Porter Creek Secondary School in Whitehorse marked the official opening of the Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ Traditional Camp, a new outdoor learning facility designed to support Indigenous cultural education and year-round programming, on May 28.
Located on the school grounds, the camp was developed with guidance from Southern Tutchone Elders Harold Johnson and Meta Williams to provide students and educators with a dedicated space for land-based learning.
The traditional camp will offer year-round land-based learning activities, such as hive camps and traditional chinking, led by elders including Johnson, vice-principal Nicole Cross told the News. She added that the camp will also help enable the school’s land-based learning teacher to collaborate with elders and community partners to enhance cultural education for students.
“It’ll be used throughout the school year and this summer. Right now, we’re just hammering out how we’ll have community groups use it, like YFNED [Yukon First Nation Education Directorate], which has booked it for a couple of camps,” Cross said.
“The goal is to foster more collaborative relationships with community schools, our family of schools, like the elementary schools in the neighbourhood. So instead of having to go great distances to access a space like this, it’s now in an urban-camp setting, whereas a lot of the other ones are out of town.”
The name Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ translates to “the learning house at Wild Rhubarb Creek,” referencing the traditional name for the Porter Creek area and the camp’s educational purpose.
The vision for the camp began four years ago during a First Nations band event, Cross said. That initial spark evolved into a collaborative effort involving students, staff and community partners. The project secured more than $100,000 from the Arctic Inspiration Prize, a seed-funding organization for northern initiatives, and $23,500 from the Yukon government.
The opening was celebrated with a ceremony attended by a gymnasium full of students, teachers and community members. The event featured remarks from Education Minister Jeanie McLean, Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Sean (Uyenets’echįa) Smith, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Deputy Chief Margaret Chiblow and vice-principal Cross.
Smith reflected on the camp’s long journey from an idea during the COVID-19 pandemic to a reality. He acknowledged the shared territory with the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and recognized past efforts by school staff and council members to improve Indigenous education.
He spoke about the importance of First Nations cultural leadership in schools, recalling his own decision to focus on language and tradition after observing a lack of Indigenous presence in education. He also recognized elders like Johnson for preserving First Nations architecture, such as the Njel shelter, a design featured at the camp, which was historically built to help families endure extreme winter conditions.
“I also want to recognize the work that YFNED has done to really increase the capacity and the different resources that our students can access, and to my success,” Smith said.
“It was one of those opportunities for me, as a younger person, wanting to become a teacher and work with kids, schools and programs. But I didn’t see enough culture and people leading culture within schools, so I decided to shift my attention to that.”
McLean, speaking earlier in the ceremony, reflected on her own experience with land-based healing and underscored the power of the land to foster personal growth and cultural understanding. She commended the Porter Creek school for embracing Indigenous culture and highlighted the camp as the first of its kind in a Yukon school.
“It’s the first built cultural learning camp at a Yukon school. It’s designed for Indigenous-led programming and community gatherings. Students will learn from First Nation knowledge keepers, elders and community leaders. They’ll be connected with the land, traditional teachings and develop a deep personal understanding of Indigenous culture and values,” McLean said.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
