A Celebration of Indigenous Culture at Seneca
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A CELEBRATION OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE AT SENECA Looking Forward Through The Past 50 Years Niigaa Ninaabying Kenmaag Gaabishizhewbaak Ehko Naanmidnazaa Boongaadong A CELEBRATION OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE AT SENECA Looking Forward Through The Past 50 Years Niigaa Ninaabying Kenmaag Gaabishizhewbaak Ehko Naanmidnazaa Boongaadong 1 Copyright © 2017 by Seneca Press CONTENTS All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy- 4 INTRODUCTION ing, recording, or any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 10 CHAPTER 1: INDIGENOUS STAFF AND STUDENTS Book jacket and page design by Lily Nguyen. 20 CHAPTER 2: INDIGENOUS ALUMNI 32 CHAPTER 3: INDIGENOUS FASHION 42 CHAPTER 4: TRADITIONAL DANCE 52 CHAPTER 5: INDIGENOUS ARTWORK 72 CHAPTER 6: THE LAND 86 CHAPTER 7: THE FUTURE 90 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS senecacollege.ca/createPRESS SENECASeneca@York Campus 70 The Pond Road Toronto, ON M3J 3M6 SENECAPRESS 2 3 INTRODUCTION Hand Drum (Anishinaabe), 2005, pictured throughout Rawhide over a wooden rim, with seven grandfather teachings painted in acrylic On October 15, 2015 a traditional welcoming ceremony was held at the Newnham campus to celebrate the installation of a traditional Indigenous tipi. In attendance was Hon. David Zimmer, Ontario Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, who joined Seneca President David Agnew in signing the provincial Protocol Agreement. 4 5 FOREWORD BY LAUREL SCHOLLEN 2017-18 marks the 50th anniversary of Although the First Peoples office is a service, it Seneca and the Ontario college system. During really is a family for many of the students who the year, we will celebrate Seneca, our students, come from communities at great distances graduates and employees and reflect on our from the college. It has also been a place for journey in a variety of ways. “A Celebration of students to learn and discover their Indigenous Indigenous Culture at Seneca,” the result of a culture. Further, it has served the Seneca student project born out of passion and community by providing outreach and educa- commitment, supported and guided by staff, is tion activities such as class visits and cultural one such example. This work tells the story of workshops, including events such as the Seneca’s relationship to Indigenous people keynote address given by Dr. Niigaanwewidam from its inception to the present. James Sinclair, referenced in Chapter 7: The It also points to the future and the commit- Future. Laurel Schollen ments Seneca made in 2015 as a signatory to the As we look forward to the next 50 years, we do Academic Vice-President Indigenous Education Protocol for Colleges and so acknowledging our responsibilities as treaty Institutes, and the imperative to respond to the people. At Seneca this means we must work Truth and Reconciliation Commission of toward integrating Reconciliation practices Canada: Calls to Action. The signing of the with Indigenous people throughout the protocol was a step forward in Seneca’s hist- institution; we must strive to meet the commit- ory. By signing this aspirational document, we ments we have made. committed to growing the Indigenous curricu- In closing, I would like to thank our student lum and educational supports for students. authors, Aboriginal Education Council, First Between these sections are chapters on Peoples@Seneca, and our staff for their Indigenous art, dance, fashion and the connec- dedication to producing this book. It grounds tion to the land, which provide just a snapshot where we are in our 50th year and clearly points of the richness of Indigenous culture we have to the future we must create together. the privilege to witness at Seneca. But most important are the personal and powerful stories of Indigenous staff, students and alumni who speak about their journey as learners, teachers and guides, and the role Seneca and its First Peoples Office has played in their lives. Tipi, 2015 Assiniboine Tipis, Lundar, Manitoba Wood and canvas 6 7 HISTORY OF SENECA BY MARK SOLOMON AND PEGGY PITAWANAKWAT AS TOLD TO SHANNON BLAKE AND ERIN DOLMAGE Seneca is named after the Seneca First Seneca’s King Campus and Peterborough and ultimately Solomon buried the headdresses, ending one dances throughout the school year. The First Peoples@Seneca Nation, though the institution is not located on Campus were built on lands that are covered by relationship that Seneca has had with Indigenous people. The office has also ensured that several Seneca students sit on the Seneca territory. When giving an oral history of the Williams Treaty of 1923, a treaty between time of appropriation and pan-Indigeneity was over; now it was Aboriginal Education Council (soon to be renamed the Seneca’s name in 2012, the institution’s first the Crown and the Chippewas of Lake Simcoe, time to learn from past mistakes and better understand the Indigenous Education Council). president, Dr. William Newnham, explained Lake Huron and the Mississaugas of Rice Lake, identity of Indigenous peoples. In the First Peoples@Seneca office there is a buffalo skull that the original Board of Governors were Scugog, Curve Lake and Alderville. Unlike In 2011, Peggy Pitawanakwat and Karen White joined Seneca where students can lay names and burn medicines to honour meeting in Brantford—traditional Seneca earlier treaties, this one did not secure to head the First Peoples@Seneca office. They have created a their loved ones, and offer prayers. There is an honour drum territory—at the time they were considering a Indigenous rights to resource development space for nurturing and celebrating Indigenous culture that is that the Creator gave women to give to men, to remind them name for the College. Seneca was not yet built (hunting, fishing, etc.). unequalled in other post-secondary institutions in Ontario. that women are the heartbeat of the community. There are other and, indeed, no Ontario land had yet been There was much conflict between the Their role is student-focused, and Pitawanakwat and White drums that honour the Seven Grandfather Teachings: wisdom, purchased for the College. Algonquin College Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee people in serve the College by bringing cultural knowledge to the honesty, bravery, love, respect, truth, and humility. Sometimes and Mohawk College were founded at a similar early Indigenous confederacies. However, as institution. These women have helped raise the profile and the office has cedar tea brewing. Pitawanakwat and White want Seneca Headdress time and Seneca College followed their conflicts between French and British coloniz- outreach of the First Peoples@Seneca office. It is a designated to create space within Seneca for Indigenous students to see (Gustoweh), 2014 example by also naming itself after a local First ers escalated, the Anishinaabe and resource for Indigenous students and staff, strongly integrated themselves; Pitawanakwat and White hope to soon have a Lyle Anderson (Cayuga) Nation. Dr. Newnham reported that the Board Haudenosaunee people created a peace treaty into the rest of Seneca activities. Pitawanakwat and White Gustoweh and Mississauga headdress at every campus. Turkey feathers, leather of Governors made this choice with the best of with one another called the Dish with One continue to look for ways to increase understanding of Besides creating spaces of integration and fostering cultural and wood intentions, and with respect. Spoon. This is an important teaching. Indigenous identity throughout the College, and to integrate celebrations at Seneca, Pitawanakwat and White have also As Seneca grew, its Newnham Campus, An enormous bowl was filled with food. An Indigenous practices and acts of Reconciliation naturally into worked hard to build relationships with Indigenous organiza- Markham Campus and Seneca@York Campus Elder at the council fire explained that each the fabric of Seneca. tions across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). An annual were all built on traditional territory, not of the person should take what they needed, leave Pitawanakwat and White have noticed that students are giving-back project is part of the rhythm of the First Peoples@ Seneca First Nation, but of the Wendat enough for the next person, and keep the dish sometimes only studying at the College for one or two years, but Seneca office. It is important not only for the First Peoples office Confederacy, Haudenosaunee and clean. This was not a recipe for simply getting Indigenous practices, ceremonies and protocols can have a deep to know what services are available and where they are offered, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. along, but a way to be stewards of one another, impact on their school—and life—experience. Pitawanakwat but also to have a personal relationship with staff who work in Land from Etobicoke River in the west, now and into the future. It is something we can and White, with Elder Blu, have overseen building a tipi and the these organizations. Pitawanakwat finds this personal relation- Ashbridges Bay in the east, and stretching 45 learn from today. creation of medicine gardens, one specifically for growing sage ship can help students overcome bureaucratic barriers. kilometers to the north of Lake Ontario, was At the beginning Seneca attempted to that is used in smudging throughout the year, and one that Organizations like Mizibiik and the Native Women’s Resource sold to the British Crown in 1787 in what was honour its namesake First Nation by investing grows vegetables that are contributed to the Student Food Bank. Centre of Toronto offer supports such as traditional healers and known as The Toronto Purchase. A second in imitation headdresses. But the headdresses There are welcoming ceremonies at the beginning of the school health care workers, food, clothing, transit assistance and round of negotiations in 1805 followed this were inauthentic, modeled on headdresses of year, New Moon ceremonies each month, and Tasehwung, a academic bursaries for students.