​​SD43, in consultation with the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation​​ are proud to bring you an immersive indigenous experience in Minecraft Education. A Pacific NW Coast Experience (built with generous support from Microsoft Education) aims to facilitate the respectful and meaningful inclusion of indigenous knowledge and perspectives into classrooms in our district and beyond.

In a Pacific NW Coast Experience, students travel back in time to assist a coastal community to prepare for winter and help the village by sustainably harvesting natural resources to ensure food security not only for the winter but for always.

Students cooperate and follow protocols to complete harvesting tasks without damaging the environment on which the people, plants, and animals depend. Students help the community by:

• Harvesting cedar bark and planks for weaving and building
• Pulling salmon from a gillnet to bring to the smokehouse
• Harvesting and maintaining a camas field and collecting salmonberries. 
• *NEW* Repairing a clam garden wall, digging for clams and harvesting kelp.
  
• *NEW* Travelling to the interior to trade oolichan oil for jade
  

​After players complete the harvest tasks they can take what they’ve learned from elders and knowledge keepers to construct their own sustainable village up the coast. This build area has six STEAM-focused build challenges to get the village started. 

Learn about the rich culture and traditional ecological knowledge that the Coastal Peoples have maintained since time immemorial, and explore the world with a STEAM lens, discovering incredible cross-curricular connections in a holistic learning environment. 

Visit ​A Pacific NW Coast Experience and find out how this immersive learning tool can engage​ students in rich in-world and real-world STEAM learning.​

Watch this brief (0:53 min.) video for a preview: