I would like to share my take away of today….

50 years ago, a group of parents of Lil’wat took it upon themselves to create a school to teach their own children. They wanted to undue the pain and bad experience that was suffered by the affects of residential school.

They wanted to teach our children our ways, traditions, about the land and help bring back our language along with western education. Parents also did it because the children spoke up did not want to go to a public school- due to the amount of mistreatment by teachers and their peers.

Today I learned that:
Lil’wat Nation was the second ‘Indian band’ run school in all of Canada.
Xet’olacw Community School use to employ grandmothers to just be with the children and show them traditional ways and speak our language, Ucwalmicwts
The current Ucwalmicwts Immersion class has over 30 students and goes up to grade 7
Lil’wat’s own Dr. Lorna Williams spoke and shared that the concept of an indigenous education/school has inspired other indigenous communities around the world to create the same.

I am so proud of the generations of teachers we have and proud to be surrounded by a family of teachers. (3 of my aunts taught at Xet’olacw until retirement and my sister Julia has been there since 2001). I was schooled there until Grade 3 before going to PSS.

I just love the first video of these language champions and teachers dancing to the welcome song- including the woman who started it all , elder Mary Williams.

Thanks for reading !
Kúkwstum̓ckacw
#xetolacwcommunityschool

Roxanne Joe