School’s Out Summer Spa:th – Cultural Learnings Help Kids Thrive 

“This is synthetic sinew. It’s really hard to break and this is elk skin,” says 13-year-old Devon proudly. He’s pointing out the various elements of the drum he built during a United Way BC School’s Out Summer Spa:th session offered through the Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society. “The middle was the easiest part because you’re just technically making a dream catcher on the bottom of it.” 

For First Nations Peoples, the drum represents Mother Earth and her universal heartbeat. It facilitates the ability to, ‘listen to our soul so we can understand our purpose and our connection to each other in the Circle of Life.’  

For Devon and his seven-year-old Métis sister, Emma, it’s just one of many Indigenous-focused cultural activities they’ll participate in the School’s Out Summer Spa:th Program. Along with drumming, there is beading, ribbon shirt making, canoeing and kayaking, cedar weaving, nature walks in Langley which is located in  q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen),  q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), Máthxwi (Matsqui), and se’mya’me (Semiahmoo) First Nations and visits from Elders.  

“I enjoy it,” Devon says. “It’s fun to be here. There’s a lot of fun things to do…It’s important to go because you get to learn about Indigenous cultures and what they do and the lands that we’re on.” 

Cultural repair 

“At one point, we weren’t able to be who we were and practice who we were in our culture and our teachings,” says Faith, a Youth Spa:th Summer Lead Camp worker, who is Ojibwe and Cree and Salvadoran. “Especially for an urban Indigenous setting for the kids…some kids might not grow up with culture, so having a camp like this to explore who they are in their background, and their heritage gives them a step forward into wanting to explore more of who they are.”  

“It’s really important for people to be able to identify where they come from, who they are, who their ancestors are,” says Ali, Devon and Emma’s Mom. “I see firsthand when they have those holes in their information how deeply it affects them. It’s hard for people who don’t experience it to understand. It affects them to their core.  

When we have the history of residential schools and trying to wipe out this particular culture, the only way to create some repair is to put the time and effort into facilitating, bringing back the culture and it helps to fill those holes.” 

Faith agrees. “I grew up urban Indigenous, I only had slight exposure…For the longest time I was embarrassed to be Indigenous…There were not a lot of camps to go to. Nowadays, we are so gifted with that experience of being able to be exposed to culture. They’ll grow up knowing where they came from, who they were, how we walked the lands before.” 

“We know that the Summer can feel like a lifetime for kids and families,” adds Trisha Dulku, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Community Impact & Investment, United Way BC. “Before getting back into the classroom in the Fall, School’s Out Summer program sites can deliver crucial essentials, like safe supervision, healthy foods, and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities. In collaboration with our Indigenous partners, summer is also a time for Urban Indigenous and children living on reserve to be immersed in cultural teachings. Connecting with heritage, building a strong cultural identity, and fostering a sense of belonging are essential experiences for children who are in the formative years of figuring out who they are while learning what they’re capable of. These experiences not only preserve traditions but also support the emotional and mental well-being – to thrive in both their communities and broader society.”  

Urban Indigenous realities 

Between 2016 and 2021 the number of Indigenous people living in large urban centres across Canada grew by 12.5%, bringing the total population living in these settings up to 44% (Statitics Canada 2021). Indigenous peoples living in cities experience poverty, inadequate housing, racism, and lack of access to culturally safe or relevant supports and health care.  

 Spa:th, which means bear in Halq’emeylem, is a United Way BC School’s Out Summer site that carves out a safe place for Indigenous kids and youth to have their needs met and form their identity as an Indigenous person in an urban landscape so that they can thrive. With a high staff to student ratio, the camp provides a continuation of the connection that can stop for many children, youth, and their families once school wraps in June. It also helps to mitigate the learning (academic, social, and emotional) loss that often occurs for Indigenous learners during the summer break. 

Fun and connection 

Along with cultural grounding, kids get plenty of exercise, healthy snacks and they get to make new friends. Both Devon and Emma have also been part of the United Way BC School’s Out Spa:th after-school program during the school year. Their mom, Ali, has seen the benefits and was eager to enroll them in this School’s Out Summer program. 

“Devon is getting a lot out of it, both culturally and socially, and I know that it’s a really safe and supportive place for him,” Ali says. “The social connection was really good for Emma. Her comfort level of being out away from me and dropped off was really positive. Emma associates being Indigenous really positively which is important.” 

United for kids and youth 

Thanks to the generosity of United Way BC donors, kids like Devon and Emma are getting a chance to grow up proud and strong. This summer, over 1,500 children in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley will take part in programs like this one, but the need is large and growing. In 2024, almost 6,400 kids couldn’t attend School’s Out Summer due to lack of funding, leaving kids at a disadvantage going into a new school year. 

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