As a school community - and in partnership with Chief Kinosayo's family, St. Albert Public School Division, and Driftpile First Nation - we are committed to listening and learning about Chief Kinosayo, his stories, life and contributions to his people and our land now, and in the past.
Background of our reconciliation project
In 2020, we started conversations about modernizing our school’s branding, which ultimately led to deeper discussions about our school namesake, his history and how we’re representing him.
We realized that we didn’t have a solid knowledge of how and why we were named Kinosayo Elementary School, and it felt disingenuous to create a logo, motto and mascot without knowing who Kinosayo really was.
Learning about Chief Kinosayo
In learning more about how our school was named we reached out to Driftpile First Nation, from whom we learned a great deal of information:
- Chief Kinosayo was a chief on what is now Treaty 8 lands.
- He is known in history as a key member of both the signings of Treaty 6 and Treaty 8, and has connections to St. Albert.
- Chief Kinosayo’s beliefs were about combining the traditional and the modern; the combining of two worlds; the need to constantly adapt.
Our truth and reconciliation journey
As a school community--and in partnership with Chief Kinosayo's family, St. Albert Public School Divsion, and Driftpile First Nation--we are committed to listening and learning about Chief Kinosayo, his stories, lift, and contributions to his people and our land, now and in the past.