First Nations students on the Coast can now meet with an Aboriginal counsellor who understands them in a more nuanced way than non-Aboriginal counsellors.
School District No. 46 (SD46) recently hired Noelle Hanuse three days a week to work in all four secondary schools and on an on-call basis with First Nations elementary students. "The chances of finding a qualified person with such local knowledge was like finding a rare gem," said Kerry Mahlman, principal for District Aboriginal programs and services. "Noelle has made so much difference in just six months."
Hanuse arrived at this place in her life due to a unique and sometimes painful history. One of 14 children born and initially raised in Rivers Inlet, which is part way between Port Hardy and Bella Coola, Hanuse and six of her siblings were sent to residential school in Sechelt where their mom was schooled as a child.
She was six years old and it was the last time she saw her mom and dad. Two months after arriving in Sechelt, Hanuse's parents were killed. Hanuse found residential school abusive and boring. Reading, she said, was her escape.
"I always considered my foster mom my fairy godmother," Hanuse said with a smile.
After their parents died, Hanuse's foster mom, who was not Aboriginal and had two children of her own, adopted Hanuse and the six siblings she arrived with in Sechelt.
"We moved and spent two years in the Interior to get away from the church influence," she recalled, but her mom soon realized that educational and other opportunities were better back on the Coast, and they returned.
Hanuse attended Elphinstone Secondary School, but dropped out three months shy of Grade 12 graduation.
"I was a very troubled youth," Hanuse remembered. "I found my high school experience very sad. I felt so alienated from everybody."Alcohol and drug abuse became a way of life for Hanuse by the time she was 16. Hanuse said she often wanted to talk about the abuse she experienced in residential school, but the topic was taboo. She suffered with the traumatic effects of it for years.
Fifteen years ago Hanuse went to a native treatment centre "which changed my life," she said. She earned her teaching degree and in 1996, she decided to go home to Rivers Inlet. As a child, Hanuse dreamed of teaching school there, but when she arrived, the pain of the past hit her head on.
"I was dealing with those feelings for the first time," she said.
That is when Hanuse began her healing journey and spent the next several years getting her Masters degree in teaching and becoming a yoga instructor and healer. She travelled the world gathering healing knowledge and taught and counselled in Vancouver, but always found herself returning to the Sunshine Coast. Then the SD46 opportunity presented itself.
"It's my dream come true. I am incredibly impressed that the school district would be willing to go in that direction," Hanuse said.Hanuse said it is important for First Nations children to have adults in their lives with similar backgrounds because "it's the nuances. It's not about religion. Cultural and spiritual [aspects] are what makes it really different."
She recounted speaking to a youngster who didn't understand why a fire was kept burning for seven days following the death of a relative. Hanuse knew and was able to help that child process the significance of the fire for the family within a cultural context.
Hanuse uses many tools in her work with teens. She laughed and referred to herself as an "Oweekeno Yogi" because she is from the Oweekeno First Nation and she is a yoga instructor. Hanuse blends Eastern and First Nations philosophies into her counselling strategies.
She said through offering yoga classes and creating space for youth to gain spiritual awareness, Hanuse hopes to "help them to see a different perspective and give them tools and techniques to deal with stress. Spirituality is what gives us our strength and our hope."
Hanuse deals with the same issues any school counsellor would. She assists youth in their scholastic achievement and pursuit of future goals, refers them to other agencies for help as needed, consults with teachers, parents and potential employers and co-ordinates study skills groups and workshops.
Hanuse's immediate wish is that students will know she is trustworthy and approachable. Her second wish is that she could have more hours to meet the growing needs of the Aboriginal community in relation to healing and education.
SD46 superintendent Deborah Palmer said the school district is thrilled to have Hanuse on board.
"We hope that, by having someone like Noelle connecting with and working with Aboriginal students in the secondary schools, there will be the support there that will make a difference in the school success and in the lives of Aboriginal students," said Palmer. "A number of students who have been suspended have successfully returned to school and are doing well because Noelle was there to help with the process."
