Pictured above: Students at the Summer Institute closing at the First Peoples House. 

2025 Summer Institute: Water as Relative

Embracing Water as Relative (the theme for this year's Summer Institute), allowed us to deepen our appreciation for this life-giving element as well as to understand its power. A group of 29 students and 5 instructors were immersed in water related themes through history, art, pedagogical approaches seeking sustainable practices, and even music! The guests and visits to various places and spaces allowed us to engage with water in many ways.

The first day started with a welcome breakfast and an opening prayer from Elder May Sam. As we shared food, we listened to ŚW̱,XELOSELWET, Tiffany Joseph, from W̱SÁNEĆ share the experiences they had at school, advising the pre-service teachers to pay attention to the students in the classrooms with whom they will be working.

1st photo: Summer Institute students at National Indigeous Peoples Day at Royal Roads University; 2nd photo: Summer Institute students touring the George Clutesi exhibit at Legacy Gallery. 

Starting a few days at sŋéqəʔ (Cadboro Bay) offered us an opportunity to learn more about the local places, the traditional names, and the people who have inhabited the area close to campus for thousands of years. Alexander Taylor-McCallum, this year's artist in residence, inspired everyone to design and create a canvas representing their connection to water. Students shared their work at the Reconciling with Water Symposium held on campus June 18th and 19th, and heard talks from numerous speakers who have centred water in curriculum, artwork, and environmental activism, including a keynote address by Wanosts'a7, Dr. Lorna Williams. Students participated in National Indigenous Peoples Day at Royal Roads where we had an opportunity to reflect on how spaces are being decolonized by honouring and celebrating Indigenous cultures, peoples, knowledges and languages.

The students also participated in a Water Ceremony led by Elder Aldeen Mason from Saugeen First Nation, contributing to hosting her as they also learned how to be a witness for ceremonies. The final projects for each class were shared on the last day when guests Christiane Smyth and her nephew Adam Cornett from the Salish Weave Foundation engaged with the students to learn about their aspirations as educators and about their responsibilities to decolonize and weave Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum and their lives.

Instructors Alex, Wiigwaas, Héctor, Jean-Paul, and Carmen appreciate the generous support from Salish Weave, and look forward to more years of collaboration and inspiration especially as we celebrate 15 years since we first offered an Indigenous Education Summer Institute. The summer institute is the legacy and vision of Wanosts'a7, Dr. Lorna Williams, and the many instructors, guests, and community members whose passion and commitment have made this Institute flourish!

Ist photo: Students prepare final presentations. 2nd photo: The IED institute students discuss their learning. 

Every June IED offers a meaningfully integrated cluster of four courses offered over four weeks, with a focus on Indigenous knowledge, epistemology, pedagogy and education.

This 6-unit Summer Institute is designed to give teacher candidates an opportunity to learn from and about Indigenous knowledge and to make valuable connections to the local Indigenous communities.

The 4 courses (1.5 units each) included in the institute are:

• IED 371: The History of Indigenous Education in Canada
• IED 374: Indigenous Pedagogies
• IED 399: Special Studies in Indigenous Education (Summer Institute theme)
• IED 473: CENENITEL TW TOLNEW: Helping each other to learn

Each year, a theme is selected for the Institute and an artist in residence leads the 473 course.

Pictured above: Keynote speaker, Dr. Wanosts'a7 Lorna Williams. 

Students participate in Reconciling with Water symposium

During the Summer Institute, the Department of Indigenous Education (IED), with the Centre for Global Studies, co-hosted the 2025 Reconciling with Water symposium. Held June 18 and 19, this two-day gathering brought together Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, scholars, students, community leaders, and allies to engage in thoughtful dialogue around the sacred relationships between water, land, and community.

Grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural teachings, the symposium opened with ceremony led by J’SINTEN and with W̱SÁNEĆ youth group offering prayers, songs, and a water blessing that set a powerful tone of reverence and responsibility.

Dr. Wanosts'a7 Lorna Williams (Lil’wat) delivered a moving keynote on the first day, emphasizing the deep interconnection between water, language, and Indigenous pedagogies. On day two, Dr. Jeff Corntassel (Cherokee Nation) spoke on the theme of Indigenous resurgence and everyday acts of water protection (Water Back), urging attendees to reconnect with place and relational accountability.

1st photo: J'SINTEN shares opening words; 2nd photo: W̱SÁNEĆ youth group. 

1st & 2nd photos: W̱SÁNEĆ youth group. 

Workshops, panels, and storytelling sessions throughout the symposium showcased Indigenous-led water initiatives, land-based learning models, and youth-led research projects. IED faculty Drs. Jean-Paul Restoule and Belinda Daniels spoke on a panel about pedagogical interventions that foreground water, land and life along with Drs. Nick Stanger and Hōkūlani Aikau.

Under the guidance of Artist-in-Residence Alex Taylor-McCallum and Instructor Dr. Hector Vazquez Cordoba, the IED Summer Institute students shared their artworks through presentations on the process and meaning of their works created in IED 473. The students were asked to create art on the theme of water as relative, and the works they produced reflected a strong commitment to water justice and connection to land and water.

IED would like to thank our co-hosts and sponsors who made the event possible: the Office of Indigenous Academic and Community Engagement (IACE), the Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE), the Faculty of Education, and the Centre for Global Studies (POLIS project). This event emerged from the imagination and graduate work of Serap Asar Brown, a Graduate Student Fellow of the Centre for Global Studies and Faculty of Education doctoral student. 

Together, all participants honoured the living spirit of water and reaffirmed our collective responsibility to protect water for future generations.

1st photo: Jean-Paul Restoule chairs a session with Wanosts'a7 Lorna Williams, J'SINTEN, and Hōkūlani Aikau; 2nd photo: Serap moderates a panel discussion on land and water-based pedagogies with Drs. Nick Stanger, Belinda Daniels, Jean-Paul Restoule and Hōkūlani Aikau. 

1st photo: Summer Institute Artist-in-Residence Alex Taylor-McCallum; 2nd photo: Summer Institute student shares his artwork.

Pictured above: Artist in Residence Alex McCallum-Taylor and Instructor Dr. Hector Vazquez-Cordoba

Learning Through Water, Land, and Ancestry

Led by instructor Dr. Hector Vazquez-Cordoba, two sections of course IED 473 – CENENITEL TW TOLNEW: Helping Each Other to Learn, were offered in June and July. The courses invited learners to explore their relationships with water and their ancestry through the lens of contemporary Indigenous art.

Alex Taylor-McCallum (Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw and Nuu-Cha-Nulth multi-disciplinary artist) was the artist-in-residence for the Summer Institute. Alex’s enthusiasm, knowledge, and experience around contemporary Indigenous art were key to involving students in their journey of using spray, acrylic, and natural paint as tools to explore their relationships with water (IED 473 A01, June course) and their ancestry (IED 473 A02, July course).

Photos 1 & 2: The Summer Institute cohort working on their designs and paintings. 

Both cohorts visited Alex’s murals at the Esquimalt Trackside Art Gallery, gaining inspiration from large-scale public art, and explored local places connected to water. The June class (IED 473 A01) visited Tikweneñ (Cattle Point), sketching ideas that would later shape their own canvases.

Each course concluded with closing presentations, where students shared their finished artwork and the personal stories behind them. Many reflected on how reconnecting with water, land, and ancestry brought forward teachings and aspirations tied to who they were, who they are, and who they hope to become.

The cohorts expressed their deepest appreciation for how Alex conducted the course, always willing to support all of us in the use of the materials to create our artwork, but also in his enthusiasm to share his cultural knowledge and life-long experiences.

1st & 2nd photos: The June and July cohorts tour Esquimalt Trackside Art Gallery with Alex. 

1st photo: The students visit Tikweneñ (Cattle Point); 2nd photo: Alex and the students presented their work at the Reconciling with Water Sumposium in June. 

Pictured above: Instructor, Nick Claxton and students from the 2010 Summer Institute, Paddling Forward. 

Summer Institute themes over the years

Pictured above: Artist in Residence, Alex Taylor-McCallum, and students from the 2025 Summer Institute, Water As Relative. 

1st photo: Artist in Residence, Perry LaFortune, and cohort from the 2010 Summer Institute; 2nd photo: Artist in Residence, Perry LaFortune, and students from the 2023 Summer Institute

Artists over the years

Brianna and Gordon Bear

Clarence Butch Dick

Ron and Deb George

Perry LaFortune (supported by Xander Lelewski in 2021)

Chris Paul

Alex Taylor-McCallum

1st photo: Artist in Residence, Chris Paul, from the 2015 Summer Institute; 2nd photo: Artist in Residence, Chris Paul, and guest from the 2015 Summer Institute

Pictured above: Artist in Residence, Perry LaFortune, Dr. Ted Rieken, Wanosts'a7 Lorna Williams, Drs. Carmen Rodriguez de France, Onowa McIvor, and Instructor Nick Claxton from the 2010 Summer Institute.

Special Guests over the years

1st photo: Guest speaker Butch Dick with local singers and drummers; 2nd photo: Elder May Sam and Instructor Chaa'winisaks. 

1st photo: Elder J,SINTEN; 2nd photo: Tiffany Joseph

Pictured above: Instructors Jean-Paul Restoule, Chaa'winisaks, and students from the 2019 Summer Institute at PKOLS.

Instructors past and present

             Danielle Alphonse                                        Nirmala Lall

             Nick Claxton                                                 Ruth Lyall

             Chaa’winisaks                                              Rob Louis

             Carmen wiigwaas Craig                               Onowa McIvor

             Belinda Daniels                                            Laurie Meijer-Drees

             Butch Dick                                                   Shauneen Pete

             Carmen Rodriguez de France                     Jean-Paul Restoule

             Lauren Jerke                                               Hector Vasquez-Cordoba

             Collette Jones                                             Christine Webster

Weaving Together Art, Education, and Community

This summer, our Department of Indigenous Education once again welcomed educators, community members, and students to our annual Summer Institute, creating space for learning, connection, and transformation rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

We are deeply grateful to George and Christiane Smyth and the Salish Weave Foundation for their generous and ongoing support of this important work. Their commitment to uplifting Coast Salish art and knowledge has been a source of inspiration and strength for our programming. By weaving together art, education, and community, the Smyths have helped us create a learning environment that reflects the richness of Indigenous traditions while also engaging new generations of learners and teachers.

We are deeply saddened by George’s recent passing. Yet we know that his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of each cohort of the Summer Institute, as participants deepen their understanding of Salish ways and learn how to bring greater awareness and voice to Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. His vision and generosity continue to guide our path forward and we were honoured to have Christiane attend our closing with Adam and see the kind of work their kindness makes possible.

Because of their support, the Summer Institute continues to thrive as a place where Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants come together in the spirit of respect, relationship, and reciprocity. We raise our hands in gratitude to the Smyths and the Salish Weave Foundation for walking alongside us on this journey.