Our History

How We Got Here

The Wilp Si Wilaxsinsxwhl Simgigyet (Chief’s House of Learning) was opened on September 23, 1989. At that time the school was the first and only Gitksan Immersion School in the province of British Columbia. In 1990 the Gitwangak Education Society was incorporated as a society. They began to administer the school and the curricula development. The following year the Gitwangak Education Society opened up the Wilp Si Satima (House of New Beginning), also referred to as the Adult Basic Education.

By 1992 they had opened up the Wo’umxhl Simalgyex Daycare (Cradle of the Language Daycare) in the Wilp Si Wilaxsinsxwhl Simgigyet school.

Today the Wilp Si Wilaxsinsxwhl Simgigyet building houses the Wo’umxhl Simalgyex Daycare, the Gitwangak Aboriginal Headstart, the Gitwangak Elementary School (which received it’s certification in June of 2006), and the Gitwangak Education Society. The Wilp Si Satima and the post secondary department of the Gitwangak Education Society are located in their own buildings.

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For more about our language and culture, click here.