Ian Caplette is hoping a recent trip to Hawaii for some Indigenous post-secondary students is just the beginning of a long relationship.
Caplette is an Indigenous education instructor at the Port Alberni campus of North Island College (NIC).
In late January 17 students from his school travelled to Hawaii for a 10-day trip so they could learn about Indigenous education and culture.
Several partners made the trip possible, including the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC).
Officials with the NTC assisted with the planning process of the trip. NTC also provided some financial support.
The majority of the costs for the trip, however, were covered by Global Skills Opportunity scholarships, which are funded by the Canadian government’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program.
Vancouver Island University and the University of Hawai’i Maui College were also partners in the trip.
“We've been hosted by them so the next opportunity will be for hosting to take place over here,” Caplette said. “So, it will be NIC working on plans with the University of Hawaii to welcome students from Hawaii. We anticipate this will be reciprocated over and over again. So, we will be pursuing opportunities to send students again over to Hawaii.”
Caplette said officials are looking at the spring of 2026 to have students from Hawaii come to British Columbia.
“That timeline is up in the air,” he said. “A lot of planning has to be done. There’s a lot of logistics which need to be addressed.”
NIC has had several other field trips for Indigenous students to learn in other countries around the world in recent years. But the latest initiative was new since a tribal council, the NTC, not only provided some funding but was also involved with the planning.
Caplette said those who helped organize the trip specifically targeted Hawaii.
“The conversation led to what they are doing there with their language and cultural (Kindergarten to Grade 12) education systems,” he said. “They have an immersion system over there, which is in Hawaiian language and culture. So, we targeted that for looking into.”
Caplette said the trip proved to be extremely beneficial.
“I think there's a diversity of learnings which took place,” he said. “Many of the students expressed that they sort of walked away with a deeper appreciation for the strengthening of cultural and language knowledge that they still need to embark on. They looked at a lot of the instructors and even many of the students that they had encountered and noted how far advanced their language and culture skills were.”
As a result, Caplette said the local NIC teachers were keen to bolster their own knowledge in that area with their own learning.
“So, as a result, what has happened is many of the students enrolled in language programs, almost directly after we returned,” he said.
Caplette added the trip showed many similarities between Nuu-chah-nulth and Indigenous people from Hawaii.
“There was definite connections made just in terms of how we greeted one another,” he said. “We took part in traditional welcoming and shared what our family connections are. And that's a similar practice that they do in Hawaii - just to share where they are from, who are their parents and grandparents and where and what lands do they come from. That was very much similar.”
Caplette said another similarity was the canoe culture.
“And a really interesting connection was made through the humpback whales,” Caplette said, adding whaling is a long-practiced Nuu-chah-nulth tradition.
The visiting NIC students were able to see whales breaching and where they are born.
The trip began on Jan. 23 and lasted until Feb. 1. Of the 17 students who went on the trip, 15 of them are Indigenous. And about half of them are from Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.
All of the students who travelled to Hawaii are in their third year of studies. Jade Hobenshield was one of the local students who went on the Hawaii trip.
“The Maui field school was an inspiring experience reminding me of the potential students have with language learning and of the importance of starting young, as early as pre-school, to set the foundation for older years,” she said. “I've brought back many teaching tools for my future in education.”
The local group also had an opportunity to witness some land-based work, which included the cultivation of local plants. That work, which Hawaii school children participated in, was on a site that had been designated for real estate development.
“For young people to come on a field trip from the local schools to participate in these learning activities out on the land that's part of their reclamation, it was really powerful,” Caplette said.
As for Melissa Bartier, the NTC’s director of education, training and social development, she said many of the local students had a cause for optimism when they saw young children speaking at school in their Indigenous language. That’s even though they themselves did not have the same experience growing up.
“That provides some hope for them,” said Bartier. “I think it was very moving for a lot of students. It was a cool thing to see. It was really striking and beautiful.”
Bartier added the local contingent was ecstatic with the hospitality they received in Hawaii.
“They were incredible,” she said of the hosts. “They were so kind and gracious. We really did feel like they’re family.”
