Safeguarding at Mother Teresa Middle School (MTMS) is rooted in kinship and culture. Our way of proceeding confronts the issue directly and charges head on, like a buffalo into a storm, and intentionally acknowledges the Truth and Reconciliation Reports: Calls to Action and the tragic history of Residential Schools in Canada. A new narrative is being created at MTMS, where students walk through the doors of the school every day, knowing they are safe and loved. MTMS is a place where students can let their guard down, be themselves, and breath easy.
Safeguarding at MTMS is more than policies and procedures. Promoting and cultivating a culture of protection, care, and respect for one another is a lived experience. It is deeply rooted in trust, great love for each other, Mother Earth, and a willingness to engage in traditional ceremony and cultural ways with Indigenous people.
Click here to read a CBC Story on how MTMS has created a First Nations drum group – called the Buffalo Boys – to give young people a safe space to express themselves and find their voice, while gaining self-esteem and learning more about themselves and their culture.
Click here to read the article, “Protection with Indigenous Cultures: Safeguarding Rooted in Kinship and Culture at Mother Teresa Middle School, Canada” in Promotio Iustitiae (page 45).
