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"Miigwech to all for your commitment to share what it means to know what Mino-Pimatisiwin is by embracing the teachings of the land we walk on. The Land talks to us...let us listen and learn together." 

-Elder Mary Courchene

Click to listen: Elder Mary Courchene: Mino Pimatisiwin | The Good Life, TEDxMaplesMetSchool

Why ​We Exist

​​OUR PURPOSE. To strengthen our relationships with the land, each other, and ourselves by restoring the ecosystem and human cultures together as interconnected processes.​

What We Do, Who We Do It For

OUR MISSION. Rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, we foster reconciliation by braiding Land-based education, ecological restoration, and community stewardship together for Seven Oaks School Division learners, educators, and the extended community.​

What Is Important To Us &​ How We Behave

 “We need this Earth for our children, grand children and great-grandchildren. We need to preserve what we can for them, rather than destroy it. Giving children that sense of awe about where we are, and what we do so that they can question about the Earth and learn about it and from it, that's one of the best things we can do for young people. We can learn a whole lifetime and never finish learning about the Land around us." 

-Elder Dan Thomas

"Turtle Island was gifted to us, lent to us for the time we are here. We must learn to walk softy on this land."  

-Elder Mary Courchene​

OUR VALUES:

GRATITUDE. We begin all we do with gratitude for the Land, the people and everything around us including the earth, air, water and fire.

INCLUSIVITY. We are stronger together. We collaborate with Indigenous Elders, Divisional leaders, educators and students to respond to and meet the needs of the school community and to create a culture of belonging, responsibility, and safety at the Aki Centre.

RESPECT. We respect and honour the Land, each other, all who came before us, and the future generations. In our teaching and learning, we strive to balance Indigenous ways of knowing and Western ways of knowing, relying on both to inform how we live and learn on the land.

HONOUR. We honour Indigenous Knowledge Systems, worldviews, and ways of knowing and being as the foundations of Land-based Education. We honour the generosity of Elders and Knowledge Keepers who guide and share with us to create an authentic space of Land-based education in Seven Oaks School Division.

RECIPROCITY. All life is interdependent. The Land provides everything we need to live, and it is our responsibility to care for each other and the Land. We embrace the generosity of the Land and strive to give back to the Land through ecological restoration and conservation, education, and sustainable living.

What We Aspire To Become​​

OUR VISION. Aki Centre will provide culturally relevant learning opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners to build connections to the Land through education and ecological restoration that will promote Mino Pimatisiwin - living the good life.  Our vision is for learners, educators, and visiting community members to sustain the values of ecological and cultural restoration and reconciliation. ​

Our actions are supported and guided by: 

SOSD's Indigenous Education Policy

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: 94 Calls to Action

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Education for sustainable living, evolving from:

UN Education for Sustainable Development, and  MB Education for Sustainable Development

The Earth Charter​