Indigenous Language and Culture
All Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (YK1) schools incorporate Indigenous language and culture (ILC) into their programming. As one of YK1's four foundational pillars, the school district is committed to:
- Ensuring all students and staff are engaged in Indigenous languages, perspectives and culture-based education
- Integrating culturally relevant learning into instructional programming
- Increasing the offerings of the Wíílídeh language.
- Ensuring all schools reflect Indigenous language and culture
- Engaging all students in Indigenous cultural experiences
- Increasing the number of skilled instructors of Indigenous language and culture-based education
- Strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities
Authentic Experiences
Schools offer a range of authentic and culturally appropriate ILC experiences, including:
- Culture camps
- School-community feasts
- Trapper training programs
- Dene drumming
- Elders in the classroom
- Indigenous guest speakers
- Indigenous art
- Cooking Indigenous foods
- Dene Games
- Moosehide tanning
- Traditional sewing
- Indigenous language learning
- Metis fiddling and jigging lessons
- Canoeing
Honouring Where We Live
We are incredibly fortunate to be living and learning on this land. It is our responsibility to honour those who were here before us, and learn the lessons we can learn from the land and people. These are an essential part of learning in our context. Exploring and instilling an appreciation of Indigenous ways of knowing speaks to the holistic development of our learners. A capable person is someone who is able to thrive and contribute in different contexts. Appreciating and honouring the language and culture, particularly of our area, allows everyone to participate by respecting and learning from different perspectives.
