“Education is what got us here, and education is what will get us out.”

- Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair
Former Senator and Chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission

As of the last school year, all students working toward a BC Dogwood Diploma must successfully complete at least 4 credits in Indigenous-focused coursework.

While the requirement is for the 4 credit course to have an Indigenous focus, there is a fair amount of flexibility in the curriculum and delivery. Schools can determine the best option for their community, ranging from learning to speak a First Nations language to teaching one of the Education Ministry’s First Peoples courses in English or Social Studies. Collingwood chose the Social Studies route because we felt our students would benefit from a deeper understanding of their home province. This course also allows students living their lives mostly in the Lower Mainland to explore our province’s diverse geography, history and cultures.

Taught very differently than other subjects, Collingwood’s custom-developed course integrates First Peoples principles of learning and emphasizes experiential learning and student reflection in the form of journaling. With separate units that explore issues and topics such as identity, story, history, law and pathways toward reconciliation, students engage in questions about the landscapes, resources and peoples of BC, before and after contact with European settlers.

“When I first strolled into the BC First Peoples' class, I assumed reconciliation was just mending some old bridges between Indigenous peoples and the rest of us. But each lesson, each tale, opened my eyes wider. It was less about cramming facts and more about introspection. That lingering thought, "What's our place here?” echoed in my mind. It digs deeper than just self-identity. It touches on our collective role, the impact of our decisions, and the significance of our actions. Reconciliation isn’t a mere destination—it’s a continuous journey for all of us.”

- Gr. 12 Collingwood Student

A critical component of Indigenous studies is the idea that Indigenous peoples' identities, worldviews, and languages are renewed, sustained, and transformed through their connection to the land. At the start of the course, students are tasked with creating a large map of our province that identifies the geographies and inhabitants prior to the arrival of Europeans, including the resources, geography and challenges of each area.

“The map is a response to the idea that many British Columbians don’t have a strong sense of our province’s geography,” says Kim Mulder, Coordinator of Indigenous Education and Teacher of BC First Peoples 12, “The map grounds our explorations and learnings in a very real way.” 

Sitting around the map, students then explore the link between land and culture and how people’s landscape and climate influence cultural expressions, such as language, art, and ceremony. At the centre of First Peoples 12 is the idea that each individual’s learning is to the shared benefit of everyone in the circle. As a result, the class features a lot of relational peer-to-peer learning through discussion, modelling and presentations, with teachers providing support and guidance.

“Developing and teaching this course is a dream come true for me. I grew up in a community where people were negative toward Indigenous people. My personal experiences did not match what they told me they should be. Maybe because of this, my life’s goal is to find ways to bring divided people into relationships with one another. It is very rewarding to see so many students developing a larger understanding of the host nations and the complex issues that are being worked through. This is truly a 21st-century education.”

- Kim Mulder, Coordinator of Indigenous Education and Teacher of BC First Peoples 12