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In 2016, the School of Child and Youth Care embarked on finding a symbol that we felt could represent our school, intent and mission. We called on local Salish artist, Dylan Thomas and he felt that he had the vision and conception that mirrored our values and history and commitment to working towards Indigenization, decolonization and, finally, reconciliation. The symbol that he created is called: Community Wellness. Dylan Thomas explains its significance and meaning.

Community Wellness is dedicated to the power of harmony in First Nations communities. The design depicts four human figures who come together to form a perfect circle around the center point. The middle circle represents First Nations youth and culture, and the four humans represent our families, relationships, culture and communities. If one of the figures was removed or misplaced, the circle would not be complete and the middle circle would be exposed, but when the four figures are placed correctly, they form a protective boarder around the center, which symbolizes the security created when our communities work in a supportive and harmonious fashion. (Dylan Thomas 2016)

Our Drum, Community Wellness, will be at the Child and Youth Care in Action VI Conference: Moving Through the Trails and Trials Toward Community Wellness.

One of the functions of the drum is to be a witness and to be present and affirm the good work and practices that are being established in our local, national, international families and communities. We invite you to build a relationship with Community Wellness Drum and to remember that we stand for families, relationships, culture and communities.

At the entrance of the School of Child and Youth Care, stoically stands the Transformation Pole. In 1993, Artist and Carver Don Smith was commissioned to carve a totem for the School of Child and Youth Care to commemorate 20 years since its inception. The pole is carved of red cedar and depicts the Salish Thunderbird as half eagle and half human. Enveloped between the wings of the thunderbird nests a child or youth. The Thunderbird is there to protect and clutch this youth as her own; enclosing the youth in the spirit of contentment. In 2019, the school will see 46 years.

We acknowledge and affirm the transformation pole in the entrance and it will partner with the Community Wellness drum as a constant reminder of the commitment and work that we need to do to all move us to a place of reconciliation. Please say hello and remember to develop your own relationship with the pole that has stood the test of time and still greets all of us as we make our way into the school. This pole in tree form grew on the land and now rests as a reminder to us all of the transformation that can and is always happening in our midst. To the pole we say Hy’chka Siem. Thank you for being there for all of us, the children, youth and families.

Within the School of Child and Youth Care, (SCYC) we strive to facilitate positive community-driven work that supports community defined needs and interests. Indigenous faculty in the School of Child and Youth Care are committed to respectful research training, resources and connections that are relevant to diverse communities, individuals, organizations, agencies and contexts.

Graduate students are supported to develop meaningful, engaged thesis and dissertation projects that honour Indigenous knowledge systems and relational ways of knowing. Some recent graduate student projects:

Keenan Andrew, Recognizing a rising leader with big dreams /news/topics/2020+andrew-recognizing-rising-leader+news

Indigenous faculty and graduate students work with communities they are in relationship with and where invited, to secure funding and develop projects that respond to community identified needs.

Recent SCYC Indigenous and decolonizing publications:

BIPOC scholarship in our field is its own form of activism. Here is a list of recent CYC resources:

Indigeneity, gender, wellness and land-based practice:

Dr. Devi Mucina, Director of Indigenous Governance and SCYC alum, his recent book is a great resource for our courses and students: 

Book chapter on upholding Metis practice and advocacy by faculty Shanne McCaffrey and SCYC alum Angela Scott:

 and ​

Decolonial Indigenous land-based pedagogies, research and practice by faculty and students in the Indigenous Graduate Land-Based Research Institute 2019-20:

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Black and Africentric CYC scholarship:  

Two ​powerful articles on Black and Africentric CYC scholarship from the Ryerson plenary speakers at the CYC in Action VI Conference, 2019: 

A special issue from Ryerson CYC faculty: Jean-Pierre, J., & McCready, L. (2019). Introduction to the special issue: African Canadians, Gender and Sexuality/Édition spéciale: Les afro-canadiens, le genre et la sexualité. Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 44(4), 311-318. 

Settler ethics & BIPOC accountabilities for practicioners:

Faculty Dr. Mandeep Kaur Mucina and current MA student Shantelle Moreno on BIPOC accountabilities for front line practitioners: 

On courageous conversations in our field​, by faculty Jin-Sun Yoon: 

Alum Kaz Mackenzie's MA thesis looks at whiteness in CYC, interviews include white and Indigenous CYC practitioners:

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SCYC alum Dr. Scott Kouri has contributed numerous​ pieces that outline settler accountabilities and foster anti-imperial and anti-colonial ethics in our field, including:

Kouri, S. (2019). Critical cyc counselling in settler colonial contexts. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 32(3), 68-84.

Kouri, S. (2018). Empire and identity: The ethics of becoming other than what we are. CYC-Online, 235, 18–27. 

History of SCYC & Indigenous community connections

2008-2010 Diploma in Child and Youth Care in Indigenous Communities Funded by the  (ISSP)

The Child and Youth Care Indigenous Diploma (CYCID) is a two-year continuous (24-month) diploma program that prepares students to begin careers in a variety of early years and child and youth care settings.

The diploma program was developed in part through the BC Ministry of Advanced Education Aboriginal Special Projects Fund. It was completed in 2010 in partnership with the School of Child and Youth Care and a north island partnership including the Quatsino, Fort Rupert, Namgis, and Gwasala-nakwaxda’xw communities.

The program delivery involved the application of community-capacity building modalities to create a learning support network, both in community, and online with a virtual learning lodge beyond the classroom. The innovative program design also combined face-to-face seminar, intensive trainings, work on the land and water, experiential trainings in community with community members instructing on the land, elder supported, and blended online and in person deliveries. 

The delivery took place in collaboration with a collective of north island Indigenous community partners. Ten students graduated in the fall of 2010. Of these graduates, five joined the full BCYC degree program.

Our history with Indigenous communities also includes:

• Awasis program
•  (international initiatives)

Final Circle at the CYC Conference, Moving through the trails and trials toward Community Wellness, April 25-27, 2019.

Transformation Pole Carver Don Smith and wife Theresa along with Wisdomkeeper May Sam watch the LE,NOṈET dancers from the W̱SÁNEĆ local Tribal School.