Teachers from YK First Nations School Board prepare for inaugural school year

As the new First Nations School Board in the Yukon prepares to start its inaugural year, teachers took part in a training session led by First Nations knowledge keepers and educators. Teachers participated in a variety of workshops including traditional beading, hand games, foraging, and salmon fileting, and education advocate with the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate Blake Lepine said that he hoped that teachers would be able to use the training to incorporate First Nations knowledge and values into their teaching. First Nations School Board Interim Executive Director and member of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation Melissa Flynn expressed hope about the new school board and how it will contribute to real reconciliation. “It really is a monumental moment to recognize the leaders and the aspirations from elders that have come before us to get us to this point,” said Flynn. “We’re now in a position where we can work together with the team of educators and really embrace what truth and reconciliation looks like on our traditional territories.”