TRI News

Pageants aren’t what they used to be, and for that today’s young women and those who respect their skills and values have reason to be grateful.

Take the Miss Eeyou Eenou Iskwaau (MEEI) pageant organized by the Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee Association to celebrate the young women of the Cree Nation. According to the pageant website, “one of the goals of the pageant is to empower young women in Eeyou Istchee, to help them grow as a person, come out of their shell, and shine bright for all to see how beautiful and sacred they are inside and out.”

For Geraldine Trapper, the current Miss Eeyou Eenou Iskwaau, her title gives her a unique platform for education and advocacy. “I am a part of the LGBTQ2S community, I am a two-spirited woman,” says the Algonquin College General Arts and Science student, currently studying Indigenous Studies and Justice.

Since winning the title in April, Trapper has been preparing to speak to young people about a variety of issues including LGBTQ2S issues. “I wanted to advocate and share that it’s OK to be who you are,” says Trapper. “I wanted to be a voice to let people know that better days will come. There is a community and they are loved. They don’t need to feel lost and alone.”

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Algonquin College will present Indigenous activist, lawyer and mediator Roberta Jamieson with an Honorary Degree at its virtual convocation ceremony on June 23.

Over her long, varied career, Jamieson has worked tirelessly to advocate for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada. As the Chief Executive Officer and President of Indspire from 2004 to 2020, she helped expand the organization – which aims to improve Indigenous communities’ access to post-secondary education – to become the largest Indigenous-led charity in Canada. In her 16 years as CEO, she grew the organization’s bursary program eight-fold, launched the Indigenous Research Knowledge Nest, and vastly expanded its other programs, resources, and initiatives, engaging government, the private sector and thousands of individual Canadians in the process. Under Jamieson’s leadership, Indspire was recognized as one of the Top 10 Charities of Impact in Canada.

Raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Jamieson is also an internationally recognized leader in non-adversarial dispute resolution, having acted as a mediator between First Nations communities and the federal and provincial governments of Canada for many years. Continue reading →

The Honourable Murray Sinclair, participating Tuesday in an Algonquin College Speaker Series event hosted by Pembroke Campus, issued a call to action to individuals aspiring to play a part in reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations.

“I speak often with groups who ask me ‘What can I do? Is it too big a problem for me?’” Sinclair said. “I say it isn’t too big for you. You can do this very easily. You need to first of all make yourself aware of Canada’s history and what it’s done to you. Understand how it’s effected your thinking and work hard to change the way you think about Indigenous people and Indigenous issues.”
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When Algonquin College Board of Governor’s member, Audrey Lawrence, was a young woman attending teachers’ college, she received a bursary that changed her life. Now, she is returning that long ago favour by establishing a new bursary in her own name.

The Audrey Lawrence AC Online Bursary, which will be awarded to full-time and part-time learners in financial need, is being established thanks to a generous gift of over $15,000 from Lawrence.

The bursary, which was announced this week, is one of the first of its kind in Ontario and represents five separate bursaries. Two $6,000 bursaries will benefit full-time learners, with one preferably directed toward an Indigenous student. Three $1,000 bursaries will also be awarded to part-time students.
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Acts of kindness are always important, but in today’s climate, they may be more difficult to accomplish. On Monday, the Algonquin Board of Governors recognized a group of students who came together to raise funds to purchase health and wellness supplies for Inuit youth in Kugaaruk and Resolute Nunavut, and received the Changemaker Award for their efforts.

The five Bachelor of Science in Nursing students and one Bachelor of Commerce (e-Supply Chain Management) (Honours) student created the Indigenous Youth Health and Wellness club in the Fall of 2020 at Algonquin’s Pembroke Campus.

Since then they have collaborated with nursing stations in remote northern communities and worked with Canadian North Airline to deliver the supplies to remote isolated communities. Continue reading →

Pembroke Campus has kicked off activities in conjunction with the First Moon, First People Indigenous Culture Celebration. The month-long event will include a series of activities in collaboration with the Circle of Turtle Lodge that celebrate Indigenous Culture.

“This is the fourth year of this annual event,” said Jodi Bucholtz, Marketing, Event Planning and Recruitment Coordinator. “Through these programs, we are able to expose students and employees to learn more about indigenous culture.”

Events are aligned with course curriculum to allow for wide interest and participation. All students and staff are welcome to attend.

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Ron (Deganadus) McLester, Algonquin’s Vice President, Truth, Reconciliation & Indigenization, and Jeff Turner, Algonquin’s Partnership Development Specialist, were featured on CBC’s All in a Day recently to discuss the College’s announcement of its COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative, and the expansion of its YouthBuild program, two initiatives that help Indigenous youth acquire job-readiness skill while expanding their education.

“We just saw an amazing opportunity here to provide positive impact to Indigenous youth, and it’s been really successful to date,” said Turner of the Rapid Response program, which gives Indigenous youth on-the-job training and employment skills related to the impact or effects of the pandemic . Continue reading →

The Algonquin College community is invited to attend an Indigenous ceremony in Ishkodewan Friday as the DARE District courtyard is readied for winter.

Horticultural Industries students will assist in preparing the courtyard garden for winter starting Friday. This entails weeding plant beds, deadheading perennials, and generally getting the garden in shape for winter’s onset – The Big Sleep, as Jeff Turner, Partnership Development Specialist for the DARE District, puts it.

Ahead of this work, Jackie Tenute, Aboriginal Counsellor for the Mamidosewin Centre, will lead an early morning ceremony in Ishkodewan to say ‘thank you’ to nature for its beauty and bounty, including the more than 1,000 plants – flowers, shrubs, and trees – that make up the garden.
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Algonquin College’s Students’ Association was honoured Tuesday for its $1-million investment in providing Indigenous artifacts and architecture for the DARE District.

The investment was announced in August 2017. The College and its students invested $5.4 million – including the SA’s $1 million over five years – into capital projects incorporating Indigenous identity and promoting Indigenization, all with a view to furthering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action. “It is our fervent hope that this will encourage the expression of (Indigenous) history, culture and arts on campus,” then SA President Victoria Ventura said at the time.
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A visit with old friends, a chance to make new ones and plenty of food for thought were all part of the Indigenous Welcome Feast Wednesday at the Mamidosewin Centre.

After welcoming everyone in Ojibwe, Jackie Tenute — a Councillor with Indigenous Services and Partnerships at the College— sang a song acknowledging the ancestors. Following the warm welcome, Elder Terry McKay addressed the room.
“This is the time of year where children were picked up by churches and the RCMP. It was very traumatic for them . . . You have a chance to further your education and be better people, and when you become better people don’t forget your parents and grandparents. And don’t forget Mother Earth. She needs our help so much now.”
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