Iyiniw Kiskinwahamatowin Kamik (Cree)/Weechasta Wuthpiwchukehbi Ti (Stoney) is aligned with the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action 62-65 as well as the Alberta Teaching Quality Standard 5, which call for the utilization of Indigenous knowledge systems and teaching methods in the classroom. Iyiniw Kiskinwahamatowin Kamik (Cree)/Weechasta Wuthpiwchukehbi Ti (Stoney) is also in collaboration with our neighbors, which include Paul First Nation, the First Nations, Metis and Inuit community within Parkland as well as other local partners.
Together with elders Violet Poitras and Matthew Adam from Paul First Nation, students from Paul First Nation and MCHS staff, a naming ceremony was held where we engaged in teachings regarding the importance of Indigenous Languages and the significance of names. Iyiniw Kiskinwahamatowin Kamik (Cree) and Weechasta Wuthpiwchukehbi Ti (Stoney) means, "the room where people of all nations teach and learn." Kamik is the Cree word for room and Ti (tee) is the Stoney word for room, so those words may be added at times. Both languages are part of the name as they stand together like married partners as it is at Paul First Nation.
Who we are and where we come from?
We, the teachers of Iyiniw Kiskinwahamatowin Kamik (Cree)/Weechasta Wuthpiwchukehbi Ti (Stoney) are thankful to live, work and play on Treaty 6 territory. We would like to recognize and honor this traditional and ancestral land which is home to many First Nation, Metis and Inuit, including our immediate neighbors from Paul First Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Alexander Cree Nation and Enoch Cree Nation as well as Metis Region #4 and which is a crossroad and gathering place for many other nations whose histories, oral traditions, languages and cultures continue to positively influence us. We take the time to recognize the land as an act of respect and gratitude of Mother Earth. We wish to acknowledge the colonial histories, inequities and injustices that have occurred on this land and we commit to lessen these harms by learning, growing and acting in truth, reconciliation and gratitude.