The University is reaching out to young students while they are still in the K-12 system to help instill a desire to continue with their education as part of outreach efforts through the EleV learning partnership, which aims to better support Indigenous learners throughout their post-secondary journeys.
Terrence Good feels happy when he looks at his body map - a large poster paper outline of his body on which he's written his life history.
Over his ankle, the Grade 5 student from Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh School on Sununeymuxw First Nation land drew a picture of the broken bone he once experienced. Also on his body map are the names of his family members, a favourite memory - playing soccer with his uncle, cousins and siblings - and a quote: "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" which he says is there to remind him that it's OK to be different.
Terrence, along with 18 other students in his Grades 4-6 class, participated in a modified version of Vancouver Island University's (VIU's) Indigenous Learning and Recognition Portfolio course. Typically, the course requires participants to fill out a number of worksheets and other written assignments; for the elementary school version, Ferrin Willie, VIU Indigenous Portfolio Coordinator, decided to take a more visual approach.
"I took the overarching concepts, which have a lot to do with connection to land and language from Indigenous perspectives, exploration of self, and identifying strengths and goals, and applied it to the body map concept," she says. "The maps are a representation of their lives and their life stories, and they were free to share whatever they felt comfortable sharing on them."
The project is part of EleV, a new, collaborative learning partnership with Indigenous communities and funded by the Mastercard Foundation. EleV aims to better support Indigenous learners in their post-secondary educational journeys and beyond through offering scholarships, removing barriers to attending post-secondary and offering wraparound support services once they are here.
