Nisga’a Youth Science Camps
Spring and summer youth camps are hosted in Nisg̱a’a territory for youth to learn about hoon (fish), aks (water), and adaawaḵ (oral histories). The camps connect youth to their lands and waters and are run by Dr. Andrea Reid, a Nisg̱a’a citizen and UBC professor, John-Francis Lane, Lax̱g̱alts’ap Village Government’s Youth Worker, with partnership with the Ging̱olx Village Government’s Education Department and many community members.
UUQMIS
The UUQMIS (fun) Tla-o-qui-aht Language and Culture Program prepares Tla-o-qui-aht youth to take care of each other and the territory through experiences with biodiversity, traditional knowledge and Cultural Lifeways, to develop a strong sense of Tla-o-qui-aht identity. Program activities include canoe trips, hiking adventures, culture camps, clam gardening, plant relationships, animal stories, history oration, art and singing.
A̱ka̱la Society
A̱ka̱la Outdoor Education Society
Uk̕wana̱lis, BC
Our purpose is to create land and water-based educational opportunities for Musgamakw Dzawada̱’enux̱w citizens.
We
Provide programming based on best practices to support mental and physical wellness
Facilitate leadership training
Teach outdoor skills that promote the safe use of Musgamakw Dzawada̱’enux̱w traditional territory
Provide certifications in the outdoor education field
The programs are delivered with a Musgamakw Dzawada̱’enux̱w worldview. Our traditional laws and values govern how we operate and deliver programs.
Values: A̱ka̱la Society is guided by the Musgamakw Dzawada̱’enux̱w law of maya̱’xala, a word that does not have an English language counterpart, but is akin to respect and reciprocity. Within maya̱’xala are values of gratitude and spirituality. We continue to learn how to weave maya̱’xala into our lives and programs, and understand that this will be a lifelong journey. No matter where you are in your understanding and practice of maya’xa̱la, you are welcome to join the A̱ka̱la ‘na̱myut.
Nuxalk SEAS Summer Internship
The SEAS summer student internship program is intended to create outdoor-based learning opportunities, career inspiration for youth and students, along with gaining hands-on experience and cultural knowledge of the traditional territory of the Nuxalkmc Peoples. The students learn to become stewards and what it means to be a steward of the land. This is an outdoor-baed program with its intentions of creating learning opportunities of fisheries programs, conservation programs, sustainable practices, and stewardship practices.
Kitasoo/Xai’xais SEAS Summer Internship
The mission of SEAS is to empower youth of First Nations communities to be stewards of their territories and natural resources by building educational capacity, creating opportunities for hands-on experience and supporting youth in achieving their educational and career goals. In Klemtu our program is centered on the development and preservation of culture, education regarding sustainable non-extractive industry, understanding of stewardship responsibilities, governance structures, and the conservation of resource and wildlife habitat within the Kitasoo Xai’xais territory.
Kitasoo/Xai’xais Community School SEAS Program
The purpose of the program is to ensure that all students learn and directly experience the cultural traditions of food gathering and harvesting of all the traditional resources available to Kitasoo Xai’Xais members. Students experience the full benefits of the sustainable resources as well as the meaning of inherent Indigenous rights that comes with membership
Koeye Camp
Koeye Camp is a land-based language and culture program for Heiltsuk youth. Since 1999, Qqs Projects Society has been bringing generations of young leaders and learners to the Koeye Watershed, around 30 nautical miles south of Bella Bella, where they participate in an immersive and hands-on program that incorporates daily language lessons, ancestral foods and medicines, weaving, canoe pulling, and a deep dive on potlatch protocols in Dhadhixsistala – our bighouse in Koeye.
Bella Bella Community School SEAS Program
SEAS is a land-and-water-based education program at Bella Bella Community School, a Kindergarten to Grade 12 band-operated and certified Independent school in the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella. Our program began in 2011 and has grown to become an integral part of our school. There are also unique SEAS programs in some of our neighbouring communities.
SEAS connects our school community with mentors, knowledge holders, and experts, providing opportunities for students to learn about and directly experience the lands, waters, and seasonal harvest cycles of their traditional territories. These immersive experiences strengthen and uplift Heiltsuk youth as they develop into confident individuals, providers, and caretakers of their territory, culture, and community.