This was Truth and Reconciliation Week at Loyalist College with the school offering several opportunities for learning and understanding the legacy of this country’s residential school system.
More than 200 students and staff came together for a tobacco ceremony at the A’nó:wara Learning Circle, an outdoor space on the college’s Belleville campus dedicated to Indigenous knowledge, culture and tradition.
Named for the Mohawk word for ‘turtle,’ the A’nó:wara Learning Circle is a teaching and learning space closely linked to the natural world surrounding it.
Tobacco ceremony at Loyalist College for Truth and Reconciliation Week. (Photo: Loyalist College)
A display at the campus’ main entrance catalogues the unmarked graves discovered on the grounds of former residential schools.
Staff and students were also encouraged to wear orange shirts and ribbons to demonstrate their support for the Orange Shirt Campaign, honouring those impacted by the residential school system.
“The events of this week are designed to help our Loyalist College community understand the lasting, intergenerational impact of the residential school system, and create space to celebrate the living Indigenous cultures that have survived despite colonization,” says Tewathahá:kwa Jennifer Maracle. “The outstanding number of participants in our tobacco ceremony, and the continued engagement of students and staff, is a testament to the progress Loyalist College is making toward positive change, healing and growth. With more educational programming for our college community launching later this academic year, we will continue bringing Indigenous ways of knowing into our classrooms and offices. We aim to ensure that Indigenous students feel a sense of belonging here at Loyalist and that our non-Indigenous students and staff gain a deeper understanding of the history of the land they live and learn on.”
“Thanks to the guidance and dedication of our Tsi Titewaya’taró:roks team, Loyalist College has made great strides toward decolonizing our institution – but we still have a long way to go,” acknowledges Loyalist College President and CEO Mark Kirkpatrick. “During Truth and Reconciliation Week, we come together to remember the lives lost to the residential school system and renew our commitment to be a leader in advancing the Calls to Action from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
