Land academy is an experiential, culturally centered program for middle school Indigenous students. At Land Academy students are immersed in learning on, and with the local land, and people. Healing, safety, self-discovery, sustainability, and the importance of family and community are woven throughout this year-long learning journey.

Middle school Indigenous students from 7 middle schools across the district attend seven weeks of learning throughout the year (one week at a time) to learn in a loving environment with aunties, uncles, knowledge keepers, elders, and members of the local syilx community.

By attending this land academy over the span of the year, and throughout all seasons, students are able to learn about local syilx Indigenous teachings and ways of being. For example, they learn how to find and harvest local medicines, they sew and bead medicine bags and create medicine wheels, they learn how to preserve the medicines and use them, and they gift the medicines they collect. One of the teachings is, 'if you learn it here, you should teach it to others.'

Being a part of this community affords these students the opportunity to feel proud of their culture. Kevin Kaiser, one of the Land Academy lead educators, has told the students that "We want you to be proud of who you are." He shares that, "We are giving them a foundation for them to be themselves and to give them pride for their Indigenous ancestry."

Earlier in the year, Amanda Gould (also a lead educator) shared that, "I am a safe person, this is a safe space. Some kids walk beside me when they feel like they’re going to get picked on. I encourage with love and kindness for them to stick up for themselves. It’s about personalities and pride. They are finding their identity and their place. I think they will find a community here eventually."

As he was making an arrowhead this year, Trenton (a student from CMS) shared that, "I like working with obsidian. When you get a lot off you feel really good about yourself. You feel proud. I also like woodworking. That’s my favourite. But this is a close second. I have never gotten a chance to do things like this before. Normal school does not trust you with knives and stuff. Mostly it focuses on jobs that don’t give you a chance to show off. Land based academy is better than regular school because I do what I like to do. I am a hunter. I like to use tools. You should learn about your ancestors and what they did. Especially if you are Indigenous."

The ethos of the Land Academy is Land Based Love: Land based love is about a way of life, morals, values, reciprocity and respect. It’s the stories and teachings that guide the ways we used to live on the Land and the practices we can still use today. It is about Pride, Empowerment and Identity.

Supporting and raising up the responsive, flowing nature of each student’s unique experience at land academy is a shared ethos which came to be called Landbased Love and is grounded in the seven grandfather teachings: Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility & Wisdom.

Kevin Kaiser, explains, “Our students are our medicine. As educators we grow through their gifts and it is our responsibility to tend to these gifts and to be flexible and to listen to what they are asking for.”

We walk together in the journey of truth and reconciliation and are so grateful to learn from these stories.

May 5th Land Based Love Session