NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL Darrell Willier and Shirley Boomer presented to the Medicine Hat Public School Division's Tuesday board meeting about the array of supports MHPSD offers to its First Nations, Metis and Inuit students.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Trustees heard a presentation on the various supports offered to First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in the Medicine Hat Public School Division at its Tuesday meeting.
FNMI co-ordinator Darrell Willier and FNMI support worker Shirley Boomer joined associate superintendent for inclusivity Corey Sadlemyer to bring the board up to speed on their work to support FNMI and non-FNMI students, as well as plans for a spring Keskih Ke Mowin celebration.
A key feature of Willier and Boomer’s work is to meet with FNMI students regularly to offer their support, whether social or academic.
Boomer says she finds this aspect of her job particularly “rewarding.”
“They’re thirsty for knowledge,” she said. “When I talked to the parents, they’re behind us and their kids being able to get some cultural teachings, because a lot of the parents don’t have any.”
Another purpose of having regular meetings with students is to provide them with “ideas and direction as to why they’re in school,” said Willier.
This will assist them in determining what they want to do for post-secondary education and what careers may be suitable for them, he added.
“When they see that there’s structure to what they’re doing, then it gets them more motivated to continue on their path,” Willier said. “It gives them a sense of the direction and they know why they need to come to school.”
Sadlemyer said MHPSD has seen an increase of 50 students declaring themselves FNMI in the past year, with the total now approaching 400, which he attributes to the work done by Boomer and Willier.
“The work Shirley and Darrell have done around awareness has really helped families to make that next step in identifying,” he said.
Boomer – herself a Sixties Scoop survivor – said there’s reluctance among FNMI families to openly identify as such as a result of trauma.
“It feels like we’re all little isolated pockets,” said Boomer.
As a result, they’ve hosted a series of FMNI family nights to bring the community together, where the adults participate in traditional activities while the children are looked after by Medicine Hat High School students.
Keskih Ke Mowin festivities are new this year, which is being done in conjunction with Medicine Hat College and the Miywasin Friendship Centre.
Boomer highlighted the importance of bringing young FNMI students into touch with their culture while teaching the broader community, providing a personal story of her first powwow.
“I was 20 before I heard the drumming, and when I did it went right through me. I cried for hours. I wasn’t even aware why. It’s called ‘The Mother’s Heartbeat’ and it really resonated with me,” said Boomer.
