School celebrates Okanagan culture

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En'owkin in the Okanagan language translates as "a challenge and incentive given through discussing and thinking together to provide the best possible answer to any question."

In other words, En'owkin means consensus. And that is the name taken an innovative educational centre in south central British Columbia.

En'owkin Centre is a First Nation owned and controlled cultural and educational institute in Penticton, serving approximately 120 students a year. The goal of the centre is to record, preserve, and enhance Native culture through education. Part of the philosophy is that better understanding between cultures can be achieved through education.

The En'owkin Centre was originally established in 1981 elders of the Okanagan Tribal Council, and Indian Education Resources Society to meet the educational needs of their people. These needs are addressed in a statement of philosophy which refers to Native spirituality, ancestral values and principles.

There are four (4) educational programs delivered at En'owkin. The Adult Basic Education (ABE) is geared toward leading adults who did not graduate from high school to college/university entrance level or a vocational career. From the entrance program, students can continue to the College Achievement Program, or to other areas of education as their abilities and desires allow. The College Achievement Program offers the options of a University/College Entrance Program, and the University/College Preparatory Option Program.

In the Okanagan Language and Linguistics Program students have an opportunity to learn and/or improve efficiency in Okanagan, while participating in the development of a written form of the language. The En'owkin Centre also serves as a field centre for the Native Indian Teacher Education Program of the University of British Columbia.

Closely inter-related and working together are the En'owkin International School of Writing (EISW), and Theytus Books Limited, the only First Nations owned and run publishing house in Canada.

EISW is the only writing school for North American Aboriginal students and is in its fourth year of studies. Jeannette Armstrong, the school's founder and director, is a highly accomplished Okanagan author with 5 books to her credit, including the acclaimed novel "Slash". The school's steering committee boasts some of the most influential writers in Canada, include Margaret Atwood, Maria Campbell, Michael Ondaatje, Thomas King, and Rudy Weibe.

EISW students receive credits from the University of Victoria, although the curriculum and courses has been designed En'owkin staff. Many of the students'

works are featured in the annual publication Gatherings, the only journal of Native writing in North America.

This past year En'owkin, in conjunction with the Canadian Native Arts Foundation and The Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. sponsored and organized the Beyond Survival: International Gathering of Indigenous Writers, Visual and Performing Artists conference. Next year En'owkin will also host the Returning the Gift conference

of North American Native writers and the second International Conference for Editors of Journals in Aboriginal Studies.

In an on-going effort to stay on the crest of the Aboriginal education movement, some of the En'owkin Centre plans already under way include a new expanded facility designed Metis architect Douglas Cardinal, an environmental curriculum presented from an Aboriginal perspective, and re-establishment of En'owkin's audio/video component "Nu'kulumm Productions". For more information on the centre, call (604) 493-7181.