SIPEKNE’KATIK: More than 500 students students from four East Hants schools all joined together on Thursday afternoon to create a symbol of healing.
Hants East Rural High; Shubenacadie District Elementary; Riverside Education Centre; and L’nu Sipuk Kina’muokuom School (LSK) all converged on a location that for many symbolizes pain and trauma,
The coming together of the three schools and LSK along with community members from Sipekne’katik was a first time event, one that many hope builds and continues in the years to come.
The students and community members placed 15,000 orange flags in the shape of a heart on the site of the former
Shubenacadie Residential School in Shubenacadie.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Alongside dancers and drumming from the community, this symbolic act is meant to offer community a healing
symbol on a place associated with trauma in the days leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/ Orange Shirt Day.
“On behalf of Sipekne’katk First Nation, we recognize and appreciate this meaningful step forward by our youth,” said Sipekne’katik Chief Michelle Glasgow.
“We believe this positive action, shared learning and common understanding are essential on our truth and reconciliation journey.
“We thank all the educators, staff and students for their hard work in creating this important symbolic day.”
ADVERTISEMENT:
The initial idea arose from collaborative conversations between the Equity in Action Team, a collective working group comprised of staff members from Sipekne’katik First Nation, CCRCE, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Education’s Mi’kmaq Services staff members.
The Equity in Action Team has been working together for the past two years to create genuine and meaningful dialogue about the experience of education for Indigenous learners and to respond in strategic ways to create conditions for success.
“It has been a privilege to listen and learn from the Sipekne’katik community and the Mi’kmaq/ student of Indigenous descent who attend CCRCE schools in the Equity in Action Working Group”, said Gary Adams, Regional Executive Director of Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education.
“The idea to bring students together to work collaboratively on this important project came from discussions on how we can build and strengthen our relationships and understanding.”
