001For school educators, a lot of tribal history and the formation of tribes and the relationship, that government-to-government relationship has been missing from our school education, from our K through 12. That knowledge needs to be put in place and that sets the foundation for which the rest of the relationships are going to be built from. I felt a real sense of understanding and a desire to learn today in the room. There was a lot of engagement between tribal members and superintendents and school directors. Anytime leaders take time to just reflect on their own practices and talk with others who are in adjacent roles but different, I think every one of us improves. I think the impact of these convenings really is to think about our students who are in our schools, in our hallways every single
002day. And if they aren't seen and valued for who they are, then they're not going to achieve or thrive as much as they could. Often times as a school board member, you don't get to see the the faces of the students. In our district, we have just over 5,000 names that this work is for. It really allows our students to be themselves to not feel like when they go to school they have to leave their culture behind. >> I feel that to be a learner and to take the learner stance, you have to make yourself vulnerable and be able to say what you don't know. We have school board members up there on the panel telling their own stories. So we had a lot of vulnerability today. We heard from both Banebridge Island and North
003Kitap school board superintendent teams. Together those teams have really built strong, meaningful, authentic relationships with the tribal members that they're working with. It's all of us coming together that really makes it powerful. If it was just one different entity, we wouldn't have the balanced perspective that we do when we come together. Some people were sharing best practices as well as practices that have been hard where they've struggled. Others were really here to listen and to learn. And I think everyone along the way gains something from it. >> Now I know what questions to ask or I know where to find those answers. There's a lot of experience in that room. One of the things that we recently have done in the last several years is renamed one of our elementary schools that is now in
004lashid which is the language of the Squamish people. And that's one way that we can honor that. Not just helping native students see themselves in the curriculum, but helping all students understand what they can benefit from by learning from their cultures. >> This is really about building relationships and in community and honoring the communities that you come from.