[UBCIC News] Education UBCIC (September 1979)

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1.06-01.03 Nesika: UBCIC News

1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series

Date

September 1979

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1.06-01.03-03.09

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Education UBCIC
Our ChildrenPg. 15
Our Young People. . ........Pg. 9
Our ParentsPg. 21
OurElders..........................Pg. 27

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‘Education UBCIC

September 1979

INTRODUCTION

During the past ten years there have been many developments in
the world of Indian Education. For decades our leaders have seen
Education as one of the most important rights and needs of our
people. It has just been in the past two years that our leaders have
coined the phrase ‘‘Indian Government’’, and this therefore means
to us that the Education of our people must be under the control of
our people through Indian Government. This is something that can
only be decided and developed in each of our Bands with the parents,
students, grand-parents and our elected officials Chief and Council
and Hereditary leaders. When each Band develops their way of
Indian Control then it can become official by resolution and
adoption by Chief and Council. The more this happens in the
province of B.C. then the more our needs for provincial policy to
portect the interests of these Bands.

We have been working in the direction of Indian Control for a
long time but this dream has only come to life after some hard work
by Band members in TAKING CONTROL. There are no experts
with an easy design for Indian Control for my Band our yours — our
real experts are many people from our own Bands, once we get
together and start talking then we are at the beginning.

Many Chiefs and Education Workers have said over the past year,
“If only we could put together a magazine or something that shows
the thinking and feelings of our people on Indian Education!’’ This
was a frustrated dream for many people. If it had not been said so
many times maybe it would never have come true. Someone heard
you. This is your magazine. We are sure that you will feel close to
many of the writers, maybe you will hear something strong that has
been inside of you for sometime and now it is out. We are proud of
all these people who put down their feelings and thinkings, these are
our people.

by Maxine Pape

by Dinah Schooner

Learning and education have
separate definitions, yet are alike
in many ways depending on how
you choose to interpret them.
Structural education is a bridge
that only fills the gap from
childhood to adulthood. Adult-
hood, incidentally, should not be
confused with maturity as most
will believe that just because they
are now adults they are also
granted immediate maturity. My
own rude awakening about this
happened not too long ago. It
sure helped in making learning

less painful. It helped me learn to
confront myself and to face the
truth about myself.

Learning is a life-time process
from the time you tie your shoes
to the day you hear the old
familiar ‘‘Haven’t you learned
your lesson yet?’’ Then it
becomes time to teach learning,
and you can learn to teach.
Learning is: the ability to
observe, to perceive, to be
sensitive, to have a willingness to
change, and to use what you’ve
learned.

— a RRS ee OC

The people who contributed
articles and poems to this |
magazine are Indian people who
are concerned about Indian’
Education, what it is, and what
we’re going to make of it. Indian
people from different Indian
nations in B.C. were asked to |
express their thoughts and con-
cerns about Indian Education.

Editor: Ethel Gardner
Typesetter: Kristi Jackson
_ Lay Out: James Bradburne
Photos: By the staff of UBCIC. I
unless otherwise mentioned i
Special Credit: Some quotes
throughout the magazine were
taken from My Heart Soars by
Chief Dan George

Our Children......... Pg.
Our Young People. .... Pg. 9
Our Parents......... Pg. 27
ee flaes,. ........: Pg. 27

— Oe eK BR RS

50 Plums is a Lot of Plums \\"\

bce ; Aeleine. Rut

RYLE, age rae

Cheryle, what do you like best about school?: 1 Wid L bed 4 Eagle for pet
Arithmetic. I got my big arithmetic book at home. I work in itT}\) , aad long co, ee ‘loot

everyday. Sometimes til 3:00 in the morning. Ox
What do you like doing best? |
Drawing eagles and people. Babs bag

What do you like doing outside best? = Wen LL hog
I usually always just climb up a plum tree and get some plums. | Can Cide
That’s how we got about 50 plums. | at

yr.

& horse, beanuce Yen
ordine, AOPge, .

Som 8

ARLENE, age 11
My dad know how to carve. He’s carved a cai big table thing. It’s a "
picture of a eagle and a whale. He’s got the legs for it. ] have an aunt.
She carves and an uncle. "
How do they carve? |
Cut the shape out, and then get a knife, and then trace the pencil
marks on and then paint it. Sometimes my dad puts it on the wall and
sometimes he sells them. We always see his carvings at a workshop.
We always go there.

Ceorge
Snow g

TL wish 1 was or
GEORGE SNOW, age 7

mM rann Be ond
yaa Way vi My
> What sort of. things do you like to do?

+ Poison tag. .

What kind of a game is that?

Someone’s hit and then you tag the person, then you have to hold
onto where he tagged you, and then you have to try to tag someone
else. If someone tags your feet you have to touch your feet and try to
run after another person to tag. It’s pretty hard.

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“Touch A Child — They Are My People”

Listen to their gentle words and hear what

their hearts are saying. They will reveal to us
the paths that we are showing them.

Think back to when you were
a small child, to when life seemed
so simple, and to when every
moment seemed so delightfully
exciting..Do you remember how
a breeze felt on your face? How
totally delighted you were with
things of nature? How your
curiosity got you into trouble? I
remember always wanting to be
outside playing and running
around, and going to the trees
and finding wild flowers. I
remember being sad where there
was no one to play with, when I
found a dead animal, and when I
couldn’t have the things I

wanted. But time and_ tears
healed the sadness. What I
remember: most are the good

things. Are we giving our
children good things’ to
remember?

I don’t know when I stopped
being a child. I know that I still
have a few child-like qualities,
which I hope I’ll never lose. One
of them is making funny faces.
My daughter thinks I’m abso-
lutely nuts, but we have fun and
laugh about it. This part of the
magazine “‘Our Children’’ will
hopefully be fun to read and
maybe it will help you to think

Our Children.

about what it’s like to be a child
when. you make important

decisions about what they need.

After all, we are the same people
as the children we remember
being.

—[——_ er ee Eee Te ee ae ee

yp b why. o* why. as why. oe ?

LEARNING

Learning is a process

Where we are fed with facts
And what to do with them
Today many of the facts we learn oe
Are useless. ee
They don’t teach us ae
What we need. :

They don’t help us
To fish.

They don’t teach us ae
To hunt. oe

Our traditional teaching
Is different.

With this process

We learned much.

At one time, the Elders
Taught us everything

And, the things they taught us is
Were important. : i

The Elders taught us
Knowledge
And they taught us respect.

With the help of the Elders,
Our traditional ways
Will be brought back.

Once again we will 8
Learn to learn. a

fe SE RRR ee he OC

Trevor Webber Age 7

I’m in grade two. I like school. The teacher is
nice, My favorite story is ‘‘Three Little Kittens’’. I
want to be a dad when I grow up, and have six
kids. I’d look after them. I’d like to be a policeman
or fireman. I’d put out fires. My wife would look
after the kids while I’m working. I like to go
ice-skating and playing football with my brother.

I never get into trouble at home. I never fight
with my brother.

Timmy Webber Age 8
We’re going to go fishing with this group. I caught
a fish before. Me and my sister caught a fish at
camp. My sister caught a bigger one. It wiggled.
There are some people who slap their fish to make
it die. They used a shoe or something to make it
die, so it won’t move. I didn’t do it. I let someone
else. Where we went camping, there were big trees,
lots of camping grounds. There’s a place where
you can go swimming. We made a fire, but they
have stoves there. We cooked fish on the outside
~Y fire. Weiners too.

_" Sometimes I get into fights with my brother. He
- yells at me and I yell at him back. He punches me

Alex Mountain Age / X in the nose. He’s not good all the time.
I like playing with my friends and my brother. I

like playing football with my brother. I like
spaghetti, but I hate liver.

ail

Richard Mountain Age 8

I’m in grade two. I like making puppets. When
school starts I'll be eight. I want to be a dad when I
grow up to have money. My dad carves to make
money. I’m going to learn how to carve.

LEU A PIN UDI 6

An Interview with Peter Carter

P: I don’t like my brother.

I: Why?

P: He’s a sloppy eater.

I: Is that right.

P: You know why? Cause he’s only 10 months.
I: Do you get along with your small brother?

P: Not too much. |

I: Really?

P: When my mom puts him down, boy, he wrecks
my mom’s cigarettes, you should see what he does
to our bookcase. We have to fix it all up.

I: What do you like doing?

P: Drawing. Playing games like tic tac toe, and I’m
the best in the family, I’m the best in chess.

I: Chess? You’re really smart if you can play chess.

P: I can even beat my dad, but my dad’s the best in
checkers.

I: Do you know Joan Carter? .
P: No.'

P: Right? Like for Lee Bobb. She’s doing a story
called Charlie. I got it through this thing and it
came out black and white, which red was all black.

I: I’d really like to get a picture from you.

P: Ok. My mom’s a good drawer. She drew
pictures for Katy Mathias.

I: How did she learn how to draw these pictures?
P: She’s been doing it for a pretty long time. She
started in grade 4. But I’m starting in grade 3. But
she did almost as good as she did before when she
was in grade 4.

I: Do you go to school?

>) Yup.

I: What do you especially like about school? |

P: Mostly the art, the best part of work I like to do
is Math.

I: You like math?

P: Cause it’s pretty easy. Spelling, that’s pretty
easy too.

I: Do you take lunch to school?

P: Not too many times. Cause we use bread for
other things. But we take a pretty good diet. We
stopped sugar. No, no candy, not nothing like that.
We brush our teeth always after eating. I know
how to cook a bit.

I: Oh, really? What sort of things do you cook?

P: Bacon and eggs, pancakes, I’m pretty good. I
like pancakes the best.

I: When did you learn how to cook?

P: When I started from 8% when I’m 9% _ right
now.

I: Your mom lets you cook?

P: Yes, cause mostly in the morning when my
mom’s asleep I cook breakfast. Sometimes I cook
mush which I like. But that isn’t my favorite. My
favorite is a fruit.

I: Any special kind of fruit? ©

R: Yup, there’s not very many of them in each
store. They’re called a mango. Do you know them?

I: What do you want to do when you’re grown up?
P: Be an artist.
I: Any special Kind?

P: Oil painting. I seen an oil painting of a boat.
You could see the reflection in the water kind of

_ like real, likt it really happened. He had this special

kinf of cloth on there that he painted on. I can
paint owls best.

Young People

are the pioneers
of new ways.

Since they face
too many temptations
it will not be easy
to know what's best.’

Our Young People

Our young people have much
to offer us in helping to develop
and shape a new world in Indian
Education. Their questions and
concerns about what is happen-
ing are valid and to answer them
is to gain insight about what
needs to be worked on most.
Their ideas are from bright fresh
minds, and recognition of them
is often left to be desired. Maybe
it’s because we think of them as

still being children, or that they
hven’t lived long enough to be
smart. They say they want
change, and have every right to
be heard.

One question that seems to be
asked by all young people,
whether outwardly or inwardly is
““‘Who am I?’ They are asking
this question when they say “I
want to know my culture. I want
to know about my ancestors.’”’

and “I want to know where I fit
in the world?’’ How do we
answer them? If we can give
them good didrection in answer-
ing these questions, we can give
them a good feeling about being
Indian.

Thelma Thevarge is Education co-ordinator for the Anderson Lake
Band. Her warm personality and carefree attitude enabled her to tap
the delicate brains of the young Indian people in D’Arcy.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT
EDUCATION?

I feel that education is necessary for a good
job, a good life ahead of you when you
graduate from school. You need an education
for a decent job.

Male student, grade 9

My feelings about education are that I care a
lot about it, because I want to be educated
and want to get a real good job in the future. I
also like it because you meet different kinds
of people. Different nationalities, languages
and their attitudes.

Female student, grade 11

Right now, I am in Grade 12 and I don’t
appreciate school, but you need the education
now-a-days before you can ever get anywhere
in life. Right now I’ve got a lot to learn before
I ever get the job or business I want.

Male student, grade 12

WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LKE TO
SEE IN SCHOOLS?

I’d like to see more counsellors, some Native
teachers who can listen to our problems.
Male student, grade 9

The changes I would like to see in my school
are more subjects. A bigger gym for more
activities and more sports. A lot of facilities
for the gym (equipment). Indian counsellors
and teachers who like to get involved in
everything.

Female student, grade 8

I think they should have more native teachers
in the schools today.
Male student, grade I]

Some changes I would like to see in school are
more native teachers teaching us, and to see
more Indian culture being taught. Instead of
having French they should have Indian
Languages of B.C.

Female student, grade 11

WHAT ABOUT YOUR FUTURE?

My plans for the future are to finish high
school and then go to university and take up
veterinary training or become a social worker
for native people.

Female student, grade 11

Well, anyway, I want to go back to school
and take a course that I would really
appreciate doing for the rest of my life. But
later on I would like to get a class #1 to drive a
logging truck, whenever I get fed up with my
other apprenticeship course. —

Male student, grade 12

My plans for the future are to be an
accountant and to live in a nice house. I
would like to live on a quiet reserve and work
for an Indian office, and to help people in my
spare time. 7

Female student, grade 11

My plans for the future are to get a job, to
work hard.
Male student, grade 9

WHAT IS INDIAN EDUCATION?

Indian Education is to teach the younger
one’s the Indian culture and the ways of the
Indian’s life, and to teach them how to hunt
the deer, and other animals.

Male student, grade 9

Indian Education to me is that you learn your
own language and your own culture plus
learning about the future. It means a lot to
me, so I can learn my language and my
background.

Female student, grade I]

The ability to live in both worlds, to preserve
our culture and to learn and develop a
knowledge about the present world is what
Indian Education means to me.

Female student, grade 10

by Anne Jimme
Lower Kootenay Band

The public school system is
not meeting the needs of our
children — and hasn’t for quite
some time. We have only to look

around us and see the results of -

this school system. How many
professionals do we have in our
- community? How many are
earning a wage desirable to their
needs?

I must relate an incident that
happened on our reservations
about four years ago. Our
Education Committee has had
meetings with the teachers of the
school where most of our
students attend. We were told by
the Principal that our students
from the grade four class would
be moved to the grade five class.
Not because they are ready but
because if they were held back it
would cause overcrowdedness in
next year’s grade four class.
When these same students were
in grade three they were moved

‘into the grade four class for the
same reason.

This particular incident has
been repeated throughout the
school system for years. Some of
our students who attend second-
ary school have a reading level of
grade 5 or 6. How can a student
learn science,.math or any other
subject when their comprehen-
sion level is so far below their
grade level? This problem does

not solely exist with the Indian

students. |

Because of the stereotype that
Indians are below average intel-
gence, our students aren’t
expected to learn as well as some
other students. They are allowed
by their teachers to perform
below average.

Obviously there are a few who
have made it thorugh this school
_ system, usually with a concen-

What is Learning?

trated effort. Still, a greater
percentage has not.

In creating alternatives we
cannot overlook the fact of self-
esteem as it effects an indivi-
dual’s ability to learn. A lot of us
have had a low self-esteem for
generations, mainly because of
how society has stereotyped
Indians. At times I feel that we

‘need extra self-esteem as we are a

minority in our own country ...
we are ruled by the majority.
When incorporating culture
into our own schools we must
keep in mind that, although it
would be ideal, that all our

‘students have a desire to learn

the language or to gain an
identity when learning of the
survival of their ancestors, this is
not so.

Some students will have a
desire to learn their respective
tribal language so that they can
communicate with their parents,
grandparents and others who
speak the language.

But there will be students who
will not have the desire to learn
the language. For example,
children who have an Indian and
non-Indian parent and_ the
language is not spoken in the
home. Also there are children
who have little contact with
persons who do _ speak the
language.

We must expect that not all
our students will gain their
identity from learning of their
culture and history. For those
who want this identity, they
deserve to be made aware of
their history and culture. that
they may be proud of their place
as the first inhabitants of this
country.

Our children and_= grand-
children have the right to gain

a ee RS ee ee

skills to survive in their respect-
ive communitites or outside their
communities as they choose. °
Without education in skills
suited to their potential, they
could end up with no choice.

The school system is not
prepared to meet our students’
needs: it is our responsibility as
parents to create alternatives to
ensure that our children receive
the education they deserve.

Indian Education is very much
a part of our lives. We want what
is best for our children and we
believe that learning their own
culture is very much a necessity.
Why should they learn another
language, such as French, when
the can learn their own lan-
guage? Learning about their
ancestors should also be a part of
the education program.

By having a Band operated
school, all this could be part of
the curriculum. We want ‘our
children to be proud of their race
and by learning their culture, this
would enable them to hold their
heads up high. '

This Band will be starting their
own school on-reserve in
September. Parents were not
satisfied with the present public
school system and have turned to
their own school where they will
be involved. Having the school
on-reserve will also make the
parents more aware of their
child’s education. The number
of children attending this school
will be small and the teacher will
be able to spend more time with
each child as they need it.

I strongly believe that Indian
Education is very important for
our children. In order for our
children to be successful in the
careers they choose, they must
first be proud of who they are.

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* Schook: 7

in Lill
going into Dados ten. n Through C a.
in Kamloops. I was a Kamloops Indian. School —
Resident through grades two and eight. Well —
nowadays school is pretty — This coming year ~
"there is Indian language, I signed up for that for
sure, because I want to Jearn my ‘Indian. culture. ae

- Today is the aan iiheel begin :

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"ss

_ my friends.

Well, I go to”

0et Now af
C hool I most \

shy

My best ee are Art, P.E., Math a Science.

a fee

Poem:

The day for the next grade

You got to get high marks to
Get to grad day,and go through —
College; for the job you want

‘Ando Took forward to the future,

Songs:

I hear songs mostly ¢ every as tke,
Rock-n-Roll songs from bands |

I never heard of before. 7
Country songs that make your foot stomp. |

. Sad songs that make tears, fat also

remind you of somebody.

_The best songs I have heard are your songs.

Love:

~ Love is something special.

Someone that loves you.

- Someone that cares for you.

Someone that holds you.

Someone that thinks about you. — | ;
Someone that has feelings for you when you are
down | :

ean that puts a smile on n your face.

Me:

I’m a Native and I’m proud of it, I don’t care what
other people think about me. But, I aeons ey are

went | ee

~ JUNKIE

The needle stole my brother,
While the contents stole his soul:
And I wonder if he’ll realize,

Or if he’ll ever know.

. Just what pain it is he brings,

To his family and his friends.
Who know not its beginnings,
But anticipate its end.

I have gone the route myself you see,
And I know what pain it brings.
And I have learned to stay away,
From. life’s hornets and its stings.
So [. will pray for my Brother,
Whomever he may be.

That he. will not,

End up like me.

by Ray McRitchie

Name: Bonnie Rae Michelle

Age: 15 With the permission of Pat
Born: 16/12/63/ Thomas, the director of the
Live: Lillooet B.C. Thunderbird Drop-in Centre in
Family: Rusty, Randy, Bradley, Debbie, Bobo, "Vancouver, we were able to have *
Casper, Theresa, Louie, Carolyn. Mom-Florence, ~~ some of the children share with

Dad-Ray. us a few of their thoughts and
wishes.

MRA EP AS Ee

enn tens -

. aS na.

_ The wind is whistling through the trees, : 3 zs %

Flowers are blowing in the breeze. | cS ee

The day is fine,

The time is mine.

I have the day to have some fun, :

Taking in the sights and sun.

No-one today has a worry,

So take your time, no need to hurry.
Enjoy the day or you might miss, _

The wonderful sights and sounds of bliss.

Happiness is ... no homework.

Happiness is ..

to when you need help.
Happiness is . othe a family.

Happiness is .

rain.

. not having a worry in the world. |
. knowing there is someone to turn

. sunshine after a long sea of

Name: Laurie Webber
Age: 14
School: Templeton

I will be going to Britannia this
year. Don’t like school. I think
it’s because the teachers are kind
of strict. I guess it’s the way they
talk to us. Lots of people I
know, they don’t like school
either. I don’t pay attention all
the time. That’s why I don’t do
very good. I think of other stuff
I could be doing instead of
sitting in class, like going to the
beach. I don’t like it but I know I
should go. ’that’s your future.
You have to go to school if you
want to get a job. I want to be a
nurse. I just like working with
other people, I guess. When I
was small I used to want to be a
teacher, but. now I don’t.

On a very cold day she keeps

the windows wide open, curtains
up. On a hot day she keeps them
tight and closed, the door closed.
She says it’s too cool out. I don’t
understand. And every time I
open it she yells at me and tells
me to sit down and leave it alone.

I had this Socials teacher. If
you’re late, she wouldn’t let you
in. You’d knock on the door and
she wouldn’t answer it. So you
had to got to a counsellor to get a
late slip. If I came back and told
her the counsellor wasn’t there,
she wouldn’t let me back in
the class. So, on my report card I
have all these absences for not
being in class. She still marks
you absent even if she knew you
were there. She wouldn’t let you
in.

I’d love it if kids could run the
schools. I’d have it shorter so the
summer holidays would be lon-
ger. I’d have the school day only
three hours long. You’d just
learn the basic stuff. Not all the
other things. I’d be one of the
teachers. I’d have _ different
subjects. I’d probably teach P.E.
That’s the only subject I’d be
good in. There should be tea-
chers who understand. They
should be modern: and under-
stand this generation.

Talented Laurie Webber hails
from Ontario. She has been

| living in B.C. for about two
| years. Her younger brothers are

Timmy and Trevor Webber. She
also participates in the Britannia
Indian Program.

SEs eS Sie Se ee ae ee pee ee ee eee a! eee

Happiness is when you yo home
And your Dad is there — |
And you can talk to him ; a
Aboitt what you want in life ,
And he guides you. _

by Allen Thevarge :

Name: Allen Thevarge
Age: 19 Years

You don’t really have to go to
school to get a job. I only got a

grade nine education and I got .

this job. When I started I wanted
to become a mechanic. Didn’t
have the education so I just
turned to something else.

I went to Tupper for two
weeks. I walked in the classroom
one day. I had on this white
T-shirt, this cowboy-like shirt

and my jean jacket. I had on my .

Cowboy boots and my jeans and
sat down with all my books. I
was the only one who had my
coat on. Everybody else was
sitting around in T-shirts and
that and she looked in back of
the class. I was, way in the
corner, just ‘sitting and she
goes, ‘‘Hey, you Thevarge,
Christ, it’s about a hundred
degrees outside and and you still
got that coat on.’’ so she told me
to take my coat off and I took it
off. And I just sat around to get
the feel of the class.

The next day I was. about
thirty seconds late. I just got the
door handle; she locked it. I said
**C’mon, let me in.’’ And she
said, ‘‘Go down to the office.’’ I
said, ‘‘If you tell me to go to the
office, I’m not going to the
office, I’m going to go home.’’
She says, ‘‘Well, go home then.
Pll just report you to the
principal.’”” And I just said,

nae

**Well I quit!’’ I turned around
and went home.

The alternate school was all
right for a month or two. We got
too much free time. We could do
anything we wanted. It wasn’t
good. I didn’t like the regular
school. They ordered you to do
stuff, you know. But at the
alternate school they let you get
away with anything. They should
have some rules, not just every-
thing wide open. Just some rules
to keep us working. They had
some rules like no smoking in
class and do a couple pages of
work a day at least, but hardly
anybody did that. Only the good
students did that. We should
have been pushed a bit to do
some work a day but not ordered
to do ten pages or something
like that.

I’d have the teachers be

between twenty and twenty-five.
That way, you see, they’d get
along with the younger genera-
tion better. That’s what I think.
They’d be not as strict as the
other teachers. The ones that are
older than thirty they’re no good
anymore. They start getting
strict. They get tired of teaching,
I guess. All you need in school is
Math, English and P.E. The kids
should be taken on field trips,
like to some power plant or
something. Show them what it’s
like. Start them off young. If
they want to be in electronics,
put them in an electronics class.

paay aauvor —

Al Thevarge is a high school
drop-out who found an alterna-
tive to going to school. He works
at the Britannia Community
Centre. He got the job by
volunteering his service for two
months.

Theresa Michel

I went to school for three
years, and then took sick and
had to come home.

Oh, school was nice but I
couldn’t stay. My health wasn’t
very good. Boarding school, it
was one of those industrial
schools. St. Mary’s Residential
School. All Indian children
attended. Teachers were nice. If
you were nice, they were nice.
But if you weren’t they weren’t.
You’d get punished. They’d send
you back to the dormitory, or
send you to the corner. Make
you kneel down in the middle of
the dining room. Kneel down
eating, so everybody could look
at you.

I went to school when I was
thirteen, came out when I was
fifteen. Ater that I just stayed
home with mama, pick hops,

Amelia Douglas

I went to school when I was
ten. I went to Kamloops. I only
spent six years over there, six
winters. But I didn’t learn. I was
a slow learner. We went to
school either in the morning or
we worked in the afternoons.
Patching, mending clothes or
working in the kitchen. Lots of
work we had to do when we were
there. We never had a whole day
free. The teachers were o.k.
Mostly what they didn’t want us
to do was to speak our own
language. When I went to school
I didn’t know a word of English.
We were learning more for the
first year how to speak English.
Lucky there was one girl that
understood a little bit of Indian
words. She would translate
things for me.

In the summer there was a lot
of work, berry picking, fishing,
but in the winter time there
wasn’t anything much to do but
make baskets or something like
that. Once in awhile they’d invite

pick berries.

My mother didn’t believe in
this education. When we went
for Easter, we used to gather,
you know, at St. Mary’s those
days. I went there and I seen a lot
of kids that I know. You know
when I was just a_ small
youngster. Maggie and Penny
were there, here sister, and they
all started telling me how nice it
was you know to be there, so I

ee eS eae ee - EE —E—_——(icr

just made up my mind I was just
going to stay with them. I was
telling my mother. She didn’t
agree. My brother did. She
thought we could learn more at
home. My brother never went to
school at all. He worked on the
railroad tracks for awhile. And
he was a farmer, he went

logging. All he did was log most
of his years. He died about six
years now I guess.

people to have some kind of a
lunch or something. In _ the
summertime we picked wild fruit
for the winter supply and some
would go to Mission to pick
strawberries. And if they did that
we’d never have no winter sup;',
of wild blackberries.

The closest white town was six
miles. The kids were pulled out
of St. Mary’s and put in public
school in 1963. Before that there
was no integration. The kids
should have their own culture in
school. There was a girl two or
three years ago over at Agassiz.
The children there were doing
their own culture. England and
all those other places there.

She said when she went into

the library she couldn’t find
nothing on her own culture,
except for Plains Indians. Not
nothing from around here. She
felt really bad because she knew
nothing of her own. culture.
Others knew what their back-
ground was.

Most people are saying that
public schools are better than
being separated. Because when I
was going to school, I was afraid
to talk to white people. I don’t
talk to white people unless they
are a store keeper or something.
Some were prejudiced and they
show it. I think they still do yet.
Some of the people felt that the
white people didn’t know
nothing about us.

The Sacred Circle of Life is
one of the many things the elders
have been teaching their children
since the Creation of Time. To
begin,the Sacred Circle of Life
has four stages which a person
will go through. The first stage is
Childhood.The second stage is
Adolescence. The third stage is
Parenthood.The fourth stage is
the Elder part of your life.

We must respect our.children.
We must also respect our own
bodies. As a man, we must
respect the women. In many
ways we must treat the women
with greatest respect for they
have been given the power to
give life in many ways. In this
way the children will learn to
respect the women.

It also goes the other way. The
women treat their elders,their
children, their husbands and
their men with respect. They
must respect their own bodies
and not abuse them in a bad
way. Thre are many rules and
regulations that our people go
through in the Indian way.This is
why at this stage in life the
parent must show, in a practicing
way, the greatest resepect for all
the living things that have been
given to us. Having patience and
understanding, and a _ healthy
way of life is important. It is at
this stage that we must not abuse
our bodies with poisonous things
that are supposed to make us
happy but only make us weak,
physiclly, mentally and spiritual-
ly.

The first stage is childhood
when we are born from our
Mother. During this stage, we
grow and learn many things that
are supposed to be taught to us
since the Creation of Time.
During this part of our lives we
are taught that our minds and
our hearts are the closest to the
Creator of All Good Things. At
this stage the way the parent
treats the child is always remem-
bered by the child. And this is
the way the child will treat you
when you are an elder. If you
treat a child with respect and
honesty and also teach this child
to respect other beings that have
been given life equal to us, this
child will treat you as an elder
with respect and help you in any
way he can. He will respect the
rest of life that has been given to
us in a proper manner.

quickness of his mind and the
strength of his own spirit.

The next stage is adolescence.
During both the child stage and
the adolescent stage, many of
our people in the old days were
taught to cooperate with all the
things that have been given to us
to live with. This is the stage
where many of us as young
people are taught that all life is
our relation and that each living
thing on this earth needs each
other to live. In this stage of
adolescence, a persons body is
strong. It is swift in spirit, mind
and body, with strong heart and
strong will. It is during the
adolescent stage of life where we
see hard training and rigorous
training for our minds and
bodies and will to be strong and
pure. It is at this stage where we
are told to go swimming every

The Sacred
Circle of Life

But if you choose to treat a
child with disrespect and, dis-
honesty and you give him great
harm,pysically and mentally,
this is the way he will treat the
rest of the people. This is the way
he will treat the elders. This is the

“The way the parent treats the child is
always remembered by the child.”’

It is believed by many of our
people throughout the Sacred
Turtle Island that we are born
into this world from the spirit
world. Life has been given to us
by the Creator of All Good
Things. When we are born, we
are small, we are weak and
innocent. We need help from our
parents.

way he will treat you. And this is
the way he will treat the rest of
life that has been given us. This
is the way this child will grow.
We must be very careful in the
way that we bring up a child. We
must bring him up with respect
and honesty and at the same time
with discipline so that he may
not get carried away with the

morning before the sun comes us
throughout the whole year. In
the winter, spring, summer and
fall. We swim before the sun
goes down to cleanse ourselves.
We ask the water to wash away
any of the weaknesses that have
been given to us by the ones who
are teaching us, by example they
show us and by the life they have
shown us. We retain only the
strength and the goodness that
has been given to us by the
Creator of All Good Things.
When we swim in this manner
we must give thanks for the life
that has been given to us. And
also give thanks for protecting us
through the night time. And for
allowing us to live during the day
and see the beauty of the life that

has been given to us. This is the
time that we give thanks before
the sun comes up. During the
day is when we do work for our
people. We are given strength
and energy to do the things that
we need to do. We are alert and
strong of mind for preparing
food, cutting wood and for
many other daily chores. The
young people are taught by their
parents to have great respect for
the elders and to do whatever

and your children’s children in
the future, whatever you do for
them now, the greater rewards
you will have for the future when
you are an elder. These young
people will be glad to help you
for what you have done for them
when you were younger.

Our people have been put
through many hardships since
the Creation of Time. They have
suffered for the rest of our

...In the middle of the white man’s words,

they die.

they can to help the elders for
they are the ones who are
teaching the ways that have been
given to us since the Creation of
Time. They cut the wood, get the
food,hunt, get water, they build
shelters or homes. The young
people help the elders go wher-
ever they want to go. They are
also taught to share whatever
they have with the rest of the
community. If there is a needy
person, a young strong person
will give what he has to that
person. To share their wealth
and to work hard for the people,
has been taught them at this
stage.

The young person learns not
to complain of the hard work
that has been given to him by the
rest of the people. Many of these
duties given to these young
people are ways of testing to see
how willing they are to learn the
ways that have been given to
them. And how willing they are
to put their lives on the line for
the people, and how willing they
are to think of the future instead
of their own bodies today or
their own selves today or the
material wealth today. The
young people hardly have any
material wealth because what-
ever they acquire they share with
the community. As they say,
whatever you do for your
people; the elders, your children

relations. If we continue to carry
on this rigorous testing and train-
ing for our young peoples, the
greater wisdom, the greater
strength, we will have to teach
the values of our people when we
are older. In this way our people
will be stronger. So, There will
be less suffering for our children
and our children’s children.

The next stage is parenthood.
In this stage, we are given the
right to give birth to children.
We are blessed with the right to
give life to another human being.
The Creator of all Good Things
chose us to look after another
human being in a sacred manner.
We must have great respect for
this. As a parent we go thorugh
many kinds of suffering in
bringing up children. Through-
out this part of life,we must have
an understanding mind, a warm
heart for children in a sacred
manner even though it may seem
hard. We must have kindness,
and at the same time we must
have the strength to discipline
our children so they will not get
carried away and do harm to
other living things on this earth.
We must also have this value in
our own lives as parents. We
must practice this in our own
lives in order for the children to
understand and learn the proper
way to live. As a parent we must
share everything we have as a

part of the community; with the
rest of the community. In this
way they will learn. As parents,
we must have respect for all of
the living things that have been
given to us. We must respect our
elders.

The last stage we go through is
the stage of being an elder, one
of the oldest people of the
community or village. During
this stage of life the elders do
most of the teaching. They
usually have the greatest of
patience for the children, and
great understanding for the
children. They also believe
and live strongly in the spiritual
way of our people. They know
many things in a_ spiritual
manner because they lived
through it during the many years
of life they have lived on the
sacred Mother Earth. In this
stage of life they teach the young
people, through the stories, that
they have given to Indian
people from generation to gener-
ation. They teach the values of
our Indian ways, the rules and
regulations of our Indian ways,
the laws of our Indian people
and the wisdom of our ancestors
who have passed before us. And
also, they teach us respect and
honesty, courtesy, kindness, and
the way our ancestors have
suffered in order to continue the
Indian ways that have been given
to us. They have suffered many
times and in many ways in order
for our Indian ways to be taught
to us today.

When the elders have comp-
leted this beauty in their lifetime,
in the white man’s words they
**die’’. But in the Indian way,
when a person passes on they are
reborn into the spirit world.
When they are reborn into the
spirit world, they have the power
to help anybodyand to help all
the Indian people. They can
bring our prayers to the Creator
of All Good Things. Our elders
tell us that Indian people were
never afraid to die, and our

elders especially were never
afraid to die because they realize
that they have not long to live.
They tell us that we should
prepare every day of our life to
go into the spirit world. Every-
thing that we do today, we must

it away at any time. Our elders
say tht each of us have been
given a mind to make decisions
that will help us live better in the
future.

This is what is called the
Sacred Circle of Life where we

They tell us that we should prepare every
day of our life to go into the spirit world.

try to to do the best we can. We
should exert ourselves to the
utmost to help our people. The
One Who Gives Us Life can take

are born from the spirit world
into the physical world of our
own lives right now. We are born
into childhood to the teenage

level to parenthood and to the

elderly stage. Then we are reborn
back into the spirit world as

babies once again in the spirit
world. The cycle has _ been

completed. And we go through

the cycle again.

Darrel is a Coast Salish Indian
from Seabird Island. He is an
excellent photographer and a
great writer.

on ae

by Lilian Gottfriedson

Long ago before the European
invasion, our people never had
anything called ‘‘school’’. Each
day itself was a page. Each event
was a lesson. Each day of one’s
life revealed a story. As each day
was a part of the learning process
of life. The things our people
learned were in relation to living
in harmony with our Mother, the
Earth. Our history lessons were
in the form of stories...choptik
in my language. We _ never

Being An Indian is O. K.

learned this from a book — we
learned from our Grandparents.
Our Grandparents were our
teachers and our guides in our
years of growing.

. We never had ‘‘art’’ as it Is
known today, what the white-
man calls ‘art’ today was known
to us as freedom of expression.
We expressed our feelings,
visions and thoughts in various
ways. Through rock paintings,
petroglyphs and drawing on deer

Or moose

**art-
works’’ are all reflections of our
culture at one time. A culture
that is almost deteriorated now.

This deterioration began when
those people from across the
water came over here. They came

skin. These

over in great numbers and
gradually began to break down
our unique society. The process
of Europeans in their so-called
righteousness was to convert all
‘the heathens’’ to the right way.

These missionaries did not waste
any time — they set up schools
and dragged Indian children
away from their homes in order
to attend these schools. This was
only the beginning of the
whitewashing process. In these
mission schools, the Indian
children were stripped of their
Indianness in every way. Indian-
nes was a threat to the white
missionaries. So the children got
their hair cut off, were forced to
wear military type clothing and
were forbidden to speak their
languages. This must have been a

horrible experience — _ being
forced to abandon their own
beliefs and teachings — and

being in a foreign environment
...alone. Alone, away from the
closeness of their families and
teachers. This surely had a
destructive effect on their mental
and emotional well-being.

After the whites degraded our
Ancestors and brought our
Brothers and Sisters down to
their. level — they began phase
two — to teach ‘‘the savages’”’
the right way. The Europeans
spent years brainwashing/ white-
washing our relations. Yet they
were not satisfied until they were
sure they had done what they
thought was their duty.

Then as time went on, the
mission schools were slowly
phased out — along with ‘‘the
nuns, sisters and priests’. Then
Indians were required, by law to
attend public schools. These
were/are basically the same thing
as a mission school but without
the whippings and strappings or
degrading treatment — like
getting your head shaved off for
something you did or did not do.
The teachers were there, still
white and still full of their ideas
and beliefs on righteousness.
Still trying to convert Indians to
their way.

We, like anybody else, can
only handle so much of this noise

before we get so uptight that we
do something about it. That is
what some concerned people are
doing now. What can we do one
might ask. Well, for a start — we
can define our needs — this
stems from what we want in the
future ahead. Not for ourselves,
but for our children and our
grandchildren. Is our Language,
Culture, Dress, or any of our
Traditions important to us? If
so, we need to have all of these
brought back, and more. How
can we do this? In my view, there

-are a number of roads we can

take. We can incorporate our
needs into the present system, or
we can teach our lessons at
home. We can conduct our own
learning environment, a learning
environment complete with
ideals our people/children can
identify with. We could have
Indian teachers, Indian instruct-
ors, Indian supervisors, Indian
principals, Indian students, In-
dian playmates, Indian bus
drivers, Indian languages, Indian

sports, Indian dance, Indian
music, Indian principals, Indian
religions, Indian history,
Indian school.

Not just.a building — but a
place with Indian design, Indian
structure and colour. An en-
vironment rich in our beliefs, our
needs, the past-present-future.
Something we can relate to in a
positive, healthy way. One
realizes that what we can have
will not happen overnight, like a
dream, but something we all
must strive for, if we want it. As
we look back at all the hardships
our people. have been through
and survived — one becomes
aware of just how strong we
really are — to have the strength
to ward off the evils and
maintain our own diverse heri-
tage. We must put our minds
together and work toward a
common goal — control over

. Our own future — ourselves — in

every way. Education is one road
that can lead us there.

Lilian Gottfriedson is an Oka-
-nagan Indian from the Similka- |
meen Band. She is going to —
Lethbridge to study education. _

movies as ed | class 2
as I, have gone through
n intro complex. It took

sul me oi iis aoe :

two can: Which side will 1

ul on aoe Keep

ab! e tt et ‘sone oa ay

: ‘ 1 oe eS oo os ae

| a congratulate those attemy
themselves. I realize the differe
one having materialistic values ai

giving.

of the potlatch — one

Therefore I see'why the Lndiad
have a choice as to the PAT

_ educational oune - dian dr

UNIVERSITY
A. Kelsey

Yesterday I walked across the
campus lawn...

How many have walked before
me?

Many...Many...

How many have walked before
me...

Only a few Indian brother...

At what price?

It cost my brothers much...

It cost my brothers their life...
His image is no longer Indian...
He no longer speaks the Indian
mind...

and he has become a dirty word..
...assimilated...

White Indian is now his name...
What small Indian thought i is left
he wears like a badge...
Something is lost in the turning..
He is not white, He is not Indian
Shamed by a rich heritage...
Disgraced by a proud people...
Guilt-ridden in the tragedy of a
conquered race..The same is his,
not his people.

“il %

Keep a few embers
from the fire

and rekindle a new flame,

for a new life in a changed world.

by Philip Paul

Today our Indian children
have to mold themselves into
education patterns designed for
white people. There is no way for
Indian people to be recognized
and accepted for what they are.
The provincial school system in
B.C. is designed for white middle
class people of European de-
scent. We are not white, we are
not of European descent and the
majority of our people are poor.

So what they are-continuously
asking us to do is leave behind all
we represent and embrace some-
thing we are not. Then they do
study upon study as to why we

Our Parents

fail and never find an answer. I
really do believe we’ve failed —
we've failed to become carbon
copies of white people. But in the
totality of human existence and
human survival we've come
through with flying colors and
room to spare.

Did it happen by accident or
good planning on our part?
Much of it could be attributed to
the wisdom of our grandfathers
and grandmothers but the great-
est credit must go to our culture
which is exactly opposite to the
way we are being forced to live
today. Our failure to succeed in

white society is in a large part
due to the fact that we have
never been recognized or accept-
ed by Canadian society gener-
ally. The governments of white
society have used every tool at
their disposal to destroy our
Culture and its base and you
know they failed. Their failure
has cost a lot of money and then
in the end we are blamed for
wasting taxpayers money. It can
also be said that every nation-
ality in Canada can point to a
homeland of their ancestry
except us. Because we are at
home. This is a_ basic and

fundamental truth that the

governments and white society

must learn to and
recognize.

Land is the basis of our
culture, our spirituality comes
from the land. Despite what
critics say about our reserves,
they gave us a land base to
survive a century of torment. We
have to return to our strong
value of respecting the earth and
the gift of the land we still have
in our care. A new education
system for the young must have
that as a founding principle:
respect for the earth and all
living things. That is where our
songs come from, where our
culture comes from, where our
ancestors have returned to.

Our language came from the
earth. Our language is how we
learn the value of our Indian-
ness. A new. Indian Education
system has to teach our children
their language or they won’t
survive. I can hear some of you
saying, “‘It’s pretty hard to do.
He’s crazy! How can we do that
today?’’ O.K. I didn’t say it was
going to be easy, I’ll tell you
right now it’s going to be damn
tough. Not everyone wants to go
this route but we have no choice
if we want to survive as a people.

Let’s take a look at what is
now. In most Indian communi-
ties, unemployment is between
80 and 90 percent. The drop-out
rate from the white education
system is about. the same
percentage. Family break-down
is rampant, alcohol and drug
abuse are one of our primary
killers. Housing and = social
conditions are among the worst
in western society.

Many of the victims of these
social conditions end up in penal
institutions with no programs
that meet their needs. They are
doomed to return because of the
unchanging situation. Suicide
reached epidemic proportions in

many communities as a final
escape from a feeling of failure
as human beings. Who is
responsible for all this happening
or is it just happening without a
plan???

That, my friends, is where our
children end up and it all begins
when they enter their first day of
school.

We must build something
better for our children! We must
design a new and much better
system of education for our
future young Indian people. So
that, in the years ahead, the
wisdom of our ancestors will
shine through out new system so
that we will never have to label
any of our children ‘‘failures”’.

We may not all be millionaires
in the end but if we are happy
and participating in Canada on
our terms, — to me that’s
success. I know the obvious
question is: How do we do it? To
talk about it is simple, to do it, I
know, is difficult. First of all, we
have to have a plan: a personal
one, a family one and a
In order to

community one.

design this plan we need to
examine the past. What has
worked? What hasn’t worked?
We need to examine the realities
of survival today. Don’t get me
wrong, we didn’t have a perfect
lifestyle before white people
came here — we had all kindsof
problems then too, but Ill tell
you without a doubt in my mind
that it was a hundred times better
than how our people have to live
today.

What gave us the strength to
survive until today despite intro-
duced disease, genocide, assimi-
lation, racism etc.? It was the
values and spiritual strengths of
our culture. Through all the
muck and mire of a destructive
technological civilization, we
survived.

Phillip Paul is a vice president of
the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
He has been involved with the
executive since the Union's
inception in 1969.

paay aauvor

—e eS eK oe ee he

_ Co-operation and Determination

by Anfinn Siwalace

Education encompasses every-
thing that goes on everyday. My
philosophy is that the world
around me now is my school. I
have no desire.to go back to
school. By working outside and
working with people, they are
my school. As each day goes on,
I learn a little more. Everyday is
another learning day, it’s never
the same. .

In: June. IS i wes
approached by the council - to
take on a job as a Home School
Co-ordinator for the Bella Coola
Band. My main priority in this
job was to cut the drop-out rate.
I had to work as a liaison person
between the parent, teacher and
student. I was the fourth party of
that group. To be able to work
with each individual, I had to get
to know everyone on a personal
basis.

When I first came into the job
I figured we could accomplish
our goals with three ingredients.
First, we had to have communi-
cation. That was for me to know

‘the students, and for the students .

to know me. We had to talk and
converse with each other. After
having communication, we had
to have co-operation between
myself and them. Once we had
that, then each individual had to
have determination to make the
system work. If we didn’t have
all three ingredients, we would
have no success whatsoever. The
students adopted these ingre-
dients for their motto for their
youth group, which ended up to
be a real active group in the
community.

I felt responsible to the
students to see that they got the
_ best treatment out of our school
system. I felt responsible for

keeping the parents informed of
the happenings at the school. I
felt also that I had to be
responsible for counselling. I
wasn’t working just to be paid. I
really wanted to help the
students. If they were having
some kind of trouble, or having
problems with the family, I

would help them deal with them.’

I would go to their house and see
if I could help them.

\é& Fi 4 i J
t

The hardest part in dealing
with parents was being a lot
younger than the. I started as
Home School Co-ordinator
when I was 22 years old. I had to
deal with parents who were twice
my age, and yet I had to relate to
students who were only three
years younger than me. In some
cases I was a big brother or a
personal friend to them, and to
the parents I could have been
their son. Eventually, I got the
confidence of most of the
parents and I found them talking
to me and phoning me, wanting
to know a lot of different things.
The people I was scared of most,
ended up being my best personal
friends. They were well-voiced. I
was afraid of them because they
were always screaming at me. It
turned around that they were the
ones who supported me most in
my position as a Home School
Co-ordinator for the band.

‘have graduated

For the first year of operation,
we had no drop-outs in our own
Bella Coola area. If they did
drop-out, they’d only be gone
for a couple of weeks before I
talk them into coming back to
school. The kids sort of looked
up and said, ‘‘Well, he’s trying,
why don’t we try?”’ They wanted
to help me. I told them straight-
forward, ‘‘I’m looking forward
to helping and I need your co-
operation. You have to want to
help me to enable me to help
you; then we can come to a
general consensus of what we’re
striving for.’’ They all looked at
it that way, and I always dealt
with them on a personal basis.

I think the important part of
education for anybody is learn-
ing your cultural identity. I
moved away from home and
lived off the reserve for four
years. By moving off reserve to
get a better education, I was
deprived of living in my own
cultural background. 1 still
hadn’t managed to have that in
me. You find most kids that
from school
aren’t going back home because
they don’t have any love for their
home. They have no feeling for
it. Education plays a _ real
important part in anybody’s life.
But the cultural part of it has to
be there too, in order to want to
come back and help the people.

I consider myself very lucky, I
have very strong grandparents.
If I ever strayed away from my
culture, my grandparents would
set me on the right tracks. If I
acted like a white man they
would set me straight. It’s kind
of nice.

Anfinn Siwallace is originally

from Bella Coola, He is learning
how to better serve his band in
the field of education.

Building a Stronger Future

by George Abbott

Less than a hundred years ago
our grandfathers gathered and
talked about the education of
their children. To send their
children to the white man’s
school would mean the first
break in generations from our
traditional way of life. They
knew that our own way of life is
good, but they also saw the many
many whitemen arriving onto
our lands. There was going to be
change. Théy heard of the
slaughtered buffalo herds and
the results of the Great Indian
Wars on the Plains. The
smallpox and tuberculosis di-
seases that wiped out many of
our people did not help, and now
with the gold rush and building
of the railroad through our lands
there was going to be big
changes. They thought about
their children, their traditional
way of life, and about the
changes. They talked long hours

into the night. At last a decision '

was made. The changes in the

future would be too big to —

ignore. For the first time in
thousands of years the Indian
children were not sent to their
elders for guidance but to
strangers.

To turn a blind eye to the
future would mean reducing our
nations from a state of manhood
to a very pathetic condition.
Perhaps even with education the
people might suffer but then
again maybe the Indian. spirit
would prevail. It was a gamble
yet out of their love for their
people they chose to try and help
us. To choose the first way
would be ignorant and disas-
trous. To choose the second was
still not good but perhaps in the
future...?2 There might be a
chance if our traditional way of
life could find roots in the
educated generations ahead.

Where do we go from here?

Among the young native

people today there seems to be
two directions we are travelling.
One is toward the contemporary
lifestyle, the modern way of life,
the other is toward the tradi-
tional lifestyle, following the old
ways. Both ways have their good
point. For the education of our
young we need teachers: to help
curtail the rising native prison
population we need lawyers and
judges, we need writers and
artists, in fact we need any of the
many gifts we have to help our
people.

On the other hand, if we get to
the cause of our problem instead
of dealing with the effects, we
may find that much of our
suffering is due to our inability
to cope with a foreign lifestyle.
There are those among us, who
are neither lazy nor stupid, yet
absolutely refuse to work in any -
way for the system. These same
people are the first to raise sweat
on their brows if it means

benefitting the people. These are

are warriors in every sense of the
word. With the incredible pace
that the world is, changing now
will these people be able to retain

our traditional way of life and

pass it on to our future
generations?
The white man’s’ modern

technology is working against
the natural life. If there should
ever be a breakdown in the
system, our people will need our
traditional lifestyle in order to
survive. Our grandfathers knew
that we would need both ways in
order to live and their prayer
must have been for us to find a
way of merging these two ways
- of life. The only schools that
teach reading and writing along
with our true history and
traditions today are the forty-
three survival schools set up in
Indian Country. These started by
Indian people and are totally

Indian controlled. Active parent
participation is encouraged and
much is learned by ‘‘actually
doin’’ as opposed to only book
learning. Drop-outs so far have
been minimal and as a matter of
fact the students will have the
chance to choose whether to

continue their education through -

college and university to become
professional people or to con-
tinue their Indian education to
become medicine people, chiefs,
warriors or any combination of
all ways. We need that choice.

“Let us gather our minds
together and see what life we can

- make for our children.’’

I am interested in knowing of
alternatives you have happening
in your area. I see that. our
Indian nation has been blessed
with so many little ones and as
they grow to young adulthood,
they should have something
besides alcohol and drugs as a

Pe ee ee ee ee. a SS ee eS SS

future lifestyle. I think we should
seriously consider their educa-
tion as a means towards building
a stronger people. I think we
should consider their education
as a way of ensuring our
survival. Let us bring our minds
together as our grandfathers
before us and act now to insure
the continuation of our future
generations. Let the people live!
by George Abbott

_ George Abbott is a Thompson
Indian from Boothroyd. He is
the director of programs at the
Vancouver Indian Centre. He is
truly a spiritual man.

Freedom to Choose

by Glen Williams

My most recent experience in
education has been at the Ustla-
Hahn alternate school which is a
joint venture between the North
- Vancouver School Board and the
Squamish Indian Band. ‘‘Ustla-
Hahn’’ means ‘“‘up against the
mountain’’ in the Squamish
language.

There, we are working with 24
Indian students who are all there
on a voluntary basis. They have
to decide for themselves whether
or not they want to come to this
school. And whether or not they
want to work. It’s an alternative
for students who have had a hard
time in the regular school
system. The main problem being
just trying to cope with just
staying in school or with just the

ability to get up in the morning
to go to school.

if we have a sneaking suspi-
cion that a kid is doing drugs or
alcohol, we take hime into the
office and talk-to him. It’s more
or less like a councilling situation
to bring about more understand-
ing of what’s happening. A lot of
kids now-a-days need that relat-
ing One-to-one with the teachers.
We try to work consistently with
each one of the students on a
one-to-one basis. If we have four
teachers, we can talk to. six
students apiece. The thing they
need most is attention. |

I think non-Indian teachers
have to become sensitive to the
way Indian people are. There’s
something within our culture

that tells us to band together
whenever we are hurting. The
learning situation itself is a
hurting experience. There’s a
sense of fear. Students have to
contend with the way they’ve
learned in the regular school
system throughout their elemen-
tary years. By the time they get
through their elementary years,
they’ve picke up a lot of habits
and they’ve picked up a lot of
different views and _ opinions
about themselves as_ Indian
people. As teachers, we have to
instill a sense of respect for
Indian people before they can
start learning the concept of
relating to society as a whol
Once they find out who they
are and where they come from,

then they can say ‘‘It’s O.K. to
be an Indian person,-and there
are some very beautiful things
that I can give to my people and
to the community’’.

The legends and the stories are
very powerful things that our
ancestors used a long time before
the white man came. They are
simple and basic in our culture.
They were used to teach the
children discipline in order to
learn things that have to do with
survival. A concept that all
Indian people have today about
education is that it’s a sense of
survival. In that sense, every-
body must put into it what they
can, including the students
themselves.

We need people in our schools
and communities that are willing
to give of themselves fully.
Indian educators a long time ago
were willing to give something to
somebody else. I think this is
really important for educators
today. If they can’t do that,
they’ll have a really hard time.

I see the significance of the
three R’s in education. The most
important thing, I find, through
personal experience is that they
have to identify. Otherwise, the
goals, aims, and objectives look
very fuzzy to them and confuse
them. If a program is going to be
set up that’s going to be really
menaingful to the Indian people,
they should have the elders in
there making wise decision. They
should get the elders into the
schools.

I see the sense of competition
in the schools as being very
damaging in a way. It makes the
students look down upon them-
selves if they’re not winners, if
they can’t compete with the best.
In Indian education it’s always
been a sense of participation
where everybody pitches in to do
something together.

I’ve always maintained that
my philosophy for Indian educa-

tion is that ‘‘if you’re going to
get involved in Indian education
and be involved with educating
Indian children, then what you
gotta do first is allow yourself to
get your hands dirty, really get
involved.’’ For instance, in order
to teach them ways of sharing,
you could put on a potlatch. To
put ona potlatch, you have to
have a sense of natural organi-
zation.

Because we’re Indian people in
a white man’s world, there’s a
great danger of being influenced
by the kind. of change that we
really don’t want.- 1 pray for
myself personally that I don’t get
to a point in my life where I say
that I’m a ‘‘highly trained
education professional’’. I don’t
want to forget about the ways of

my people, and how simple they
are.'In today’s society, I believe
that the simpler things are, the
better off they are. White people
are beginning to look at the
Indian people and are beginning
to say, ‘‘Hey, there’s something
to the way that these people live.
There really is something.’’

Indian education is going
uphill. And it’s only because
Indian people have been able to
make decisions for themselves.
Nobody can make decisions for
Indian people anymore. Today,
Indian people are starting to take
a look at themselves, whereas
before we never had this chance.
Because we’re able to do this,
other people are starting to look
at Indian people and say, ‘‘Hey,
they’re really doing it!”’

Glen Williams is from Mount —

Currie. In addition to working at
the Ustla-Hahn alternate school
he is a singer and drummer of —
Pow-Wow songs at the Van- |
| couver Indian Centre. = |

See ee TU eS Ee Oe

As you pass through the years
you will find much calmness
in your heart.

It is the gift of age.

Our Elders

One can see that we have come
a long way since the days our
elders remember. Yet their words
of wisdom will help carry us
through to a better future. It is
the elders who have seen the
things that have been happening
to our people over the many
years of their lives. The elders
are more than willing to share
their great amount of knowledge
with the following generations, if
we only ask them. If you want to
know something about the old
ways of Indian life, talk to an
elder. Indian people have always
known what great resources our

elders are to us. We have always
known how to respect and look
after our elders. We can
remember this when we are
looking toward using old ways in
a new manner. !

Shirly Leon, co-ordinator of
the Stolo Sitel Curriculum at
Coqualeetza speaks highly of the
elders who are very much a part
of the Coqualeetza Cultural
Centre:

“The elders are our main
source of research and verifica-
tion and I can assure you that it
is not a token situation. ”’

“One cannot adequately cover

the contributions which our
elders have made to the total
education programs here at the
Centre. ’’

fyey3

a
—
>

“Uf the very old will remember
The very young will listen: ’’

Dolly Felix |

Nothing good. All bad.

Frank Malloway: She’s just as
bad now-a-days as she was then.

Dolly: I’m still bad. It was real
good in my days. I went to
school in 1907. I went to St.
Mary’s too. Started out in public
first. And then I went to St.
Mary’s. In them days you get up
in the morning, say your grace,
downstairs you go, have your
breakfast, get through with that,
go in the classroom. Lunch time,
after lunch, you get the after-
noon to play around the yard.
And about four o’clock we had
to go in the classroom again and
study for about an hour. Then

out to play again til dinner time.

Then after dinner you have the
whole evening to yourself.

What did you do with those

evenings?

Heh heh. You get into
mischief if you can. Ah ya,
you’d do everything. Especially
me anyway. Get all the bigger
girls around me, you know, and
do Indian dancing. It was fun.

Frank Malloway: How old
were you?

Dolly: Not old enough to
know anything, that was for
sure. In them days they didn’t
have grades. They had first
primer and second primer, first
reader and all that. We didn’t
know what grade we were in.

I think after they started going
to these public ‘schools, the
children over learned everything.
Bad habits that is. Oh, a lot of
them are doing real good. My
grandchildren are all doing

good. They all got good jobs.
- Got one granddaughter in Cal-
gary that’s a court reporter. But
some, you know, got misled.
Well, that’s with other children
you know. It takes one to do
something, then one child is
misled there. But if they’re
caught in time, well, they’re all

right. Its like that all over,
doesn’t matter what nationality
you are. I think the children
now-a-days are doing real good.
Of course in my days, well, I’m

the oldest one in here I guess. I -

can go way back to 1900 anyway.
Things were different then from
what it was for these younger
folks here.

I remember my great grand-
parents. And I\learned lots from
them as I was growing up. I

_ learned what they used to do

their days. Of their habits, I used
to hear all the time what you’re
supposed to do and what you’re
supposed to be. We listened to
the songs. They didn’t teach us.
We were all gathered like the way
we are now. The children would
come, and they’d sing and dance
and whatever they may do.
Young fellas listen along with
things. As they grow older they
know about bows and arrows.
And .whatever they’re going to
do when they hunt, and every-
thing a boy should know.
Grandparents would take them
out and teach them how to use
the bow and arrow. And then the

grandmother shows the children |

what a girl will grow up to know
as she’s growing too. But its all
different from now-a-days. If I
had to tell my whole story from
way back, I don’t know, the
young folks would think I’m
nuts or something, probably
throw rocks at me or something.

Its all coming back now, even
our native tongues, works, its all
coming back now here in
Coqualeetza. I think its doing
wonderful, and I’ve been all over
and its coming .along every-
where. There’s the odd place

‘here and there that they don’t

have anything like they do here
at Coqualeetza. Even the old
native days of dancing is all
coming back. All died out now,
there’s a few of the youngsters
are dancers. When they haven’t
seen they read about it. And they
sent for me, and I’m totally
blind, but I go explain to people
way out that never heard of stick
games and all that. Yea, they’re
sure doing wonderful now-a-
days. I’m telling you. We all try
to do what we can. This younger
generation sure is doing good.
Sure nice if we can be of some
help to them.

Philomena

What little bit of school I had
was nice. I only got to grade 3.
My mother had a stroke. I was
the thirteenth one of the family,
and the only one able to stay
home. All of the kids were
advanced, and some’of them got
married you know. They
couldn’t break up their homes
and come and take care of
mama. So I took care of my
mother until she passed on. She
was paralyzed twenty-two years.
I just reached grade 3. That was
my education.

Although I’ve learned as I
went along, you know. The way
you live and things like that of
both the Indians and the Whites.
I was raised among the white
people. I wan’t on the reserve.

Always it was nice. Some hard

times, and some good times.

Like I say, its not as hard as
what’s going on now..

Everything is just going out of
kilter now. Its what I think. But,
you survive it. I survived the first
depression. We had nothing but
wild life, planted our own
garden, had our own everything.
Them were the days when there
was lots of land. We raised
things you know in the proper
way without interfering with the
others. Now, today, you got to

-be a millionaire you know, to

become a farmer. Yea, it
changes, but it’ll taper off and
fix itself up, I hope. It really
makes me happy to see the
younger people interested in our
ways.

See ee eae es ae

My wis fither as had never
_ been to school and who never
learned to read or write, was the

Turn to our mother _
See silently her mountains —
Taste her gentle rain - "

best teacher I ever had. He
taught in his own quiet way by
telling me about his life. He
taught hy ener

pies with you in the hot sun

| We talk with you in the cool evening

We comfort you, we teach you
We) peeeere a for =

: At the sesidientail sbinek

- They will teach you many ‘things

: _ Notto feel proud  °

Not to feel strong

- That there is no respect for anything
aes of all for you

_ Feel her pulse beneath your ‘feet. -
_ You are her special child — os

Look for our stones

- Like quiet echoes from the pas
Be proud...be strong
_ Have respect...keep our ways’
_ Give courage to your children -

_ That. our piety will be ar

You are anIndian.

This madness cannot. fast ° nes _
When you come home again v We e may be gone

You will be with’ us s again
If only in your memory — oo
Walking inthe sun st :
You'll sit with us again
In the coolevening =
When darkness ode the ight.

Our words will come tackee you .

That our words may not be empty — oe

Flora Julia

I went to school til seventh |

year, and my parents took me
out. My mother couldn’t do all
the heavy work around the
house. There were fourteen of
us. I raised the children of two of
my sisters and one brother. I’m
still looking after kids yet. I got
one more going to school.

I want children to have
everything. They should go
through education and get good
jobs. I think education is a good
thing. Most of the kids only go
to grade 10. Couldn’t get along
with the teachers or something.
The co-ordinator couldn’t talk
them into finishing up.

Jean Silver

I went to school for awhile but
I done more work than school I
didn’t go to school at all. I just
worked. Cleaning and © scrub-
bing, washing the stove, I got
over fifty grandchildren. They
all go to day school. Its different
from our days.

I didn’t like school at all. I
wanted to come home all the
time. Long ways from home.

Our chief took.us over there.
There was about six of us. We |

didnt go to any school that we
wanted to go.

We were sent. If you were
Catholic you had to go to
Catholic school. If you weren’t
Catholic, there were other
schools.

Nancy Phillips

We all went to the same school
at St. Mary’s. Well, I went to
school when I was nine years old.
I din’t know how to talk English
then. At home we talked our
own language and they forbid us

‘to talk our language. It was hard

you know, not to be able to talk
your own language. I couldn’t
understand what they were
telling me. My older sisters
would tell me what they wanted
me to do. It wasn’t like now a
days where they learn how to say
their alphabet you know. I went
to school for nine years. When
you turned eighteen you were
discharged automatically. If you
were entitled to a reward for
being at school they’d give you a
reward. They gave me a diploma
for staying there until I was
eighteen. And they gave me a
sewing machine along with my
diploma. We ony had half a day
of school, the other half was
sewing, and mending. And I
didn’t quite finish my year. I got
married in 1925. When I finished
school, I didn’t speak my

language anymore. But I didn’t -

completely forget it. I tried my
best to revive it. They thought
that we should try and revive our
language, that it was dying out.
They put me as instructor for the
children. I taught them their own
language for six years now. Most
of the children didn’t know how
we lived in the earlier days. So
there was a sort of a story to tell

them how we lived during the
depression. During the first
world war, things were rationed.
At school we used to make our
own porridge, they had their
own garden, preserved the
salmon.

We came from a family that
my dad was a farmer. We had
cows. We had a lot of milk. He
had his own garden. We lived on
that.

My children, I made a mistake
there you know, not talking our
language after I left school. Our
children talk English. I didn’t
want them to learn the way I did.
They went to home school, after
I moved to Chehalis, they had
their own day school. Seventh
grade I think that’s all they had,
then they had to move away
from home to continue in their
education. My oldest daughter,
she went to St. Mary’s, but the
Others they went to Agassiz
high school. The day school on
the reserve has kept on today in
kindergarten up to grade 7, then
they go to Agassiz.

I had two children that
graduated, the others just about
made it, but they made a
mistake. But right now they’re
really busy right now. One is
accounting. The other one, she
works for the human resources.
All the others, they have jobs.
My son that graduated, he’s still
logging. All the boys, well
they’re men now, they’re all
loggers.

To those who believe in the power
of the written word these books
will proclaim our cultural worth.

Bainbridge, Unity

Songs of Seton. Unity Bainbridge Publisher,
Limited. 1976.

Simplistic writing, beautiful illustrations of Indian
children capture and hold for a moment the quiet
peace of the villages of Neskiat and Slosh,
otherwise known as Seton Portage, B.C.

Blades, Ann

A Boy of Tache. Montreal: Tundra Books, 1973.
This book is based on a true story that happened in
Tache while Ann Blades was teaching there. It is
the story of a young boy from the Stuart
Trembleur Band as he lives with his grandparents.
The story shows the relationship between
grandparents and grandson, and their relationship
with the land.

Boyd, Doug

Rolling Thunder: A Personal Exploration into the
Secret Healing Powers of an Indian Medicine Man.
New York: Dell Publishing, 1974

A favorite of Dinah Schooner of UBCIC. Says
Dinah, ‘‘I feel the Grandfathers put the book in
my house. It gave me an awareness about a positive
self-image, a real feeling of being an Indian and
being able to hold my head up for the first time in
my life. It was the halfway mark, a turning point in
my life.’’ Dinah also recommends the book
Medicine Power by Brad Steiger.

Brown, Joseph Epes, ed.
The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven
Sacred Rites of the Oglala Sioux. New York:
Penguin Books, 1953.
A favorite of many Indian people today. Derek
Wilson: ‘‘Black says what I feel about the spiritual
laws and the meanings of the sacred pipe
ceremonies.”’

Glen Williams: ‘‘Explains step-by-step the
spiritual growth of Indian people practising their
rites for personal spiritual development’’.

Campbell, Maria

Little Badger and the Fire Spirit.
McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 1977.
Glowing with magic enchantment, Little Badger
and the Fire Spirit, recreates for children the classic
Indian legend of how humans gained the benefit of
fire.

Toronto,

Cardinal, Harold

The Rebirth of Canada’s Indians. Edmonton,
Hurtig Publishers, 1977.

There are good articles on education in chapters
7, 8, 9, and 10 to get an Indian perspective on what
Indian Control of Indian Education would be like,
the importance of language as culture. He
discusses how DIA policies get in the way of Indian
control.

Clutesi, George

Son of Raven, Son of Deer. Sidney, B.C.: Gray’s
Publishing House Ltd., 1967.

Legends of the Tse-shaht people. One of the first
books written by an Indian to be adopted as a text
in public schools. Illustrated by the author.

Clutesi, George

Potlatch. Sidney B.C.: Gray’s Publishing House
Ltd. Ill.

Beautifully written, lyrical narrative of the Tloo-
qwah-naw (potlatch). A story to be read aloud to
children especially in the intermediate grades.
Informative, entertaining, and illustrated by the
author.

Harris, Christine

Raven’s Cry. New York, Atheneum, 1966.
Inspirational, conveys pride in being an Indian. A
fictional account of the Edenshaw family of
Chiefs, of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Illustrated
by Bill Reid. A favorite of Malcolm McSporran.

Huffaker, Clair

Flap. (Originally titled Nobody Loves a Drunken
Indian) Paperback Library

A group of Indians try to solve their problems in
their own humorous but tragic way. Enjoyable
reading with a penetrating message. Recommended
by George Abbott of the Vancouver Indian Center.

George, Chief Dan

My Heart Soars. Saanichton, B.C.: Hancock
House, 1974.

Recommended by Terri Louis. She says, ‘‘I like the
different things he says about Indian people. He
has a lot of good words and his sharing of this
good teachings is a good way to educate our young
people. His words can help bring the young people
back to their Indian ways, that watching too much

O, my grandpare nts. Bi ye .

of the past. £
grandchildren,
the strength you had.
Let us speak of the

Let us live In harmony me
with life me
as you-have.

Letus understand

“ QUEBOGIES.
: Give'usthe strength
af respect and honesty,
“and the-strength

P< to livealfe

wisdom you passed to.us::, r

of humility
as you have.

Lone Eagle Pipe Man

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Union of BC Indian Chiefs Historic Newsletters