Cowichan Tribes and the Cowichan Valley School Board have received a national award for their commitment to reconciliation, including working to promote the Hul’q’umi’num’ language and culture, and increasing the number of Indigenous people with school roles.
Their efforts earned them the inaugural $10,000 National Partnership Reconciliation Award from the Canadian School Boards Association.
The association said the award process looks beyond projects focused on “beads and bannock, drums and dreamcatchers” to examples of sustained commitment to reconciliation.
“This recognition is a testament to our strong bond and our thorough efforts to acknowledge and respect Indigenous language and culture within our school district,” said school board chair Cathy Schmidt.
The board is “deeply grateful” to be acknowledged along with Cowichan Tribes and their Quw’utsun Syuw’entst Lelum’ (Cowichan teachings house) Culture and Education Centre, she said.
Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels said collaboration for the Quw’utsun Secondary School construction project is an example of how well the partnership has worked.
The school board announced last year that the new $86-million secondary school will have the traditional First Nations spelling of its name rather then the anglicized Cowichan, and be known as Quw’utsun Secondary.
The decision followed consultation with the Cowichan Tribes Vision Committee, which included elders, senior school-district staff, Indigenous-education staff and Indigenous students.
“Together with the district, our staff have been working to transform educational approaches and create positive, inclusive, and culturally enriching classrooms where all learners can shine,” Daniels said. “Reconciliation is an ongoing process and we look forward to continuing to work with the Cowichan Valley School District to incorporate Quw’utsun ways of knowing and Hul’q’umi’num’ language and culture into the learning journey.”
Representatives from Cowichan Tribes and the school board will attend the annual Canadian School Boards Association National Trustees Gathering on Indigenous Education and Congress to receive the award on July 5 in Toronto.
The district’s new secondary school will replace a school built in 1950. It had several additions through 1998 before being identified as needing seismic work in 2004. The existing school is being used through the 2023-24 academic year while the new school is being built on a site across the street.
The new school is due to open in September.
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