Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) is the recipient of the 2024 Premier’s Board of Education Award for Innovation and Excellence in Education “for its submission of “Indigenization in Northern Lights School Division No 113,” according to a Saskatchewan School Board Association news release.
“I’m really excited … (and) very proud of the accomplishment for the Division. I think it’s for the Division as a whole. It’s not just a group of people in one community, it’s right across the whole Division, so I think it’s an opportunity when you receive an award to pause and acknowledge and be proud of that award and celebrate that,” Jason Young (NLSD) Director of Education, said in an interview with the Daily Herald.
“Almost 90 per cent of our nearly 4,000 students identify as Indigenous, so this work for us has significance that extends far beyond test results and memorizing textbooks … is our great honour and privilege to receive this award,” current Board Chair Joey McCallum said in the news release.
Young and former NLSD Board Chair, Richard Petit put an application for the award together, carefully outlining the work done over several years to transform the NLSD through Indigenization.
The division sought to “address decolonization, Indigenization and the TRC Calls to Action, we needed space within the colonial context of western education that has dominated our collective educational institution since our inception and disrupt this process by interrogating colonial practices not to replace western knowledge but to support mutual co-existence Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty. This is in keeping with our Elders teachings who shared that our students need to learn to walk in two worlds to be successful which is known as contributing to the Cree and Dene concept of living ‘a good life’ (mithopimatisiwin – Cree) and hotiye eghana – Dene),” reads the introduction of the application for the award.
Many steps have been involved in transforming NLSD, Young said.
They “pivoted” away from the Community School concept and “we bend towards a Land, Language and Culture program,” he said. The division changed the name of Community School Co-ordinators to Land, Language Culture Co-ordinators to complete the program change.
Young said the goal is to honour the Indigenous worldview. That includes land excursions with Elders.
“There’s language teaching going on, other culture activities … I mean there’s about 19 different items,” Young said.
About half of the Summer Literacy Camps content feature Indigenous authors and Indigenous themes, including the work of students from La Loche who wrote two different books, Dene Strong, Part 1 and Part 2. For the camp, NLSD has been “intentional in using land, the Elders and the Language in making sure that resources for kids are available, from Indigenous authors and Indigenous content,” Young said.
The names of some schools in the Division have been changed to reflect the Land Language and Culture, such as, what was named Jans Bay School is now Moswakanishk Community School. In Cumberland House, the school has been renamed Cumberland House Ministik Community School.
The Division’s vision statement and logo have also been switched to reflect the change.
“Basically, the direction is help our kids live ‘a good life,’ which is written in Cree and Dene, in the new Vision Statement, Young said.
The former logo was square shaped and held the feather pen as a symbol for education, the new one includes, the Land, an Elder with a child and a book along with the feather, which is more cultural in the design.
There is more focus on language and three schools, in La Ronge, Cumberland House and La Loche have Language and Immersion programs, with another two new ones beginning the Beauval and Pinehouse Lake.
Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Calls to Action, are also reflected in the new way. They have five flags flying at the Division office: the Treaty 6 “for the territory that we’re in, from a Treaty perspective, the Métis Nation, Canadian, Saskatchewan” and NLSD flags.
To support their applications for the award, Young said they sought out letters of support from community organizations across the north. Young said receiving those letters provided affirmation that what they have been doing, is being seen by others across the north.
There are also, “examples of what we would call decolonization, de-constructing, that education piece that honours our Indigenous worldviews,” Young said. “I think that’s just been the journey we’re on … any school you go to, you’ll see it in action, and I think that’s the beauty of the model. Everyone is doing something related to Indigenization, whether it’s language, culture, program, land-based program … it’s happening everywhere … that kind of what led us to make the application,” Young said.
