Songhees Nation Elder Skip Dick still vividly remembers his fear of formal education as a child.

But standing amongst some of the 1,000 aboriginal students who began or returned to classes this fall at Camosun College, Dick lights up as he ponders the younger generationB次元官网网址檚 future.

B次元官网网址淢any educated people admit the only thing they know about First Nations are in the textbooks,B次元官网网址� Dick says.

B次元官网网址淏ut people are starting to understand we have to take education to the next level, and really live it instead of just talking about it.B次元官网网址�

Dick was one of several elders B次元官网网址� including Esquimalt Nation Chief Andy Thomas B次元官网网址� invited to witness and participate in CamosunB次元官网网址檚 renaming ceremony for its aboriginal program on Friday.

The former Aboriginal Education and Community Connections program is now the Centre for Indigenous Education and Community Connections. (See inset photo for Lkwungen name.)

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people arenB次元官网网址檛 comfortable with the word aboriginal. Indigenous is much more encompassing,B次元官网网址� says Shayli Robinson, First Nations director with CamosunB次元官网网址檚 Student Society.

The Lkwungen phrase, which references good heart, good mind and good feelings, B次元官网网址渋s pretty high praise in our community, and not to be used loosely,B次元官网网址� says Butch Dick, Songhees Nation Elder and emcee at the ceremony. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 not so much the name as it is the people who actually work within the institution and make it what it is.B次元官网网址�

Camosun offers 10 Indigenous-specific programs B次元官网网址� including Indigenous business leadership, a certificate in Indigenous family support as well as post-secondary preparation. The college also boasts aboriginal students from over 50 nations, including West ShoreB次元官网网址檚 Beecher Bay. (The University of Victoria also has about 1,000 First Nations students.)

Janice Simcoe and Ian Humphries, co-leaders of the Centre for Indigenous Education at Camosun, pushed for the renaming together with the Aboriginal Advisory Council, a collection of First Nations stakeholders who make up the longest continuously run post-secondary council of its kind in B.C.

All Indigenous programs at Camosun must be vetted through the Council. Students are also connected through an Aboriginal Student Association, who use dedicated space at the college to organize events.

B次元官网网址淥ur goal is to have aboriginal students being reflected not only in curriculum, but in their experience in the college,B次元官网网址� Simcoe says.

B次元官网网址淲e also know that unless we support non-Indigenous people to be better informed and feel more welcome in our circles, we wonB次元官网网址檛 resolve those long, social questions of two groups rubbing up against one another.B次元官网网址�

Another big goal for the new department will be to engage in more scholarly and community research on Indigenous issues.

B次元官网网址淭he proportion of aboriginal students we have at Camosun is one of the highest in the country,B次元官网网址� Humphries says.

B次元官网网址淲e have a connection across all schools and departments in the College.B次元官网网址�

As a feast of bannock and smoked salmon is served to a few hundred onlookers, Dick reflects on the once-deep stigma towards education in the aboriginal community

B次元官网网址淗istorically, education meant you had to give up your identity, who you were as an individual. It was all meant to make us the same as everybody and assimilate us, but somehow, we knew that didnB次元官网网址檛 make sense,B次元官网网址� Dick said.

B次元官网网址淏ut weB次元官网网址檙e building those bridges now, and other universities are doing the same thing, which is really neat for aboriginal students all across the nation.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� Daniel Palmer

editor@saanichnews.com