By Cindy Hudson, Principal

Lynnmour/Xá7elcha students and staff are committed to listening, learning, teaching, and sharing the truth. Through the strength of the Elders who have shared their story, the students who have brought their family history to Lynnmour, and the guidance of the school district’s Indigenous Education team, we have been learning about the authentic history of the Indian residential school system in Canada.

Over the course of Truth and Reconciliation Week (the lead up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation), all classes participated in age-appropriate learning inside and outside the classroom. Some highlights of that learning follows.

The week began with all intermediate classes taking a trip to the University of British Columbia for stops at the Reconciliation Pole and Museum of Anthropology. Students learned about the carving of the pole, the ceremony, the sharing that occurred when the pole was raised, and the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

At school, story was used to help students gain new understandings about what residential schools were and the impact they had and continue to have.

Division 5 students read and discussed Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell. The story is about a young girl who on her way to school, collects items from around her community so she doesn’t forget all the wonderful pieces of home. Following the reading and discussion, students created memory bags and added items from our natural surroundings to hold as memories.

Division 3 students created powerful imagery through shadow art. Students first brainstormed how they feel when they are safe at home and with their own belongings. They then repeated the exercise, but this time, describing how they would feel if those things were taken from them. Reflecting the dark shadows of the past, their art shared those thoughts with everyone.

Primary students also learned and shared their thinking about what it means to feel safe at school and what it would feel like to be taken away from family. Using a variety of resources, including The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad, Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell, Stolen Words by Melanie Florence, and Amik Loves School by Katherena Vermette, along with complementary online activities, students explored a variety of thoughts and feelings to understand what a child their age may have felt like being taken from their family.

To end the week, Division 2 students led the entire school in a simple, yet powerful assembly to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Orange Shirt Day). Student leaders shared descriptions of what residential schools were and what students experienced when they attended the schools.

The assembly also included the reading of a story by Rita Joe, I lost my talk. Students ended the assembly by providing suggestions to everyone in attendance about ways they could recognize Orange Shirt Day with their families.

The most important take away this class provided was, “The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not a celebratory holiday, but a day to remember, acknowledge, listen, and learn.”