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Traditional learning camp opens at Whitehorse school

Wednesday, 28 May 2025 at 14:56

By Stuart Bonell X @BonellStuart

A semi-outdoor learning space at Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ (Photo: S. Bonell)

Porter Creek Secondary School students, staff, and community members celebrated the grand opening of Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ on Wednesday.

Porter Creek Secondary School celebrated the grand opening of its Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ Traditional Camp on Wednesday.

Students, staff, and members of the public gathered for the opening of the first purpose-built facility for cultural programming in the Yukon. According to a media release from the Government of Yukon, the camp was designed for immersion and inclusion and offers a unique opportunity to deepen students’ understanding of Yukon Indigenous traditions.

Minister of Education Jeanie McLean delivered some remarks at the opening. She says that the opening of Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ is a moment of cultural importance.

“What we’re celebrating today is really more than opening up a new facility,” McLean told the crowd. “It is a revitalization of a vision. Envisioned by our students, shaped by our Elders [and] knowledge keepers, and built by the community to create a space where learning is rooted in land culture and tradition.”

Many speakers at the opening thanked Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Elder Harold Johnson for his role in creating the facility. Johnson says that Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀, which translates to “learning house at Wild Rhubarb Creek,” has both a cultural and historical significance.

“I’ve been out here working on it for a while, and the impact this house has just alone,” Johnson told the audience. “Total strangers going by see it.”
“Someone mentioned the other day that in ancient times, you could have been floating down the river and came around a corner, and you would have come across a house like this. So, these houses were everywhere. This is what we lived in. This was our home.”

Ǹtsǟw Chù Kets’edän Kų̀ will make cultural and traditional learning available to students year-round.

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