Anishinabek News – February 6, 2018
“I am looking forward to working with this new board and executive,” expressed Catherine Pawis, newly acclaimed Chair of the KEB. “The Kinoomaadziwin Education Body has a lot of important work ahead of us.” The new executive of the Kinoomaadziwin Education Body board include Catherine Pawis (Chair), Lisa Michano (Co-Chair), Lauri Hoeg (Treasurer) and Evelyn Ball (Secretary). The KEB board at large includes Elaine Stewart, David Shawanda, Janice Cada, Judy Desmoulin, Marianna Couchie, Nichole King, Vicki Ware and Jeanne Naponse. In addition to a new board and executive, the 23 Participating First Nations supported a change to the KEB board structure including a staggered board structure and adjusting the term of office to three years. “This will allow for continuity and more time for board members to contribute to the Anishinabek Education system at the board level,” noted Kelly Crawford, Director of Education, Kinoomaadziwin Education Body.
http://anishinabeknews.ca/2018/02/06/kinoomaadziwin-education-board-elects-new-executive/\
Unity, Relationship Building, Theme for Sault College Pow Wow
SOO Today – February 7, 2018
Indigenous Student Council president Jonathan Nolan says the theme is a nod to building relationships locally, and stresses that everyone is welcome to take part in the annual event. “The whole point of this theme is really in regards to truth and reconciliation,” Nolan said. “We really just want to put a shine on building those relationships here within our college community and our community here in Sault Ste. Marie.”
2nd Annual Indigenous High School Law Day Inspires Thunder Bay, Ont. Students to Dream Big
CBC News – February 5, 2018
“If you have a passion then this is your law school,” Dean of Lakehead University’s Faculty of Law, Angelique EagleWoman said, “this is where we want people who care about the north to come and get their law degree and then go back out in their communities.” She said becoming an Indigenous law student at the university means they’ll be able to understand the unique issues faced by remote First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario as well as find the right solutions to those challenges.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunderbay-annual-law-day-1.4520550
Six Nations Polytechnic’s STEAM Academy Praised in its Pilot Year
CBC Indigenous – February 5, 2018
The students enrol in Grade 9 and can begin taking college-level courses as early as Grade 10. In five to six years, students graduate with both an Ontario Secondary School diploma as well as an Ontario College diploma. “The STEAM Academy’s approach to learning is nothing short of revolutionary,” said Philpott.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/six-nations-polytechnic-steam-academy-1.4520336
Allyship, Advocacy, and the Legitimate Role of Non-Indigenous Folks
The Argus – February 5, 2018
On January 29, Chantelle Bryson, a celebrated lawyer and community activist, delivered a talk entitled “Allyship in the Context of Indigenous Rights” in the Study coffeehouse at Lakehead University. Hosted by the Aboriginal Awareness Centre, Bryson provided audiences with an engaging and thoughtful discussion on the moral, social, cultural, legal, and economic responsibilities of non-Indigenous folks in the pursuit of equality in Canada. While Bryson’s introduction clearly illustrates her continued allyship in the context of Indigenous rights, she began her talk by clarifying the nature of what it means to be an ally. Being an ally isn’t a role you can claim for yourself, she cautioned; rather, it is a state achieved by an active, lifelong, and ever-changing commitment to relationship building with Indigenous individuals and communities.
The Secret to Excellence: Why this Indigenous Royal Winnipeg Ballet Student is Keeping his Options Open
CBC Radio – February 4, 2018
Now on his last of three years at the RWB school, he’s getting ready to launch a career as a professional ballet dancer. However Fraser-Monroe is dubious of how easy that will be, which is why the dancer has always kept the academic door open. “Our whole careers can be based on a little bone in your ankle snapping, and that’s it,” he explains. While at the ballet school, the students take academic classes at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, which allows more flexibility than a regular high school.
Where Criminology Students Study Side-by-Side with Prisoners
MacLean’s – February 2, 2018
The course was offered at Matsqui, a federal medium-security prison in Abbotsford, B.C., for a short time, but authorities there chose not to continue it. Then the program found Kwìkwèxwelhp. Originally known as the Elbow Lake Institution, the local Sts’ailes First Nation renamed and reopened the facility in 2001, changing it from a traditional prison to a 50-resident facility imbued with an Indigenous approach to healing the spirit. When KPU presented Inside-Out to the local community, says Deisman, “it was really received positively.” KPU now considers Kwìkwèxwelhp a “life partner” for Inside-Out, and is looking to expand its courses beyond criminology to other subjects, such as creative writing.
http://www.macleans.ca/education/prisoner-exchange-learning-program/
‘Bringing Birth Back’ to Indigenous Women Focus of University of Saskatchewan Research
CBC News – February 2, 2018
The birth experience in a hospital can be alienating for Indigenous women, says a University of Saskatchewan researcher, who is researching how to improve that experience and also potentially how to grow an Indigenous midwifery program in the province. “We need to look at what we need to do to help women birth in their communities if they want to, or how we can help them, at least, get a lot of their care in their communities,” says Angela Bowen, whose study, ‘Bringing Birth Back: Improving Access to Culturally Safe Birth in Saskatchewan,’ recently received $160,000 through the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, as one of eight projects focused on patient-oriented research.
‘Aftershock’ Features Last Generation of Residential School Survivors
Anishinabek News – February 2, 2018
AAMJIWNAANG FIRST NATION – Reconciliation is something that needs to take place not only between racial communities in Canada, but also within First Nations families. That’s the message from the children of the last generation of residential-school survivors in a new documentary film “Aftershock” from southwestern Ontario. The documentary features interviews with six First Nations adults, who explain how learning about their parents’ disturbed childhoods has helped them fight the toxic effects of seven generations of residential schooling and build a positive future for their own children.
Yukon Peacemaking Circle, Forest School Bring Home Arctic Inspiration Prize Money
CBC News – February 1, 2018
The peacemaking circle wasn’t the only Yukon initiative to get a piece of the Arctic Inspiration Prize money. Whitehorse-based Rivers to Ridges won in the youth category, receiving $100,000 to help launch a forest school program for pre-schoolers.”It felt amazing, and both Erin and I feel deeply humbled to have been on that stage,” said Emily Payne, who leads the initiative along with Erin Nicolardi. Forest schools use outdoor education and land-based programming, to encourage kids to feel more connected to their environment.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/peacemaking-circle-forest-school-arctic-prize-yukon-1.4515743
Residential School Survivor from Sarnia to Receive Province’s Highest Order
CBC News – February 1, 2018
Geraldine Robertson is one of 23 new members of the Order of Ontario announced this week by Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell. “When I heard my name was submitted, I was shocked,” Robertson said. “And then to win, it was icing on the cake. I’m so humbled.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/residential-school-survivor-order-of-ontario-1.4515429
Sault College Hosts Annual Pow Wow on Campus an Exciting Weekend of Culture and Expression
Sault Online – February 1, 2018
“On behalf of Indigenous Student Council, I would like to extend our warmest invitation to all students and community members to our Love and Unity traditional Pow Wow,” says Jonathan Nolan, President, Indigenous Student Council. “This event allows our students and community members to share in traditional food, dances and craft vendors. Our main objective this year is to bring everyone together from all directions and unite as one, love as one and of course laugh as one,” he adds.
Old City Hall Set to Become Home to a Museum of Toronto
The Toronto Star – February 1, 2018
“We have our moment to finally create this museum of Toronto … to return old city hall to the people,” Matlow said. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam also championed the “incredible opportunity.” She said the museum could showcase Toronto’s Indigenous history “that was also erased”, the stories of regular Torontonians and gay Torontonians’ fight for equality.
Provinces Hold off Signing Agreement on Indigenous Child Welfare
CBC News – January 26, 2018
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett made an impassioned plea to the provinces Friday to devolve child welfare so as to avoid provincially mandated agencies stepping in and taking at-risk children and placing them in non-Indigenous homes for care. There is a fear that the current system — regularly seizing children from their families and communities, and placing them with foster parents — replicates the mistakes of the Indian residential school system and the Sixties Scoop, as it alienates kids from their traditional language, culture and support networks.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/provinces-philpott-bennett-indigenous-child-welfare-1.4505618
A Valiant Indigenous Life and the Embodiment of Resilience
The Toronto Star – January 26, 2018
Despite having endured severe hardships and remarkable racism, Nadjiwon maintained a quiet smile, a winsome sense of humour, and developed a gifted artistry of wood carving. His works now grace museums, galleries, and homes around the globe, depicting the beauty of the natural world, but also the chaos and confusion of our present ecological morass. Two days shy of his 96th birthday, Nadjiwon joined me at a Truth and Reconciliation event in Tobermory, Ont., where he spoke about his past and hopes for the future. The organizers had baked him a cake, the capacity crowd sang “Happy Birthday,” members of his family drummed in his honour, and Nadjiwon, for a brief moment, experienced gratitude for his remarkable life.
