An Indigenous student group in Chilliwack is helping to guide Indigenous education by sharing the experiences they have had in the classroom. The initiative stemmed from British Columbia’s Indigenous coursework requirement for students, as some teachers felt uncomfortable teaching Indigenous-focused content or would put the onus on Indigenous students to teach their peers. To help address this, students in the Indigenous Student Voice and Agency group meet each month to share their classroom experiences with faculty and staff, highlighting what worked and what presented challenges so that teachers can better educate students. “Being able to have those conversations with some of the barriers removed, which students have been incredibly instrumental in designing what those opportunities should look like, has led to some really transformative change,” said teacher Niki McCall.
