The Yorkton Regional High School wants to become a more welcoming place to students. On National Indigenous People’s Day, they took the opportunity to dedicate the new teepee they have erected in one of the school’s courtyards. It’s meant to welcome First Nation’s students and support aboriginal education in the school.
Principal Mike Haczkewicz said the teepee is a symbol of their commitment to the First Nations and Metis families who attend YRHS. It’s part of a larger goal of increasing the amount of aboriginal content in the curriculum.
“Historically, it has not been the best of time for them in school. We apologize for that, we’re making the best of things going forward. We’re saying that when you see the teepee here in school, it’s a symbol of you being welcome here. It’s also a commitment from our building, our staff and the professionals within here to do a better job of integrating First Nations and Metis culture within our curriculum and giving our First Nations and Metis students a chance and an opportunity and a place to practice their culture.”
The school is committed to doing things right, said Haczkewicz, and they will use the structure as a teaching tool from the beginning. Art classes in the school will decorate the teepee, and they will research the subject so they paint it in a manner appropriate for Treaty 4 land, as well as learn the history of the teepee along with the significance of images they use.
“We don’t want to take something from Treaty 7 land and put it on a Treaty 4 teepee, that wouldn’t be right. There’s going to be some learning and some history.”
.JPG;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
