Bear even came along.  Most of the other classes hadn't seen River since the Remembrance Day Assembly.  So many students were very excited to help us create the letters to tell the Government of Canada to "Have a Heart! First Nations children deserve a fair chance to grow up with their families, get a good education, be healthy and proud of who they are."  On Have a Heart Day, we invited our kindergarten buddies to learn with us too.  They watched part of the film, "Spirit Bear and the Children Make History" then we presented information to them about Jordan's Principle, Reconciliation and Have a Heart Day.  We even had special guests from the Indigenous Education Department and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation.  Mrs. Elie had taken 91 letters to our M.P. Bonita Zarillo but there will be more to come.  It was a very exciting day. 

Follow this link for more information about Have a Heart Day

Watch this video about ending the gap.

January 2024

This month, we watched part of the film, Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams on Spirit Bear TV.  Follow this link for Spirit Bear TV.  We then reviewed some of our understandings about Jordan's Principle and the First Have a Heart Day.  You can learn about his from the film Spirit Bear and the Children Make History,  We worked in groups created power point presentations to share with the K-4 classes for Have a Heart Day.  We are hoping to get the school involved in sending letters to the Government of Canada.  We think that this is one way we can take respectful actions to stand with First Nations to make a better Canada.  If you are looking for ways to stand with Indigenous people in Canada, the First Nations Caring Society has created a calendar with ideas and special days each month.  Here is the link to the 2024 Spirit Bear Calendar created by the First Nations Caring Society.  There is even an activity book for kids called Spirit Bear's Guide to Reconciliation.  Everyone can do something because Every Child Matters all year long.

December 2023

This month, we learned about the difference between "cultural appropriation" and "cultural appreciation."  Is it okay to wear jewelry or clothing that you purchase that is created and sold by an Indigenous artist or designer if you are not Indigenous.  Yes.  Is it okay to use work created by an Indigenous artist or designer and claim it as your own or copy the design and sell it? No.  This is not okay because it is not acting in a respectful way with Indigenous artists and designers.  Our class is often sent artwork created by Indigenous artists to colour.  These are colouring pages that we are allowed to use because the artist has given permission for us to colour them.  We are very thankful for the Indigenous Education department for sending these colouring pages to us.  Another word we learned was "indigenizing." We learned to think of "indigenizing" as creating a space to bring in indigenous perspectives, knowledge and contributions.  With this in mind, we decided to use some of the colouring pages to decorate our class's tree for the Winter Concert.

November 2023

This month, students learned about Indigenous Veterans (Veterans Affairs Link) and the Coast Salish Anthem Anthem Video Link.  Along with River Bear, we shared what we learned at our school Remembrance Day Assembly.  You can watch Les George share his knowledge here: Les George Indigenous Storyteller in Residence

We also created wreaths made with poppies designed by a variety of Indigenous Artists.

October 2023

This month we watched the video, Spirit Bear and the Children Make history and learned about Jordan River Anderson.  We are working on ways we can share the importance of Jordan's Principle and Jordan River Anderson with the younger students at our school. 

Watch this PSA about Jordan's Principle from the First Nation's Caring Society

Click on this LINK to watch a short video about Jordan's birthday.  Jordan River Anderson was born on October 22, 1999.

September 2023

This month we participated in the Truth and Reconciliation Week activities offered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.  With River Bear, we led our school's Truth and Reconciliation Gathering: Honouring Survivors, on September 29th.  At this gathering, in addition to listening to Phyllis Webstad's story, we sang the BC Song written by the honourable Stephen Point; this song was shared with Mrs. Elie by SD43 Cultural Facilitator Dawn Marks (Sts’ailes and the Shishalh Nation) when Mrs. Elie learned how to make a drum.  We also practiced some hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ words with the whole school:

ʔəm̓i ce:p – Welcome

ʔəy̓ sweyəl – Good Day

c̓∙iθamə cən – Thank you all

This month, we were also very lucky to visit with Terry M Galligos, Tla'amin Nation, who is a District Indigenous Resource Teacher as well as a knowledge keeper.  She came and saw River Bear wearing their orange shirt.

2022-2023 School Year - Division 2

We began our school year by participating in Truth and Reconciliation Week.  We learned many things from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (program link).  We created a display of hearts and feathers and on the back, each person wrote an act of reconciliation that they would take.  We also coloured feathers created by artist Michelle Stoney (CBC Article about the Feathers)

During the 2022-2023 school year, a new Division 2 grade 4/5 class watched the Spirit Bear and the Children Make History DVD, learned about Jordan's principle, worked with our elder and knowledge keeper from our Indigenous Education Department, and held a naming celebration and invited our buddy class(Kindergarten Class) to attend.  

Throughout the year, students documented their work using some of the pages from the Spirit Bear activity book and we created a Bulletin Board display. 

Each group of students focused on an area that they were most interested in:

• writing a land acknowledgement
• the maps and place names in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (language guide) 
• teachings about the importance of cedar and salmon
• some of the history of Residential Schools and the Calls to Action
• Bear Witness Day
• Have a Heart Day
• the story of Jordan River Anderson (PSA Jordan's Principle). 

Once we had displayed what we had learned, Division 2 held a naming celebration and created clothing for our Ambearrister.  At our naming celebration, we shared Spirit Bear's Favourite Chocolate Chip cookes  (recipe link).  Students chose the name, River Bear, at the end of the school year, because kʷikʷəƛ̓əm means "red fish up the river" and because "River" is one of the names of Jordan River Anderson.  The pronouns for River Bear are they/them.

2021-2022 School Year - Division 2

During the 2021-2022 school year, my class watched the Spirit Bear DVD and we participated in  Bear Witness day.  Students learned more details about the  kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation through the  kʷikʷəƛ̓əm website and information and activities provided to our school district.  We decided, as a class that an Ambearrister would be very helpful to share information with younger students.  At the end of the school year we were gifted an Ambearrister from First Nations Caring Society.

kʷikʷəƛ̓əm website - our people

Ambearrister program goals:

1. We will work with an Elder and/or Knowledge Keeper to organize a naming ceremony for our Ambearrister.  We will learn and honour the local protocols and community goals about naming our Ambearrister.  Every First Nation and community has different protocols.
2. We will make sure that our Ambearrister is wearing something to honour the local First Nations community and something to symbolize its work implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
3. We will teach our Ambearrister about the culture and language of the Kwikwetlem First Nation.
4. We will learn about the injustices and inequities pertaining to First Nations children and participate in one of the initiatives created by the Caring Society.
5. We will keep track of our learning by sending updates to the First Nations Caring Society
6.