Learning to ride dog sleds, hunt game and pick berries and medicine, students at White Bear First Nations are discovering the benefits of a land-based education
It is -20 Celsius, in the middle of a hard Prairie winter, as a group of Indigenous high school students prep their dog sled team to go out on the trail. The students have been working toward this day for months. First, they had to get to know – and become comfortable with – a team of 23 dogs, and the dogs had to become comfortable with them. Then they spent weeks training with them, learning to drive teams of 16 harnessed to ATVs.
The program, which incorporates activities like picking berries, harvesting traditional medicines, tanning hides and trapping, is not only helping Indigenous students get the credits they need to graduate, it is helping them embrace their traditional way of life. Students spend weeks training with the dogs in the Prairie cold, under Mr. Schmidt's guidance. 'I do it to ensure that these teachings are passed on in the right way,' he says.has been certifying land-based educators for over 20 years in northern Saskatchewan. He says the curriculum for courses like Mr. Schmidt’s comes from the rivers, the wind, the land, and traditional teachings, and often reflects the spiritual side of Indigenous people.
At the beginning of the program, the students start out as “berry pickers” and then graduate to being hunters. Within Indigenous communities, this is a way of saying they started out not knowing a lot and eventually become highly competent out on the land. The class also gives studentsinherent treaty right to hunt, fish, and trap on their traditional territory. “I think that’s the most important part with having this program. We’re not losing it, we’re slowly gaining it back,” Leslie says.
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