Pipe Ceremony marks beginning of partnership between Files Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council and Sun West School Division
Representatives of the Files Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council and Sun West School Division held a Pipe Ceremony at the Treaty 4 Governance Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle on Wednesday, June 8.
The File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council consists of 11 First Nations in the Treaty 4 Territory and represents over 15,000 First Nation citizens both on and off reserve. Sun West School Division is located in west-central Saskatchewan and provides K-12 education to over 6,000 students. Communities served by Sun West include Kindersley, Rosetown, Biggar, Outlook and Davidson.
“Reconciliation is about creating respectful relationships that are built on the premise of a reciprocal exchange between two parties. It is about a mutual understanding that each party wishes to invest in the development of their children through this educational partnership,” stated Jeremy Fourhorns, Tribal Chief of the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council.
“Sun West is committed to working towards Truth and Reconciliation and honouring our Treaty responsibilities and we understand that to do this we need to build relationship with Indigenous peoples,” stated Vicki Moore, Sun West’s Acting Director of Education. “We are honoured to start building this relationship with the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council,” she added.
Following the Pipe Ceremony, officials from the Tribal Council and the School Division met to discuss the next steps in developing a more formalized relationship. Areas of proposed cooperation and learning include opportunities for Sun West teachers to build relationships with File Hills teachers so they can learn from each other. In addition, Sun West would discuss further supports from Sun West’s Distance Learning Centre, which is Saskatchewan’s largest online school as well as the online resources available through its Resource Bank - resourcebank.ca.
Attached picture features Pipe Ceremony participants. Front row (left to right) Sharon Anaquod, Leanne Delorme, Elaina Guilmette, Sun West Board member Karen Itterman, Sun West Administrator Jason Low, Piapot First Nation Chief Mark Fox, Tribal Chief Jeremy Fourhorns, Sun West Student Representative Isabel Zdunich, File Hills Director of Education Sarah Longman, Sun West Acting Director of Education Vicki Moore, Marcella Bird, Sun West Superintendent Kelli Boklaschuk, File Hills Supervisor of Student Achievement Alana Starr, Sun West Indigenous Perspectives Engagement Coach Liz Zdunich, Sun West Treaty Catalyst Teacher Cara Amewotowu and Sun West Board Member Scott Sander. Back (left to right): Joseph Gallenger, Morris Saunders and Gerald Bird.
