3 minute read
Stz'uminus Elders Stories
BY MARINA SACHT
A new book is documenting some of the special moments between Stz’uminus students and Elders, thanks to the Snuhiimut Sense of Place Land Based Education, Stz’uminus Education Society.
“We wanted to create this program where Elders were invited to come and share their stories and share their teachings,” said Mar McIntosh, a land-based inclusive education specialist. She, along with her husband, Riley, run land based education programs.
She explained how Stz’uminus Community School students sent out handwritten invitations. A fire was lit, and traditional foods were shared while Elders answered the students’ questions and shared their story and teachings.
The students’ reflections about the experience, along with photographs of the Elders, are recorded in a beautiful book Sulhween Snuwuyulh: Elder Stories of Stz’uminus. A film not yet released was also produced by Arianna Augustine of Keyword Productions.
Supported by a grant through the First People’s Cultural Council, the project captures the special relationship the students forged with the Elders.
“We’ve noticed that the kids really come alive when they are engaged on the land and when they are learning through their Elders.”
McIntosh created the program with community members, the Elders and the students. “We noticed a need to create a connection between place-based learning and land-based literacy. LBL is a form of education that takes place outdoors. It involves learning about, and from, the land and the connection between humans and the land.”
Currently on maternity leave, McIntosh is on Hornby Island but hopes to return to the Stz’uminus community.
“It’s been an honour to be on this journey,” she said, commenting on how the students connect to the learning when it’s culturally grounded, takes place on the land and happens within their community. “We’ve just noticed such a different level of interest and engagement. It’s just really a meaningful experience to work with Elders and an honour to work with Elders and the Stz’uminus students together.”
McIntosh started working on the project in 2023, along with Harvey Jack, Nate Harris, Carly Price, Serena Boyer, Gina Mae Harris and Riley McIntosh.
Combining land-based literacy and place-based learning, the program engaged students and made them feel connected to themselves on a cultural and holistic level. “We noticed that these kinds of experiences fuel this connection to the learning, so that’s where the idea of land-based literacy comes from. It connects learning from the land, learning from our Elders, but is also able to be applied in the classroom to inspire academic experience.”
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