 For thousands of years, families have known what to do with this land, with themselves. They're still here, and it's time for us as an education system to be humble and listen. Family in action is a framework that challenges us as educators in four important ways. How do we embed Indigenous worldviews and perspectives in the curriculum, K-12? How do we view Indigenous students, families, and communities? How do our policy and governance structures maintain or reduce barriers for Indigenous learner success? And lastly, how do we use data to track Indigenous learner success as they're on their way towards a meaningful graduation, one that really matters to them? Equity in action became the invitation, the invitation and challenge of acknowledging the racism of low expectations held for Indigenous learners. It really became a systemic intervention and a way for us to all own that work together. I think we're just starting to get to the hard work of understanding what it is to be an equitable system. It has really been the work with the equity in action that has disclosed the barriers that exist in schools today. People who don't think that equity for Indigenous learners is important are people who have not been affected by the inequity that has been apparent in our system. The education system is still evaluating people according to how they can learn the colonial way. And so we really, really need to think beyond the classroom, beyond the school system. What was our traditional ways of educating our students and our people? When you're holding a bowl of sacred water, what you're going to do is the yoh-khu-sup-calan-tsi-wula-insk. You're going to follow behind your teacher with your cedar bow. And then you're going to dip your cedar bow in the water from titi-wini. So there are a lot of things around the way school is structured that we have a hard time letting go of because it has been there for so long we think it's the right thing to do. Tests at the end of a unit, reading a chapter and answering questions. As treaty people, we're so used to doing things the white man way. And you've come and sprinkled some fresh water on us to let us know it's okay to be in the stock too, that it's okay to slow down, that it's okay not to abide by the book that you just listen to your heart. And that goes right back to what we hear in our feast halls. That we can share your heart with us. That's our foundation. There's nothing else that's that. Share your heart. Create space together. Everyone's included. Everyone has a space. To live together in this world. That's what learning is about to me. And how do we respect each other, respect our place, respect ourselves. Everybody's taken care of. Everybody has, you know, that love, you know, they say this is medicine. And I see why, because it does that. It keeps you in a good place. The longer I work in education, the more humbled I am about how little I know and how wrong I was taught. And the students are the ones that have taught me that. A lot of the time, in especially my classes, when an Indigenous person makes a comment or says something or shares their opinion, it's invalidated by multiple people, whether it's like laughing or just ignoring it. Just kind of stuff like that. It's kind of half and half. When you say people, is that students? Yeah, mostly students. The residential school is so long that he's given up that time that he spent mourning that loss of his life and culture and family. I am the first generation out of residential school. So I deal with a lot of intergenerational trauma. I went through a great deal at a young age and I had to grow up very early. When I look at, like, big things that happen in people's life, like graduation, prom, convocation, like, everything, it feels a bit bittersweet knowing that it's taking me a bit longer. But I know I do have that opportunity in set for me. It's just not my time yet. There's also a couple that still need to hand in the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in two-spirit projects. So that still is, you're able to have that. On every topic that involved Indigenous peoples, everything would be brought back to me because my teacher knew I was the only Indigenous person in there. And so after everything that we learned, he would look back to me and be like, hey, Zoe, I'm sure you have something to say on this. You definitely have something to say on this because you're native. Even though he did know me, he can't assume that I'm comfortable with talking about that, especially in front of an entire class, putting me on the spot like that was not a very kind way of going about the new curriculum. One moment that's coming to mind is with a long-time teacher, well-respected by families, by her colleagues. And she did a series of sessions with another colleague and I. And at the end of the, I think it was like a three-day training. At the end of the third day, she was sitting by the, at the table by herself crying and I went over, I was shocked and alarmed. And she looked up and I'll never forget the moment because she looked up and she said, I've been doing this wrong my whole career. And that is, that's what I mean about continuing to show up with humility and compassion because it's, we're asking folks to rethink everything they know about how to be in the classroom and in school, how to make decisions about how to make really hard decisions. We're asking folks to give up some of their power, some of their resources, some of the things that perhaps they valued to create equity for other kids. We are in a place where when the language ceases to exist in this land, it does not exist anywhere else in this world. The language is connected to this land, it's connected to this earth, it's connected to these peoples. You know, if you look at what my father went through as a residential school survivor where the language was beaten out of, language is key to identity. And I look at what we're trying to do now with language revitalization is, it's a long road, but when you walk into a school, if you look at Handworth Secondary School in North Vancouver, a brand new school build, all of their sign is English, French and Squamish. So as an indigenous person walking into that school, Squamish or non-Squamish, but they'll recognize indigenous language on the walls in that school, that creates a sense of belonging for them. We want as part of this equity work for every learner to be inspired, for every learner not only to be valued, but to feel valued, to feel that who they are and where they come from has been valued and respected and has been reflected in the system around them. I do believe that there should be teachings on the good aspects of indigenous culture and history because it all ties together and I believe that it would paint the good qualities of being indigenous and the past people that brought us here. It was also used by the Maintese people. The sash taking many hours over 300 to complete by hand. Now we wear the sash as a symbol of our heritage. Each color holds a special meaning we would like to share with you. So the future could be bright and again it's a matter of can we step outside the red tape? Can we change policies? Can we change governments? Can we change people's mindsets? We've come to this incredible time, engaged in a conversation and yet we need to take those next great steps around responsibility, around reconciliation and around a rights-based approach in our relationship with indigenous communities. I think the number one thing is just the sense of belonging for indigenous learners. If they are coming every day and they're proud to be who they are as an indigenous person, that is the number one data point for me as an educator. It doesn't matter if you are indigenous or you are not. The willingness to learn is what counts, about the stories behind the songs, the drumming, all of it. I want to share that with people who are willing to learn. The kids have said they would love if a teacher didn't know anything about indigenous education, but they stated it and they said, I know I'm going to make mistakes, but I'm really trying. I wasn't taught this way. I also would say to educators who are anxious about making a mistake or offending someone, find a couple of colleagues to walk with you. Don't do this alone and continue to do your homework and know that we are all making mistakes because we're going someplace that we've never been before. We're creating a system that has never existed, so we are going to stumble and be humble. It's okay to say, yeah, I messed up and I'm sorry. I'd like the privilege of trying again. The thing that keeps me going when I think of the painful stories is thinking about the young ones that are yet to be born. And we have an opportunity to change the school system so that when they come, we will finally be ready for them. It won't be, are they ready for school? Are we as an education system ready to support them in an equitable future for all of us, not just some of us?