First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education

The land that we gather on to learn and play together has a rich history. We are helping create part of the story that will be told about this land in the future. Before we added to the story of this land, people before us added their stories.  If your family has lived in this area for a while, this may have been your grandparents’ and great grandparents’ stories.  

For thousands of years, people have been adding to the story through their relationship with the land.  Some of the first people to have a relationship with the land we learn from and enjoy were Indigenous people. Through their relationship with the land, Indigenous people took care of the land, learned from the land, and lived in harmony with the land.  

Part of the story of this land tells about a time when settlers came to this land and the Indigenous people who lived here and took care of the land agreed to share the land through a written agreement called a treaty. A sad part of the story of this land is that for a long time, the settlers did not live up to their part of the agreement and Indegenous people, languages, and cultures suffered because of this.  

Now we want to be part of a new chapter in the story that includes healing, forgiveness, and walking together in a good way. SCS recognizes the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and acknowledges the Treaty 6 land on which our school is located.

2 Corinthians 5:18 instructs us, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”  As a Christian school, we want to promote reconciliation by reading the following statement by Elk Island Public Schools.    

We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional homeland of the Métis Nation.  These are the meeting grounds, gathering place, and travelling route to the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux. We acknowledge all the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit whose footsteps have marked these lands for centuries.

We recognize our responsibility as Treaty members and honour the heritage and gifts of the First Peoples. We commit to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of collaboration and reconciliation. It is by God’s grace that we gather in this space, and we come together as a school community both as receivers and givers of grace.