This paper is rooted in the context of my career as a teacher in rural, majority Indigenous schools in multiple communities in British Columbia. Throughout my career I have had the pleasure of working in communities with a rich connection to Indigenous heritage and ways of knowing and have seen the myriad ways the traditional model of schooling fails to meet the needs of our Indigenous learners. The addition of the COVID-19 pandemic added additional strains to Indigenous communities, many of which were exacerbated by the severing of connections to community schools during the initial closure in the spring of 2020 and continuing through to the present day. Although most restrictions have ended and COVID-19 has moved from being a public health emergency to a part of daily life, many Indigenous learners and their families remain disconnected from their schools for a variety of reasons. This reality presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the education system, which must now find a way to re-engage those families who have distanced themselves from schools. Fortunately, the answer lies in expanding the work many are already doing in providing warm, welcoming school environments and Indigenizing curriculum through providing authentic experiences rooted in the First Peoples principles of learning and Indigenous ways of knowing. Schools which take this opportunity to transform their programming in bold, new ways will see increased engagement and connectedness in all learners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
