Breaking the Cycles
BY CREATING THE CIRCLES
For over 3 decades Stardale has empowered Indigenous Women and Girls to step forward as powerful leaders. Bringing together years of knowledge and lived experience we are closing the circle and creating a new opportunity for growth and empowerment amongst these young women. Their lived experiences bring authenticity and credibility that traditional service models cannot replicate, embedding Indigenous perspectives into mainstream systems and creating systemic change.
The Stardale Curriculum is a trauma-informed, culturally grounded learning experience. Created for schools, community organizations, and youth-serving programs, the curriculum weaves together storytelling, lived experience, and practical tools to support healing, resilience, and self-determination. Rooted in respect, connection, and real-world impact, Stardale’s curriculum creates space for meaningful conversations and lasting change.
Your journey begins here.
Who is the curriculum designed for?
The Stardale Curriculum is designed for educators, companies, educational institutions, professionals, and community members who want to deepen their understanding of Indigenous youth suicide, violence, and abuse prevention. It is a culturally respectful, trauma-informed learning tool that equips teachers, workplace leaders, service providers, and practitioners with practical knowledge and awareness to better support Indigenous youth and families.
The curriculum is also for anyone committed to becoming more informed, breaking stigma, and contributing to safer, more supportive environments grounded in understanding, respect, and prevention.
As you dive into the immersive Stardale curriculum experience, your journey will be guided by the stories, experiences and teachings of the core Stardale team. From cultural practices to workshop facilitation each individual contributes a unique perspective. Learn more about the individual team members and their experience below.
Your Curriculum Guides
Helen McPhaden | Stardale Executive Director
Eugene Stickland | Author and Playwright
Elder Wanda First Rider
More than a curriculum:
The Stardale Sacred Bundle
The work at Stardale and goal of this educational tool is not just about putting on a play or completing a workshop. It is a foundational practice rooted in community and sisterhood. These acts are not ceremonies in the traditional Indigenous sense, but meaningful rituals created and cherished by the group, weaving connection and belonging into the fabric of their shared journey. Through your learning you will create your own sacred bundle as a collection of sacred knowledge, hard-earned wisdom, and practical activities designed to cleanse energies, align spirits, and help sustain life differently. We offer it to you with that same sense of purpose and respect.
How You Will Carry the Bundle Through This Curriculum:
This is not a path of passive reading. This is an active journey of gathering and reflection. As you move through the Four Directions – Hope, Belonging, Meaning, and Purpose – you will be invited to pause and add to your own personal bundle.
Your bundle is your own. It might be a physical journal, a digital folder, or a collection of meaningful objects you gather. In it, you will collect your insights, answers to reflective prompts, and the pieces of wisdom that resonate with you.
Throughout these pages, you will encounter Reflective Pauses marked with this symbol: ✧
These pauses are your moments to sit with the material, to look inward, and to consciously add a new layer of understanding to your bundle. You might be asked to:
Reflect on a word from your ancestor's language.
Remember a place where you felt true belonging.
Create a recipe for acceptance.
Prepare cards to harvest your thoughts on hurt and strength.
Each of these activities is designed to help you externalize your learning and create a tangible record of your journey, your own bundle of healing and knowledge.
Our Curriculum Goals
With our unique and holistic approach to learning our curriculum is designed to create immense value and deep learning and understanding through your learning journey in the form of:
Decolonizing Learning: Moving away from extracting information and toward building personal and collective wisdom.
Storytelling as Medicine: Honoring your experiences by reflecting on them, shaping them, and understanding their power.
Facilitating Holistic Growth: Engaging not just your mind, but also your spirit, emotions, and physical being, in alignment with the Four Directions.
Creating a Takeaway: Ensuring that when you finish, you have not just a certificate, but a deeply personal collection of insights that you can carry forward into your life and work.
The Stardale curriculum is available through virtual delivery and is a self-paced learning model. Each module offers new opportunities for learning and reflection.
We encourage you to find a beautiful journal or create a special space for your learning. Approach each activity, lesson and story with an open heart and the knowledge that what you are building is sacred unto itself.
Start your journey today.
Subscribe for access to Stardale Curriculum and building your bundle guide.
