The Anishinaabe language and culture is being celebrated in the form of a community cultural room at Hillside School at Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
An official unveiling and community social was held on Wednesday.
Cultural and Language Coordinator Patricia Shawnoo said this cultural room is long overdue and it took a team effort to bring it to fruition.
Honour song before the official unveiling. April 19, 2023. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
The room will allow students to learn about the culture, with programming expected to begin next week.
"We are resilient people and we have come through that, and our ancestors have been with us," said Shawnoo, when speaking about truth and reconciliation. "So everything from the 64 Calls to Action with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have that now and that helps us pave the way to bring language and culture back to our community."
Before the room was officially unveiled, elders spoke about its significance as it wasn't too long ago that schools didn't allow books about Indigenous culture or history to be available to students.
Director of Education David Ennis said it was gratifying to see "a sparkle" in the eyes of elders who walked into the room.
"To me, it feels like our first attempt to turn it into a truly Indigenous school versus a Western or a colonial school on a reserve, there's a massive, massive difference," he said.
Aside from having young students learn more about Indigenous culture, Ennis said it's a learning opportunity for him as well.
"When I hear people speaking the language fluently, it just moves me deeply when I consider that my ancestors could have been participants in taking the language out, and now to have education bring the language back is very, very encouraging," said Ennis.
Tobacco ties. April 19, 2023. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Students made tobacco ties ahead of Wednesday's event (signifying prayers) to share with community members.
"What they're saying is, 'listen to me. I want to know who I am, this is a part of my identity and I want to feel good about it.' Everything in this room is going to be a part of our program," said Shawnoo.
Everything inside the room, even the border along the wall, signifies a sacred aspect of the Indigenous culture.
Moving forward, Shawnoo said there is more that can be done to show or provide support for area First Nations.
"We have students who are in this school but we also have students away from the school who live in the urban parts of the city [and] attend public schools. So we need to collectively work together -- to collectively create that positive picture, the positive plan to reclaim our culture," she said.
Shawnoo said community members uniting together and the creation of cultural spaces is similar to what their ancestors did. Ideally, she'd like to see cultural spaces not just on First Nation lands but in different schools and areas of the municipality.
"We should have these culture rooms and start by bringing in those cultural resources to help, not only help our children relearn their identity but also to provide that culture for our non-native relatives."
During Wednesday's unveiling, guests were invited to a luncheon in the school's gymnasium, where several booths had been set up. An afternoon presentation involving students was also scheduled to take place after the luncheon.
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