Skip to content

Sacré-Cœur students build birch bark canoe

Students and staff from Sudbury’s École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur celebrated the completion of the construction of a 13-foot birch-bark canoe with an official launch ceremony Friday.
230515_canoe1_660
Grade 11 students at École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur built a birth bark canoe with the help of Marcel Labelle, centre from the Métis and Anishinaabe nations. They launched the canoe Friday in the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area. Supplied photo.
Students and staff from Sudbury’s École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur celebrated the completion of the construction of a 13-foot birch-bark canoe with an official launch ceremony Friday.

This activity, held at the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, was held in the presence of students, staff as well as parents and friends of Sacré-Coeur.

Since March, students from École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur have benefited from their relationship with Marcel Labelle from the Métis and Anishinaabe nations. During his frequent visits to the school, Marcel Labelle shared his knowledge with students registered in the native education studies and woodshop courses. Through this learning experience, students became familiar with the importance of the canoe for Métis and native communities.

“The canoe-building project was part of the curriculum of the Grade 11 native studies course that was taught at École secondaire du Sacré-Coeur, which was the first secondary school in Ontario to offer this course in French,” said Lyse-Anne Papineau, director of education at the Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, in a press release. “This hands-on initiative has had a huge impact, enabling students to discover the bounty of Métis and First Nations customs and traditions.”

The Grade 11 native studies course, entitled “Current Aboriginal Issues in Canada,” focuses on existing and emerging issues of importance to Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Students investigated issues related to identity, relationships among Aboriginal peoples, and the contemporary challenges posed by these issues. Students also examined such topics as language preservation, the responsibilities of Aboriginal women and men.

The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario is offering this opportunity to its students to support Native students (First Nation, Métis and Inuit) and help them reach their full potential. The board’s program includes initiatives that support awareness, learning and success at school, and seeks to instill pride and belonging towards the Aboriginal cultures.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.