1. Victor Thunderchild journey to teaching
How My Teaching Journey Began…. Peyakwaw Kayas namoya waheyaw ota (Once upon a time a long, long time ago… in a not so far distant city. )

2. Neya / I am Neheyaw / Human Being
I am a First Nations person from the Thunderchild Reserve. I was raised by my mom, along with my brothers and sisters, who stressed that education was very important. She is a residential school survivor and didn’t allow anyone to say how we were going to be educated. I endured a lot of racism throughout my life but nothing compared to what she endured at her schools. She taught us to just deal with it, even though it may be difficult, we are there for school. I left the reserve at the end of my grade 10 year to attend elsewhere because all my cousins were dropping out of school.
We lived on the reserve so we had to ride the bus in to school every day. By the time I left the reserve I had a serious chip on my shoulder and dared anyone to knock it off. This is why I can compare with the young angry young boys who are in high school. I didn’t have any teachers, until I left Turtleford, who gave me any support in any way. The teaching staff there didn’t like many of us, this just added insult to many of us. This would stay with me for the rest of my life.

3. Why I chose to become a teacher.
I entered the ITEP program at the U of S in Saskatoon in the fall of This was by chance, I was tired of working at the band office at the reserve. I had always said that I wanted to attend a university and become a professional to help others. Living on the reserve meant that I would have limited opportunities for employment. I wanted to make sure that kids like me in school were going to have someone there that knew what they were going through.
ITEP provided me with that opportunity to become a teacher and help those young angry young men through those formative years. Much of my years working at Carlton had me looking at those kids that I’ve taught and ensure that they would be successful in completing high school. I see those students today and many of them have become leaders within their community. They are part of today’s society that helps others as they were helped.
I felt, at the time, that students now had an advocate on their side to assist them. This degree would help me in getting students on track for finishing school, I hoped.

4. Do I fit in?
“How do I fit Aboriginal philosophy into mainstream curriculum” has always been a question that I have asked myself. Does my vision of education fit with what they want me to teach in the curriculum? This was always an internal turmoil that I have had with myself on a regular basis. I taught as I saw fit and where I could fit it in. Students often had questions as to why I was incorporating so much First Nations material into the Social Studies curriculum. I had always responded with a “because all they want me to teach is the romanticized version of Aboriginal history.”
Aboriginal education had always been something that I had thought about. Where do we fit in the education system. Indigenous people had always pushed to the margins of society. Their contribution to the education system had always been treated the same way. They were looked upon as “The Noble Savage.” and had to be taught that they came from a noble background not what people saw. Somewhere along the way, I felt that I had to look like a non-native person in order to fit in and be accepted. The short hair, the proper English and no speaking of my language. It felt that, as Indigenous people, we had to suppress who we were in order to fit in.
It wasn’t until I began teaching a few years that I realized that by suppressing who I was and where I came from was doing more damage than good. I got back to who I really was and began to incorporate Aboriginal Education into all aspects of what I taught including the worldview of Aboriginal people.

5. How I incorporate Aboriginal knowledge into education
Aboriginal education needed to be incorporated into mainstream society for the past decade. The TRC opened the door for new styles of teaching to be incorporated into the system. The education system needed to be revamped in order to be suit the needs to be met by Aboriginal students.
Through the incorporation of elders and going to other places that encourage their style of learning is now becoming acceptable. Students who are part of their culture have shown to be more respectful and learn better than those who don’t follow their culture.
Aboriginal education encourages those who wish to join to come and be a part of the circle. Whether they be 2, 14 or in their 40’s or 50’s.
I was fortunate enough to work with the Aboriginal Education Unit with the Canadian Teachers Federation as an Advisor. Saskatchewan is a leader in the area of Aboriginal Education and has the most inclusion of the Indigenous knowledge in the system than any other provinces.

6. What does education mean to you?
Aboriginal education is lifelong learning, it means that you are born into a system that you have to learn as you go a long. The current education system is based on the factory model and doesn’t suit the needs of the Indigenous person.
Learning to smudge, pray, sing, dance, and many other ways of doing things is who we are. Those who don’t follow that way of life fall by the wayside.
Aboriginal education is lifelong learning, it always has been, and always will be. From learning how to be part of a group in the building of shelter, to your role in taking care of people in the community.
Ekosi Niwahkomahkantihk.
That is all, all my relations