UCDSB Celebrates Indigenous Culture with Virtual Student-Driven Tours of the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne
In recognition of National Indigenous History Month (June) and National Indigenous Peoples Day today, classrooms across the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) are celebrating the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada.
During the week leading up to Indigenous Peoples Day, UCDSB schools were invited to commit to sharing the rich cultures and traditions by exploring resources including electronic books, math and literacy activities and videos provided by the school board and Indigenous partners.
Among the resources were two unique student-driven videos – the Akwesasne Virtual Tour and the Akwesasne Cultural Tour. These tours focus on the understanding of contemporary life in Akwesasne and students’ thoughts about protecting Mother Earth from a Haudenosaunee perspective.
“The videos open the doors to UCDSB students and staff to see through the eyes of Akwesasne youth and their significant aspects of community life,” says Donna Lahache, Director of Education for the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education.
The videos were created through a partnership between students at Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, Akwesasne Foundations, Ketenies Research and Management and Akwesasne Television.
“Watching our students’ stories about their community and culture come to life in these two beautiful videos has been an honour,” adds UCDSB Principal of Indigenous Education Gail Brant-Terry. “Their pride in, love and respect for their identity, community, culture, language and traditions has been evident from start to finish with the video. Nya:wen to our students and community partners for providing us with authentic resources to share with UCDSB staff and students.
Classes that participated in exploring these resources were put into a draw to win hard-copy authentic Indigenous resources for their classrooms.
“We are grateful to have such positive relationships with our Indigenous community and partners. Our students benefit greatly from these close connections,” says UCDSB Director of Education Designate Valerie Allen.
For more information, please contact:
April Scott-Clarke
Manager of Communications
Upper Canada District School Board
[email protected]