yutustana:t (Mandy Jones) and William Taylor led students and staff in singing the Equality Song by Patrick Aleck during the Ladysmith Heritage Awards held at Ladysmith Secondary on Feb. 26.
By Mandy Moraes, NLPS staff
At Ladysmith Secondary, students are gaining a greater understanding of the land and local history through a culture and language program that moves learning beyond the traditional classroom.
The school’s Land and Language Based Learning program helps students connect with Coast Salish teachings, learn to speak Hul’q’umi’num, and take part in hands-on cultural activities.
The program started about twelve years ago and was recently recognised at the annual Ladysmith Heritage Awards dinner for its role in strengthening cultural learning.
“Our Elders talk about ‘waking up’ the language and culture after it had been pushed aside for so long”, said William Taylor, an educator in the program. “To bring it back and honour it within our education system is really beautiful work.”
A key part of the program is the belief that language and land are closely connected. Students learn Hul’q’umi’num while discovering how the language reflects local environmental knowledge.
“If the language sprang from the land, then learning that language teaches us a great deal about the land we share,” Taylor said.
Students join in activities like processing fibre for weaving, preparing cedar bark, and working with Indigenous plants in the school gardens. They also make gifts for Elders’ gatherings and cultural events.
Elders are also invited to share their knowledge through such practices as weaving, knitting, drumming, and storytelling. Students share their work and learning with the wider school community, building communication skills and pride in what they achieve.
At the Ladysmith Heritage Awards dinner, Ladysmith Secondary principal Shelley Gvojich highlighted how the program has helped build a more welcoming and connected school environment.
“When I started my journey as an educator right here at Ladysmith Secondary School, there was no Land and Language-Based Learning, and the school looked and felt very different,” she said. “Coming back as an administrator three years ago, those changes became very clear.”
Gvojich explained that the program began after staff discussed the need for the school to better represent Stz’uminus territory and the more than 100 Indigenous students who attend it.
“It took years of relationship building, funding and trust,” she said. “And it took the right people.”
Among those people is Yutustana:t (Mandy Jones), a Snuneymuxw Elder, Hul’q’umi’num language teacher and knowledge keeper who also received the Indigenous Education Award at the inaugural Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education.
Yutustana:t worked with longtime teacher William Taylor to create a program that meets provincial curriculum requirements and puts Coast Salish language and culture at its heart.
“Our students are the teachers of the future,” Yutustana:t said during the awards dinner. “They are the ones who will pass on our language, our culture and our snu’wuy’ul — our teachings. How important it is for us as adults to share our gifts with our beautiful children. Already, I see them growing. They work hard to bring back our language, our culture.”
The program reflects these teachings in its student assessments and asks students whether they are present and prepared, if they are listening, if they can tell the story back, and whether they can identify and add their own strengths to the class work.
“It’s a family where connection and belonging thrive,” Gvojich said.
Educators hope the Land and Language Based Learning program will help students gain a better understanding of one another and the land they share. It’s a reminder that education is not only about knowledge, but also about listening, respect and building a more inclusive future.