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.