Edith Loring-Kuhanga

Edith Loring-Kuhanga’s vision of Indigenous-controlled and culturally based education is her life’s work. Her 40+ year journey has spanned education, health, human resources, financial management, business, administration and governance. With a B.Ed. and an M.Ed. from the University of Victoria, she has developed expertise from day care/head start to the post-secondary level in education.

Loring-Kuhanga has helped federally-run elementary schools in BC and Alberta transfer their authority to band jurisdiction, ensuring a successful transition to Indigenous governance. She has travelled all across Canada assisting First Nation communities in developing quality and relevant education programs for their most important resource:  their children.

She was a trustee with the Greater Victoria and Saanich School Boards for ten years, chairing the Greater Victoria Board for four years, and also served as an elected Band councillor in her home community. While a trustee, she initiated the creation of the first mandatory Indigenous content high school course, ensuring that all BC high school students complete a course in order to graduate.

As School Administrator of Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux School, she created and implemented a year-round cultural curriculum framework that significantly increased student achievement and well-being. Under her guidance and direction, Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux School was the first school in Canada to successfully re-open on July 27, 2020 during COVID-19.

For over 20 years, Loring-Kuhanga owned and operated her own national training and consulting business, First Nations Training & Consulting Services, delivering relevant training right in communities across Canada.  She provided expertise to the BC First Nations Head Start program in the First Nations Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB), ensuring that Nations had the information, tools, and resources to facilitate successful programs for their early learners. She also worked with nine Eeyou Istchee communities in Quebec to train Early Childhood Education (ECE) boards and staff on providing culturally based early learning programs for their children. In May 2002, Loring-Kuhanga received the YM/YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Education, Training & Development category recognizing her contribution to education.

Loring-Kuhanga organized conferences for ten years where thousands of Indigenous women gathered to network and learn from one another. In 1994, Loring-Kuhanga was profiled as one of the most successful Aboriginal women in business in the “Women & Business”, Businesswomen’s Advocate, Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture in BC.

Although Loring-Kuhanga is semi-retired, she continues to assist communities in providing a world class education that is culturally based and relevant, preparing students to succeed in the 21^st Century.