Lakehead District School Board (LDSB)
For Indigenous students, the traditional classroom can feel like a place where they have to leave their identity at the door. It is often a world that doesn't reflect their history, their language, or their connection to the land.
Imagine instead feeling like your high school classroom was built specifically for you. For many Indigenous students at the Lakehead District School Board (Lakehead), that feeling starts at the Kendomang Zhagodenamonon Lodge (KZ Lodge). The Lodge helps students turn their cultural identity into a foundation for academic success by blending traditional land-based learning with the Ontario curriculum.
Hands-on activities include working together to solve problems like figuring out how to traditionally tan a deer hide or beaver, making moccasins from moose hide, or learning about moose anatomy and science connections to the brain tanning process.
Grade 9 student Brice Koostachin reflected on the impact the program has had on him. “I enjoy cooking in the community kitchen because it feels like, for once, everything is going to be okay. Cooking is an outlet for me. That’s why I always want to cook or make something people enjoy. When I see someone enjoying the food I made in class, it makes all the hard work worth it.”
Lakehead partnered with the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre (TBIFC) to create the KZ Lodge. The Lodge is designed for Grade 9 students who self-identify as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit.
"KZ Lodge represents more than an educational program,” says Sherri-Lynne Pharand, Director of Education at LDSB. “It is a model for culturally responsive education that empowers Indigenous youth to thrive academically and personally."
Solution: Integrating Tradition, Technology, and the Trades
What makes the KZ Lodge different from a typical classroom? It’s where the "real world" meets the "school world." The program operates on a model of collective mentorship and practical application:
● Elder-led Mentorship: Students are guided by Elders and knowledge carriers, ensuring that cultural pride is integrated into daily learning.
● Hands-on Experience: Students earn Ontario curriculum credits through land-based learning and projects that connect them to their communities
● Purpose-Driven Learning: In partnership with Matawa First Nation and now expanded to the Superior-Greenstone District School Board, following their Grade 9 year in the KZ Lodge, students may enter the Indigenous Skilled Trades Pathway where they build practical skills by constructing tiny homes that are gifted back to First Nations communities.
● Collaborative Design: Families and community partners provide ongoing feedback to ensure the program evolves to meet student needs.
This collective effort involves families and community partners who provide ongoing feedback to ensure the program evolves to meet the actual needs of the students.
Pharand notes, “Lakehead is creating pathways that honour identity while preparing students for future success.”
Results: System-wide Impact and Proven Resilience
What began as a targeted initiative six years ago has expanded to every secondary school within the LDSB because of its positive impact on student outcomes. The program has supported more than 200 students over the years and the results speak to a model that works:
● A Pathway to Skilled Trades: Students have a clear pathway forward after finishing their year at the Lodge. To date, approximately 85 students have transitioned into the Indigenous Skilled Trades program.
● Community Impact: Students have successfully constructed and gifted five tiny homes so far.
● Better Grades: Students are earning more credits and showing stronger academic performance. In the Grade 9 KZ Lodge, 96% of students earned eight out of eight credits last year.
● Staying in School: The program has led to increased engagement and attendance.
● Personal Growth: Teachers and partners have observed a significant boost in student confidence and resilience.
● Community Trust: The board ensures it’s meeting Truth and Reconciliation commitments by involving families and partners like the TBIFC in ongoing program design.
The LDSB is honouring the identity of its students and preparing them for a future where they can truly thrive by integrating culture and community directly into the curriculum.