Wemindji !

I felt really privileged to get back to Wemindji today. It was a beautiful day in a wonderful community. I have so many fond memories of the time we lived there when I went to elementary. Of course, I had to take a picture with the blue house that we lived in by the river!

Along with seeing dear friends from childhood, and people who have been so inspirational to me as I developed my beliefs about education, I was really fortunate to have been able to hear from people.

I have always been really struck by the way in which culture and language are supported in really practical ways in Wemindji. The fact that the community runs its own Cree language and literacy programming, and heritage and culture programming, such as the place names project, the community memories project, and the upcoming Old Factory Days, speaks volume to the importance of heritage to this community.

Some of the things I heard from people while I was there included:

• Cree Culture and Language are important and need to have a place in our school programming

• Let’s find a really authentic and practical way to implement land-based programming as a way to supporting language maintenance, but also as a way of ensuring that students learn about Cree Culture in a deep and meaningful way.

• All students need to be supported in school. Students with special needs must have more attention, and we need to pay attention to the way in which they are supported in the schools and the way in which they are integrated.

• Students who are high academic achievers need to have their needs met as well – we need to implement enrichment programs that will allow these students to excel at a pace in line with their abilities.

• We need to ensure that we uphold high academic standards to make sure that we respect the abilities of our students and also to make sure that we prepare them to pursue post secondary studies.

• We need to work on ensuring that we run a teacher training program geared towards producing teachers from the community whoa re well trained and well-prepared to provide excellent learning experiences for our students.

I am grateful to the radio station and the amazing staff there for giving me time to speak about empowering and engaging community members, parents, students, and support partners, while we insist on accountability to results and transparency.

I am also grateful that I got to hear from so many wonderful people who care a lot about our education system and to creating really positive change and continued improvements.

Thank you especially Frances and Johnny Mark and family for inviting us into your michuap for some tea and chiisht aikuunauu and a thought-provoking conversation!

I am grateful for today.