First sacred fire lit at Algonquin College

Posted on Friday, October 28th, 2016

The first sacred fire at Algonquin College was lit in the C building courtyard Thursday afternoon, celebrated by more than 100 people who gathered outside just as it began to snow.

Indigenous Cook Pre-Apprenticeship Program student Rohahes Mitchell played the drum as the ceremony began, and elder Barbara Hill welcomed those gathered to the “Caring for the Spirit” celebration on behalf of the Algonquin Nation. Elder Peter Decontie prepared the smudging bowl and, after Cheryl addressed the gathering, lit the sacred fire.

Cheryl said the fire was like a light or a beacon for guiding the college forward as it builds a new Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship.

“This centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Algonquin College and our Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship is for you,” she said. “It is for you to bring new ideas for all of us here at Algonquin.”

She said the college would be looking to the Indigenous community to help articulate what the centre should look like, how it should function and what it should do.

In his remarks, Ron Deganadus McLester, Algonquin’s recently appointed Executive Director and Special Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Initiatives, challenged those gathered to consider what Indigenous entrepreneurship looks like, and how it might differ from traditional entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurs “start their own businesses, take their own risks and reap their own rewards.”

He told the gathering what he thought Indigenous entrepreneurship might look like: “Indigenous entrepreneurship is to focus on our community, our young people and our elders.”

After the lighting of the fire and the smudging, in which dozens of people participated, the crowd moved inside, where they heard the Ottawa River Singers perform drumming, watched dancer Ben Wawatie, in full regalia, perform, and were invited to participate in the dancing.

Inside, those gathered also had a chance to give their ideas about the new Indigenous entrepreneurship centre by answering a survey. They also heard from two Indigenous entrepreneurs.

The afternoon was capped with a barbecue.

Photo: Dancer Ben Wawatie

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