Day-to-Day: The days you spend at a Dechinta camp will involve a combination of classroom activities (like lectures, workshops, discussions, and creative work)  and land-based activities. Our programs and daily activities are deeply influenced by the weather, harvesting, and the seasons, and we are always open to what the land may want to teach us on any given day. 

 

Staying Overnight: Depending on the course you are in, you may have an option to return home at the end of the day, however most of our programs are grounded in creating a community on the land where everyone lives together for the duration of the program.  Dechinta provides canvas wall tents, cots and/or foamies,  sleeping bags, firewood, and food. Our staff are onsite at all times to ensure you are able to stay safe  and warm at camp. 

 

Camp Governance: With the recognition that governance is a shared practice, we will begin our time together by establishing our shared governing principles as a community that will live, work, and learn together during our time on site. In order to agree on how to live together, we first need to learn about principles of consent, self-determination, personal freedom, and group accountability. Without a shared understanding of these values, community life can be much more challenging. Our first lessons on site will be about consent and self-determination, and how these principles can work to enable both personal freedom and group accountability. Together, we will create a set of shared guidelines to help us live together well during our time on site.

 

Community Life: When we are on the land, we are all learners, and we are all seeking out how to best contribute positively to our families, communities and nations. We want everyone to have the opportunity to chop wood, gather water, build fires, assist with childcare, hunt, fish, collect medicines, make tools, tan hides, cook, participate in ceremony and learn language. Some of us will naturally gravitate towards certain activities more than others, and there are many good ways to contribute positively to community life. We strive to create a gentle, kind, caring, empathetic, and respectful community when we are together. We are dedicated to helping and supporting each other.

Evaluation/Grading: In addition to the academic readings and assignments, 50% of the marks for most of our Dechinta courses is based on your participation at Camp. The land-based practices and Dene Knowledge you learn on the land will be evaluated by Dene Elders and Dene Knowledge Holders in conversation with the academic work assessed by the instructional team. Students are expected to show up, work hard and participate fully in camp activities. Respectful interpersonal interactions are a key part to healthy and fulfilling camp life. Co-created camp guidelines will shape camp interactions and expectations, including respectful and reciprocal interactions with Elders and Knowledge Holders, other students, staff, and community members in ways that honor their protocols, ethics, practices, values, procedures, processes, protocols and ways of expressing and embodying knowledge. To get the most out of your land-based experience, you must be present and work hard.