LCS Co-Hosts a National Conversation to Explore Relationships with Indigenous Communities

On November 25, LCS co-hosted a panel in partnership with CAIS Boarding Schools about strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities. Together, with Canadian independent schools and panellists (and LCS alum), Duncan McCue ’88, Maurice Switzer ’63, and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril ’97, we connected on issues and listened to stories about our community’s connections with Canadian Indigenous populations. 

Assistant Head: Enrolment Management, David Darby opened the conversation by welcoming our panellists. “We are fortunate to have three guest speakers with us today that are alumni of Lakefield College School. We’ve asked that they each provide an honest and open account of their lived experiences at the school.”

With that, each speaker recounted their experiences at LCS and beyond, sharing their perspectives as Indigenous Canadians. Their willingness and openness to share their lived experiences were met with gratitude by participants. The telling of personal stories allowed participating schools to learn more about fostering inclusive learning environments and facilitating safe and welcoming spaces.

Jeremy Hansen P ’23, ’24, ’24 also joined the conversation and spoke to the importance of the LCS Indigenous Leadership Bursary, which was born of the sharing of traditional culture with members of the LCS community and the understanding that a personal experience with traditional Indigenous knowledge is foundational for Canadian leaders.

During this conversation and beyond, we are focussing on the ways in which we can provide broader access to an LCS education with a goal to continue to strengthen the breadth and depth of student perspectives present within our community.

Thank you to Duncan ’88, Maurice ’63, Alethea ’97, and Jeremy P ’23, ’24, ’24 for joining us in this important conversation.