Porter Creek Secondary School in Whitehorse opened a new traditional learning camp on its grounds called Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ (“the learning house at Wild Rhubarb Creek”). CBC reports that the camp includes a traditional Southern Tutchone dwelling called a Njel, which was constructed with the help of local students using a cedar log from Vancouver Island and local spruce. The camp will be used year-round for learning activities and will enable the school’s land-based learning teacher to collaborate with elders and community partners on cultural education. “To learn like this in a traditional structure is so much more [beneficial],” said Southern Tutchone Knowledge Keeper Harold Johnson. “You’re not explaining how a house looks, you’re actually in it. Right off the bat, [the students] totally get it, you know?”
