Embracing the local history of the Indigenous culture has been a priority for Central Okanagan Public Schools long before our politicians and Aboriginal leaders started down the path of drawing up truth and reconciliation agreements. 

Over the last two decades, the school district has started Indigenous learning academies, first at Mount Boucherie Secondary (MBS) working with the Westbank First Nation, which has since spread to other local high schools. 

And the school district has developed Indigenous-based courses, which have since been authorized by the Ministry of Education and Childcare as recognized course credits as part of the new provincial Indigenous course graduation requirements for students. 

Also sometimes overlooked is these initiatives have also attracted the enrolment interest of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous high school students. 

Yet another significant step in representing Indigenous culture was unveiled at the Central Okanagan Board of Education meeting room on Wednesday, the permanent installation of a painting created by students in the Indigenous visual arts course at MBS under the tutelage of Jim Elwood, a long-time art teacher at the school, and Coralee Miller, an artist and WFN band member.

Ryan Mansley, principal of MBS, introduced Elwood and Miller to the school trustees, acknowledging how proud the students responsible for the artwork and the school itself are to see this particular project completed. 

"This is so important to us to honour the long-standing relationship we have as a school with the WFN. And to be on their land is important for us," Mansley said. 

The painting followed a development path of ideas represented by five different visual zones, with the elements coming together under the guidance of Miller's Indigenous cultural knowledge. 

Each zone represents important elements in Indigenous knowledge of how to care for each other and how to care for the preservation of nature for future generations. 

"This painting represents the stories of my people and it is important to exchange these stories," Miller told the trustees. 

Elwood said the students developed the ideas artistically represented in the painting, teaching themselves the experience of "taking a  blank canvas and turning it into something."

He called it an invaluable learning experience for the students to see how ideas progress from a starting point to a finished art product. 

"The students learned to trust the process and got to see how it can all come together," Miller added. "This painting represents their heart, their work."

Miller said the painting is titled 'Together We Learn' which corresponds with the learning theme adopted by the school district for the 2024-25 term, Togetherness. 

Terry-Lee Beaudry, deputy superintendent of Okanagan Public Schools, noted the painting represents a full-circle moment for the school, as Miller was a student at MBS and took art classes taught by Elwood. 

"This is the first time Indigenous art done by our students has been put under permanent public display, " Beaudry said. 

"Coralee's storytelling inspires all of us and this painting reflects our school district's commitment to Indigenous cultural learning and history, and shows how we can continue to move forward to reconciliation."