Eskasoni First Nation

• ESKASONI FIRST NATION, TRADITIONAL MI'KMAW TERRITORY, NS, Nov. 14, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Eskasoni First Nation and the Government of Canada announced the signing of a conditional ministerial order for an Addition to Reserve to the First Nations community.
• This Addition to Reserve provides Eskasoni First Nation with a greater land base, contributing to regional revitalization, and creating community and economic development opportunities for generations to come.
• "Very exciting day for my community, as we announce the new addition to our reserve land.
• An Addition to Reserve is the addition of a parcel of land to a First Nation's existing reserve land or an addition that creates a new reserve.

• A knowledge and research collective at Humber College has been working to create, teach and evaluate a new course in the early childhood education program, Two-Eyed Land-Based Play and Co-Learning.
• We are part of the Two-Eyed Land-Based Play and Co-Learning Knowledge and Research Collective and have been co-learning together since meeting in early 2020.
• Exploring children’s outdoor play through Two-Eyed Seeing led to
  rethinking post-secondary training for early childhood educators through this unique and timely course.

Exchange of stories

• It emphasizes “the exchange of stories, the foundation of any and all relationships,” in the words of Elder Marshall.
• We learn the languages of the Land: the Land takes care of us when we take care of her.
• Learning to use both eyes together for the benefit of all prioritizes our eco-kin, and restores balance between natural and human worlds.

Co-learning with the Land

• The course is supported by local and regional Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Holders, mentors and storytellers.
• All who participate in the course co-learn together as they connect or reconnect to and with nature’s ecosystems through Land-based experiences, storytelling, inter-generational teachings and reflection in all seasons and weather.
• We as people must do the same.”
  “Go into the forest, you see the Birch, Maple, Pine.

Transforming early childhood education

• In early childhood education, walking together builds on the benefits of outdoor and nature-based play that supports children’s emotional, intellectual and physical development through exploration and inquiry.
• Across Turtle Island, the stories of animal and plants will be different depending on what Indigenous Lands one is on.
• Co-learning relationships are essential to rethinking and transforming early childhood education practice in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and Call to Action No.

Seeing from another’s perspective

Two-Eyed Seeing helps us to know the environment through human eyes while also seeing things from another’s perspective. With this braided knowledge, we are enriched and transformed. We then bear a responsibility to share what we learn and act for the benefit of all, now and for seven generations ahead.

Responsibilities to all beings

• Initial findings demonstrate that co-teaching and co-learning engages spirit, heart, mind and body for all learners.
• As storytellers, advocates, writers and artists, we are using our gifts to enact our own and collective responsibilities to all beings.

• Funding will go towards the construction of a net-zero carbon facility to house both the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) and the Mi'kmaq Environmental Learning Centre (MELC).
• The facility will be important for encouraging the intergenerational transfer of traditional knowledge and advancing Indigenous-led conservation.
• The UINR is a trusted voice for the five Mi'kmaq communities in Unama'ki, also known as Cape Breton, on natural resources issues.
• "The Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources and the Mi'kmaq Environmental Learning Centre are central to preserving the knowledge of Mi'kmaq elders.