Reflecting with nettle, learning with Awi'nakola: Teachings from the community at Tsaxis, Kwakwaka'wakw territory

Kwakwaka'wakw peoples have lived with an established land-based education system since time immemorial. Although colonization interrupted this system and attempted to eradicate it, it has persisted. The purpose of this study is to hear from one Kwakwaka'wakw community, the community at Tsaxis, about what they would like to see land-based education in their community look like for Kwakwaka'wakw learners as well as for settler learners. Situated within decolonial and Indigenous methodologies and grounded in a research design of Kwawaka'wakw dza̱ndza̱nxtła̱m (stinging nettle) harvest practices, this research employs conversational walking interviews and a sharing circle to elicit thoughts about land-based education from participants and presents these conversations as stories set in place. Through the use of Indigenous Storywork, Kwawaka'wakw scholarship, teachings from stinging nettle, and lived experience, participants' visions for land-based education are also interpreted as a set of themes. Barriers to the forms of land-based education favoured by participants are also summarized. The research concludes with recommendations and reflection questions for settler educators and researchers learning with and from the land and community as well as recommendations for land-based local education.