b'INDIGENOUS EDUCATORSgovernancefrom hiring teachersand what weve done is start withPeople dont believe that our kids to setting policies. our culture first, then identify allare capable, so the bar is lowered the curriculum thats within ourall the time, she says. How often When I first started in 1985, thoseculture, she says. In our feasthave I been in conversations about were big conversations becausesystem, for example, if youreour students who are gifted? Not parents hadnt been at that table,hosting a feast, you have math:very often. And Ive been in educa-she says. Now, weve come a longHow much money will it cost?tion for over 40 years.way. Parents are at the table. WeWhat goods do you buy or give have Indigenous trustees, admin- away? How much food do youLoring-Kuhangas mission has istrators, and directors. But we stillneed? Social studies: How are thebeen to raise that bar, not through have a long way to go. We dontclans connected? Language arts:pressure, but through faith. The have enough teachers, counsellorsoral storytelling, the laws passedfirst thing is believing that kids are or superintendents. And thosedown in the feast hall. Its all there. capable of achieving anything they who are there are still fightingwant, she says. There should systemic racism. It is a model that extends tonever be limitations put on kids. secondary classrooms. In GitxsanLet them dream and dream with Throughout her 40-plus-yearAyook 12, for instance, studentsthem. Then figure out how to get journey in education, Loring- study Gitxsan law alongsidethem there.Kuhanga has worked to showCanadian law, tracing the connec-that Indigenous knowledge is nottions through landmark casesOver the years, Loring-Kuhanga has an add-on to education; it islike Delgamuukw. The sameworked in dozens of communities education itself. Our culture is veryprinciple guides Loring-Kuhangasacross the worldfrom the Syilx holistic, and weve always beenclassroom practice. Nation to the Cree School Board challenged with how to fit it intoin Qubec, and as far away as a standardized curriculum, sheBUILDING PRIDE Tanzania, East Africa.explains. We were always tryingAsked what she sees as the biggestIn the early 2000s, she developed to pigeonhole our language andchallenge facing Indigenousa cultural calendar model while culture into a square peg, and itstudents today, Loring-Kuhangaworking in Head Start programs, doesnt work. doesnt hesitate. The sense ofmapping out traditional teachings belonging and pride in who youand activities by season and inte-Her solution? Start with cultureare, she says. It can be very diffi-and let the academic outcomescult for them to feel they belonggrating them into learning themes. flow naturally from it. Ive beenin the education system. EquallyShe presented the model at a world working with a group for a yeartroubling, she says, is the wayconference on early learning in and a half developing curriculum,expectations are too often lowered.Australia. There were Indigenous people from 168 countries repre-sented, she says. They all saw how they could use that model within their own communities. Start by identifying whats important in your culture and teach from there.From serving as a school trustee Supportingand board chair in Greater IndigenousVictoria to leading the Stein Valley Communities Nlakapamux School, Loring-Kuhanga has never stopped pushing systems to change. As a trustee, she championed British Columbias first mandatory Indigenous-content course for high-school graduation. As an administrator, she implemented a year-round cultural curriculum framework grahambuilds.com that raised both achievement and well-being and guided Stein Valley in becoming the first Canadian 30indspiration2025'