Posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2024
“We are a people with roots as deep and as long as any other Indigenous people
in North America,” said Tony Belcourt as he addressed a small crowd of about 30 participants as part of Monday’s Indigenous Speaker Series.
Belcourt was speaking about “What Makes Métis Identity.” He provided analysis and detail from Métis history dating back to the 1700s and including photos and information later from 1846, the first records of his family’s history. Read more >
Posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024
The process of naming the campus drum at the Pembroke Campus has begun.
Now, the campus awaits Elder Barry Sarazin’s return to reveal what the name will be.
Elder Sarazin told the campus community it could be as little as four days or longer, but he promised a “great social celebration when the name is revealed to him.”
The drum has been part of the campus community since 2018 when it was built by students under the direction of knowledge holder Pinock Smith and Elder Skip Ross of the Circle of Turtle Lodge, a project called three drums, three campuses. The drum is kept in the campus library, a place that is active with people throughout the day. Read more >
Posted on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024
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. Read more >
Posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2023
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.
Read more >
Posted on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023
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. Read more >
Posted on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023
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.
Posted on Thursday, June 15th, 2023
The overcast skies we no match for the sunny dispositions as a large crowd gathered at Mādahòkì Farm on Wednesday.
As the summer solstice approaches, Algonquin College brought together its partners PCL Construction, TD Bank Group, Nokia Canada and more than 95 volunteers for two days of volunteering. The “Build Days” included improving key farm features as well as providing new animal housing structures and upgrading the Legacy Trail.
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Posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2023
It has been planned for many years and now it is part of the campus grounds at
the Pembroke Waterfront Campus. A new Indigenous Medicine Wheel Garden, located on the Western tip of the campus property, was dedicated recently in a special ceremony that celebrated what the space means to the college and broader community.
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Posted on Monday, June 5th, 2023
Last fall, Shelia Grantham and Kerry Potts began working as Indigenous
pedagogy and curriculum consultants at Algonquin College in the Learning and Teaching Services (LTS) department. The goal of LTS is to foster a culture of teaching innovation and excellence and build relationships with faculty, academic schools and applied research that support strategic collaboration, pedagogical and technological exploration and ideas sharing. As part of their mandate, Grantham and Potts, in their roles with LTS will further advance the TRC’s Calls to Action relating to Indigenous education. Read more >
Posted on Friday, March 3rd, 2023
For Indigenous students to thrive and succeed at Algonquin College,
Indigenous voices need to be involved at every level of the College, bureaucracy and red tape need to be streamlined, student resources better promoted, and faculty should demonstrate flexibility and willingness to accommodate family emergencies.
These were some of the suggestions and recommendations shared with an audience of college employees and faculty, at the March 2 Indigenous Student Leadership Panel, hosted by Shelia Grantham and Kerry Potts, Algonquin College’s Indigenous Pedagogy and Curriculum Consultants in Learning and Teaching Services. Read more >