Truth and Reconciliation – Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools

Truth and Reconciliation

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shqwalawun syeyutsus nacu mat tatul’at

Syeyutsus ‘i c’icuwatul ‘i ‘uyatul is a sacred way of walking together with one heart and one mind. The Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools and all our shhw’a’luqw’a’ seek a better life for our smune:m, our grandchildren, our future generations through tulnuxw how to walk together with uy’shqwalawun. tsélqum ‘u tu snuwuyulh ‘u tu syuwenstulh we work in an intentional way that strengthens our interconnection with the xe’xe’ tumuxw and each other.

When we listen to the Land as a teacher and a relative, we nacu mat tatul’at.

Working together with good heart, good spirit

Relatives including one another and the more than human world

Endearing term for all of our sacred children

Harmony with one another

To learn it, to know it, to find it out and to realize it

Following the sacred teachings of our ancestors

Good heart – good mind

Sacred

Land

Together learning as one

Coast Salish Principles

In our journey towards Truth & Reconciliation, a group of passionate NLPS staff came together and worked alongside local Knowledge Keepers to create 5 Coast Salish Principles.  These Principles connect and honour the syeytusus vision statement and are intended for everyone in our NLPS community.  They act as overarching values that we hope to weave into everything we do.  They are, Our Ways of Being Together.

Learning Together with good hearts and good minds

slhilhukw’ is a way of saying connected

Key Points
  • Holistic, connected, interconnected
  • When we feel part of something we flourish

shhw’a’luqw’a’ is a way of saying relatives

Key Points
  • We are all family
  • We are related to one another as well as to the land, all aspects of nature, past/present/future.

ts’i’ts’uwatual is a way of saying to help and to support each other

Key Points
  • Looking for strengths in those around us and working hard to see what they need
  • Deeply rooted in respect, reciprocity and the interconnectedness of all life

xe’xe’ tumuhw is a way of saying sacred earth

Key Points
  • The land is central to everything, and is our first teacher
  • When the land speaks in this territory, the land speaks hul’q’umi’num
  • We take care of the land and the land takes care of us

‘uy’shqwaluwun is a way of saying good heart and good mind

Key Points
  • Showing up in a good way, with good intentions
  • We approach things with both our hearts and our minds

Knowledge Keepers Share Concepts

Coast Salish Knowledge Keepers share concepts that are deeply connected to the land, language and cultures of the Coast Salish People. They provide a starting point for learning from another worldview or through a different lens.

Learning with Syeyutsus Speaker Series

Offered in collaboration with UBC Press and Vancouver Island Regional Libraries in support of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Call To Action #57.  Now in Season 5, our focus is on sharing inspiring stories of strength, resilience, and the thriving cultures of Indigenous peoples to broaden understanding of Indigenous experiences today. Each curated topic brings historical and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, through lenses of art, law, education, environmental knowledge, and activism. We invite you to join us in this powerful learning series. 

Syeyutsus Reconciliation Policy (adopted January 30, 2019)

To support the Board of Education’s goal of Reconciliation, a Reconciliation Advisory Committee (Syeyutsus Family) was formed with the purpose to develop a Reconciliation Policy and Framework for reconciliation across the district, using a process that is culturally relevant, sensitive and significant.

Defining the Syeyutsus Policy

The Syeyutsus Family shares their thoughts

Harvey Seymour – Stz’uminus First Nation (12/15/2018)
Jamie Smith – CUPE (12/10/2018)
Denise Wood – NDTA (12/10/2018)
Leana Pellegrin – DPAC (12/10/2018)
George Seymour – Stz’uminus First Nation (02/13/2023)
Jerry Brown – Snuneymuxw First Nation (02/13/2023)
Lawrence Mitchell – Snaw naw as First Nation (02/13/2023)
Mandy Jones – Snuneymuxw First Nation (02/13/2023)