Like all children, Aboriginal children learn how to act and speak by following the example of their parents and grandparents. On these pages, local service providers tell stories that show some of the unique ways Aboriginal children learn and are taught.

These stories are intended to make the point that to understand a child, we must recognize the ways that child is shaped by his/her culture.

At the same time, it is important to check any sign that suggests a child may be delayed in one area. The easiest time to correct delays is during a child’s early years.  

The Stories:

“We had a little girl come into our preschool program at Laichwiltach. When she picked up the pencil she held it in a fist and began marking the paper. At first glance, a teacher might look at that and think, “Oh no!” As it turned out, this little girl had spent her early years carving with her grandfather. Her grip was just right for carving. When we showed her a grip for pencils and crayons, she began to learn to use that other grip. It was important that we didn’t leap right away to the conclusion that something was wrong. It was important that we learned more about her from her family.”Corrine Sagmeister, Early Childhood Development Coordinator, Laichwiltach Family Life Society

“When my second son was of age to go to Kindergarten, I felt he just wasn’t ready. He was the one who liked to stay close to me. I decided to just keep him home. He was a fall baby and I decided to give him another year. That was just what he needed. Like other Aboriginal people, I believe it is important to let children develop at their own pace.”
Kathi Camilleri, Aboriginal Team, Child and Youth Mental Health

“One of the ways we in Early Childhood Education are taught to assess children is to look at whether they interact with other children by a certain age. In my experience as an Early Childhood Educator, I find that when Aboriginal children have played extensively with cousins in their own extended family, they may arrive at preschool and be more reserved when it comes to interacting with children they don’t know. On the surface, it might appear these children don’t interact with their peers, but actually they do interact when those peers are their cousins and extended family. It’s just amidst strangers; they become more reserved and take on the role of observer – as they have been taught to do.

It’s important that this cultural learning be respected and not deemed a deficit.”
Corrine Sagmeister, Early Childhood Development Coordinator, Laichwiltach Family Life Society

“I remember talking with a non-Aboriginal woman who attended a baby shower with Haida Gwai women. She was very uncomfortable. The entire celebration took place in silence. Women went one by one and presented gifts to the expectant mother, but no one said a word. In our culture we can be together without having to talk.”
Kathi Camilleri,  Aboriginal Team, Child and Youth Mental Health

“I can see that communication between a grandmother and her grandchild can be extremely efficient, but it doesn’t necessarily involve words. A grandmother might just look at her grand child or might gently touch the child’s arm. Right away the child understands. Communication has taken place – but no words have been exchanged.”
Joyce McMann, Family Place Coordinator

“I remember a little preschooler at Laichwiltach approached me and said ‘Look,’ and held up three fingers. ‘It’s a “W,” he explained. ‘Here,’ I said, ‘Can you find it in this book?’ He just shook his head and walked away. The book wasn’t an important way to represent this letter “W.” His fingers were.”
Corrine, Sagmeister,  Early Childhood Development Coordinator, Laichwiltach Family Life Society

“I was a teacher at Hahopayuk School in Port Alberni. Of my seventeen students many were not thriving in the regular school system, so their parents placed them in Hahopayuk. After assessing the children, I realized that they were not slow; they just learned differently. Quickly, I understood that the children needed to be challenged. Knowing that most of them had older brothers and sisters and, knowing from experience that sibling rivalry spurs on learning, I thought learning to spell harder words than were expected at the grade 3-4 level might fill them with pride, catch their attention and give them bragging rights at home...

Shortly, the children were asking for more words and harder math. I increased time for times tables and the students learned. Because the children came from fishing families, I used fishing as the basis for many math lessons. Then the children could talk to parents and grandparents about fathoms, miles, feet, inches, kilometers, meters and centimeters. The kids stories began with “My dad/mom says…” or “My grandpa/ma said…” Once they got into doing spelling and math, we started doing poetry.  At the end of the year, the students entered the district spelling bee. The spelling bee was won by one of the students from Hahopayuk School who had been assessed by the School District as being slow.”
Collette Slater, CFVC, CCAC, Life Skills Coordinator, Homalco Indian Band