Clearwater River Dene students learn language and cultural skills on the land

Students at Clearwater River Dene School in northern Saskatchewan took part in a fish camp last month as part of their school's land-based learning program where they practise language and cultural skills.

Eden Fontaine, a teachers assistant at the school in Clearwater River Dene Nation, said it was something she needed as she grew up, being abundant in language but lacking knowledge about thing like cleaning and preserving fish.

Connecting the two together is a good opportunity for the students to learn more about who they are, she said.

"I think it motivates kids more to come to school and they know that they have to get their work done if they want to go out and do stuff with Paul and his class," said Fontaine.

Paul Haynes, a teacher from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has worked in Clearwater River Dene Nation for 30 years and is the land-based educator for the program that started three years ago.

Students participate in things like going on walks to identify birds and plants in their Dene language, and harvesting traditional foods like moose, beaver, fish.

"We blended those with working with youth on their mental health and physical, envisioning the medicine wheel concept," said Haynes.

"We are teaching them respect, courage, work ethic, perseverance and just being a good human being and what their environment has to offer them."

Elders also come out to teach the kids how to make moose hide mitts and how to do beadwork.

"Watching the elders work with the kids is just phenomenal," he said.

Philip Piche, who is in Grade 6, said going to the fish camp is "pretty cool" because they get to go out on the boat. 

"We go every year and it's the very best," said Piche.

Although he said someone accidentally took his fish he caught and left him a fish with "a big ol' hole in it," he still did the work of learning how to gut the fish.

"I'm so thankful, so we don't forget this opportunity," said Piche.

Piche said he also likes learning his language because it can be awkward when the elders are speaking to him and he doesn't know what they are saying.

The school has a Dene immersion program where students can attend classes from pre-school head start and up.

Fontaine said her daughter attends the school and comes home counting to 10 in Dene so she sees the importance of incorporating language into school programming.

She said she's noticed in the last 15 years that there has been fewer Dene language speakers in her community.

"Even myself, I used to be super fluent, but as I got older, I speak English more than I probably should, even with my own people," said Fontaine.

Fontaine said including elders in their school's land based programming has helped the students.

"If students need help with anything that has to do with land based teaching or Dene language, they know where to go," said Fontaine.