‘I know how to support our students in all aspects’
Lheidli T’enneh elder helping the next generation make their way in the world
When Lheidli T’enneh elder Darlene McIntosh moves to the front of any room to offer a welcome to the traditional territory of her people, the audience relaxes in response to her peaceful presence.
McIntosh is the cultural advisor at the Aboriginal Resource Centre at the College of New Caledonia where Indigenous post-secondary students are supported emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually through culturally relevant programming, including the academic advice she offers and the smudging ceremonies she performs.
Her door is always open to anyone to engage in conversation about the impacts of colonization, land stewardship, and every other tough topic that comes with truth and reconciliation.
Her mother, Mary Quaw, and her aunts and uncles were all taken away to LeJac Residential School as youngsters.
“The thing with my aunts and uncles is they experience gaps in their memory from when they were about five years old to about 11 years old,” McIntosh said.
“A lot of it was blanked out and I would equate that to extreme trauma.”
McIntosh was the eldest of six children. Her mother had her when she was very young – just 17 and a half years old. A lot of the responsibilities of raising the family fell on her shoulders, she said.
McIntosh’s dad, Peter Zatorski, was Polish/Ukrainian.
“We went from feast to famine, depending on the job situation,” McIntosh recalled. “There were many positive aspects with my mother. From her experiences she taught us all to stand up for ourselves, advocate for ourselves, even though we were all very, very shy.”
They were the best-behaved children at public gatherings and when visiting family and friends, she added.
“My mother always set a high standard for us because of all the negative language she heard growing up attached to ‘Indian’ – ‘lazy Indian, dirty Indian, stupid Indian’ – all those negative brow-beating comments – she always had to be the best she possibly could be and expected the same from her kids,” McIntosh explained.
“Growing up was a challenge but I’m not negating it – I wouldn’t change anything about my life because it’s all about life experiences,” she said. “I know that’s why I am at the college. I completely believe that the way out of poverty, the way out of being isolated or segregated to a certain part of our society is education. The more education you have the more your world opens up.”
She’s been the cultural advisor at CNC for the last 12 years. It’s not even about the formal education, McIntosh explained, but who you are exposed to – people who have different ideas and philosophies and beliefs that a student can learn about.
“Being a cultural advisor in the Aboriginal Resource Centre at the college I know how to support our students in all aspects of who they are, it’s about the whole person – it’s about the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual,” McIntosh said.
“Education is the key to experiencing life at a better level,” McIntosh said.