Aboriginal high school still growing strong

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Winnipeg's Children of the Earth High School is now into its third year of operation and, as with any new school, is still experiencing growing pains.

With a population of 250 students in Grades 9 through12, the challenges are obvious. The concept of an Aboriginal survival school was born out of the intense frustrations felt by Aboriginal parents, community members, and educators over the way the mainstream school system was failing to meet the needs of Aboriginal students. High dropout rates, disrupted attendance, feelings of alienation and racism were all too common and required more than band-aid solutions.

Through the efforts of the Urban Aboriginal Advisory Committee and the community-elected Thunder Eagle Society the Winnipeg School Division 1 opened the doors of Children of the Earth High School in September 1991.

The high school operates under a unique joint management agreement which is the first in the history of the Winnipeg School Division. The committee is made up of members of the Thunder Eagle Society, students, school teaching and non-teaching staff, and parents.

Another unique feature of Children of the Earth school is its cultural program. Each morning class opens with the traditional smudging ceremony and a sacred sharing circle. Students and staff get together to speak of school programs, activities of the previous night, their goals and challenges, and their hardships. Everyone listens in silence as one person, holding a rock or eagle feather, speaks. Once the person has finished speaking the object is passed on to another person who then has the opportunity to speak.

Through the school's cultural programs students have the opportunity to become involved in a wide variety of activities including beading and other crafts, drumming and singing, the sewing of traditional star blankets, and square dancing. Elders make regular visits to offer lessons and stories. Trips to gather medicines, gatherings at sweatlodges and other activities are also a regular part of the cultural program.

The cultural program is more than just lessons in a classroom. It shapes the structure of the school itself. Each grade level has been placed in a direction on the Medicine Wheel: Grade 9 in the east, the place of new beginnings; Grade 10 in the south where youth, idealism and compassion dominate; Grade 11 in the west, the place of dreams, reflection and ceremony; and Grade 12 in the north, the place of wisdom, moderation and completion.

Eacjh grade receives teachings on the gifrt s of the Medicine Wheel direction and these teachings, like the themes that the cultural programs follows, are integrated whenever possible into the academic subjects.

Each new season is celebrated by a traditional feast and it is the responsibility of each grade level to host the feast for their direction. Students take responsibility for much of the work involved such as food preparation, decorating, serving and clean-up. Through such events and the regularly held Full Moon pipe ceremonies, students learn by participation and observation the ancient traditions that have been a part of their culture for generations.

Children of the Earth seeks to blend this heritage with the rigors of modern academic studies to enable students to face the challenges that lie ahead of them. The school's highest honor reflects this balance. Each year, two graduating students, one male and one female, receive the Eagle Feather Award which marks significant achievement in both academic and cultural areas.