Celebrating Indigenous Perspectives

Mme Lavallée is the Indigenous Student Success Teacher for the Pembina Trails School division. She visited our school for 3 weeks in the months of April, returning for a few weeks in June. 

With the grade 2+3 class, Mme Lavallée started off by introducing herself by sharing her ancestry, recounting her family's story, teaching us a few words in Cree and Ojibwe, and exploring traditional attire and pow wows. She clarified the difference between and the meaning of the words Indigenous, Indigènes and Autochtones. She explained what it means to be a settler to these lands and the students enjoyed sharing their heritage with the class. We made name tags to show our heritage, express ourselves, explain the meaning of our names, and display the importance of a name. We learned about the Métis and the Métis culture. We beaded, we jigged, and we played the spoons. We located the Métis lands on a map of Canada. We found out about the Battle of Batouche, where the land is located on a map of Canada (comparing the distance from Winnipeg) and read about the yearly festival there that can be attended by all. We discovered the importance of the symbol and colors of the Métis flag. We discussed Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. We even learned a few words in Michif. 

Marsee, Mme Lavallée