As part of Algonquin College’s commitment to introducing and embracing the traditional Anishinàbe (ahnishinAHHbay) Algonquin Nation
language on campus, during the month of June we will share vocabulary, phrases and information to familiarize learners and employees with the traditional language.
Please join Anita Tenasco, Director of Indigenous Initiatives, in using the words and phrases on campus, in classrooms and with colleagues and students. Continue reading
A welcome crowd and beautiful backdrop of the shore of the Ottawa River
played host to former Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. Wilson-Raybould spoke to a large group in person and online at the Pembroke Waterfront Campus on Tuesday, March 5 as part of the Algonquin College Speaker Series to mark International Women’s Week.
Wilson-Raybould was speaking about her latest book True Reconciliation. She addressed the roles of women in her culture and in society, about leadership and Truth and Reconciliation and how individuals can make substantive and impactful changes that will yield results. Continue reading
Kerry Potts wants people to learn about colonization. Formerly a professor at
Humber College, Potts began co-creating an interactive timeline in 2022 to help fellow teachers share the ongoing history of colonialism in Ontario, Indigenous resistance efforts and other topics relating to governance and Indigenous knowledge.
Upon moving back to Ottawa and beginning her work as a professor and Indigenous Pedagogy and Curriculum Consultant at Algonquin College, Potts continued working on this project with a small team that included professors from Humber, filmmaker Michelle St. John and Indigenous designer Katie Wilhelm. The team created an interactive and comprehensive tool to complement courses and programs taught at Ontario post-secondary institutions Colonization Road Ontario: A Timeline is now available for free to educators in Ontario. Continue reading
Summer is a time when many people enjoy the great outdoors. For a group of
13 incoming and current Algonquin College students, six days in late August was more than just campfires and starry nights. It was a foundational and transformative time to learn more about truth and reconciliation.
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With summer strawberries, bannock treats and Indigenous coffee in
abundance, employees came together to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day through learning, conversation and knowledge sharing.
Algonquin College President and CEO, Claude Brulé, welcomed everyone to Algonquin College’s Indigenous Learning Commons (Nawapon) to celebrate the day. Continue reading
The Pembroke Campus celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day with a
special ceremony on June 21. The ceremony included Indigenous teachings about the importance of feasting a drum by an Elder who spoke about need for the “drum to never eat alone,” and the importance of the drum in Indigenous culture. The feast includes wild rice and fresh berries that were shared with College employees who attended the special ceremony.
The ceremony was also built into a full day of activities held by the city of Pembroke at its waterfront park, next door to the Pembroke Campus. Employees were able to participate in the ceremony through dancing as the drummers played special songs including a “food song” as part of the drum feast. The employees also brought gifts for the drums, items that could be given to people in need in our community such as colouring books for children.
While most folks were able to enjoy a bit of a slower pace this summer, new employees Shelia Grantham
and Kerry Potts started their new roles at Algonquin College and hit the ground running, quickly becoming part of the College community, hosting events and being interviewed by local media.
Grantham and Potts are Indigenous Pedagogy and Curriculum Consultants, new roles created within Learning and Teaching Services (LTS). The goal of LTS aims to foster a culture of teaching innovation and excellence at Algonquin College and build relationships with faculty, academic schools and Applied Research that support strategic collaboration, pedagogical and technological exploration, and ideas sharing. With these new roles, LTS will further advance the TRC’s Calls to Action relating to Indigenous education.
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On the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, participants at Algonquin College in Pembroke took part in the KAIROS blanket exercise.
It’s an immersive, interactive experience that educates participants on the history and culture of Indigenous people in Canada, as well as the loss of their land and life.
“It takes you through the entire Indigenous history in a couple of hours,” says Aimee Bailey, a spokesperson at the Circle of Turtle Lodge in Pembroke, who helped lead the blanket exercise Friday.
College holding day-long series of events for students and employees
Each year, Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Recognition of the tragic history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Paula Naponse never thought she would own her own store, a lifelong dream she had since she was eight years old.
For a decade, Naponse’s business selling fashion, beadwork and artisanal goods like candles was an ad hoc affair. She had a name, Ondarez — a name inspired by a similar phrase she would see often on Facebook (it was 2008, peak Facebook) posts from her home community: “I’m on the rez.”
But a storefront seemed out of reach. Naponse sold her wares at cultural gatherings and by mail order. But thanks to a tourism training program and a push from her eldest daughter, Naponse’s business expanded to her childhood dream of a storefront and café.
“I have a sign now! I never ever thought that it could happen to me,” Naponse told Canada’s National Observer.
The Beandigen Café, a coffee-pun play on the Anishnaabemowin word biindigen, or welcome, opened in November 2021 and serves as a storefront for Indigenous artisans and a community space for beading circles, Indigenous open mic nights, and NDN taco pop-ups.