Hello, my name is Bruce Carlos and I am the District Principal of Indigenous Education with Comox Valley Schools. Throughout my childhood, I have lived in many communities across British Columbia but always felt ‘home’ was in the Parksville / Qualicum area. I graduated from Malaspina College with a Bachelor of Education degree and have a Masters in Counselling degree from the University of Victoria. My first teaching position was on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in a small isolated village named Kyuquot. I worked, lived and played in this community for my first 10 years of teaching. During this time, I grew personally and professionally through the guidance of our Elders and community members. I was privileged to attend many gatherings, to work alongside community members in developing programs for our students and their families and to put my full effort into providing a quality educational experience to my students.
Proudly, I was gifted a name, in ceremony, by a respected Elder who I considered a mentor. My gifted name is Tuu-pa (translates into ‘related to everyone’). My time in this community affected me deeply and I am thankful for all these experiences as they helped me find my gifts and helped form me into who I am today.
Growing up, my family did not acknowledge our Metis ancestry and I only found out in my 30’s from finding a wedding painting / photograph of a relative (Royal Engineer from England with a beautiful Cree woman) taken in Manitoba. Sadly, this family history was hidden in shame. Today, I find myself acknowledging my Metis heritage and at the same time following the teachings provided to me by my Nuu-chah-nulth family.
Today, I am a husband and a proud father to 6 adopted and 2 birth children. We feel blessed to live in such a vibrant community where we can explore nature in all its beauty – the ocean, forests, mountains. I am thankful for each and every day and feel privileged to be in the position to support our talented staff and community members in raising up our many Indigenous students who come to us from all over Canada.
Note: I am wearing orange in my staff photo as I’ve made a personal commitment to wear orange every work day during the 2021-22 school year. The public acknowledgment of the discovery of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School stie deeply affected me and I want never to forget ‘Every Child Matters.’ Wearing orange helps me and hopefully others to never forget as well.
