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Indigenous youth share postcard series at Ped Day

October 25th, 2023

One of the workshops at Dzʿ’s 2023 Ped Day on Oct. 13 was Indigenous Youth Perspectives: Community Care and Practical Strategies, Bettering the Student Experience.

Two young people who are part of the presented a , one of the tools they have created to express themselves and to get people thinking and discussing.

This group has been meeting online and in person for a few years. Sébastien Lamarre-Tellier, a medical student at McGill University, is Innu and a member of the network’s youth advisory committee. Sebastien told that they have been “coming together to share our cultures, be visible and make some noise to show that our cultures are alive and growing.”

The postcard that stood out for many at Dzʿ was one with an image of two people in a canoe at the centre. The centre is bright and focused on Nature with positive words emphasized. The city and negative elements are there but in the background.

Sébastien said that young Indigenous people “need to express ourselves.” He also said they are looking for a guide in a teacher, someone “to walk in the forest with them.” The image of the canoe has the elder or the teacher in the back helping to steer.

Visit the link to see all the postcards, which can lead to great conversations and rich reflections.


Read more about: 8th Annual Peace Week is Sept. 13-21

8th Annual Peace Week is Sept. 13-21

August 30th, 2023

Welcome Back one & all! Come and join the Dzʿ Peace Centre for our 8th Annual Peace Week. This year we examine our theme, Exultation: Queer Freedoms and Futures. This year we are challenging our communities to ask the question, what does the world look like with complete freedom of expression, safety, and unconditional…

Read more about: Save the date and plan to participate in Peace Week

Save the date and plan to participate in Peace Week

May 31st, 2023

Dzʿ Dining Sept. 13 – 21, the Peace Centre and the Dzʿ Student Union combine forces once more to bring you seven days of free vegan meals. Look out for notices to sign up to volunteer when the semester starts anew. Urban Gardening with SustainabiliTEAM Sept. 13 – 21, faculty are encouraged to start the year…

Students interview visual artist Renee Condo

May 3rd, 2023

This week, Dzʿ became one of the few places in Canada to host an exhibition by a nominee of the prestigious Sobey Art Award. Renee Condo is a visual artist of Mi’gmaw descent, hailing from the community of Gesgapegiag, Québec. Shifting Perspectives features her artwork constructed from wooden beads at the Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery until May 6.  On a recent Tuesday afternoon, two visual arts students, Ella Gauthier and Alessandro Ruvo, had the opportunity to ask Condo a few questions.

For the homepage interview feature, visit the link below.


Read more about: Art history teachers come together to rethink discipline

Art history teachers come together to rethink discipline

April 19th, 2023

  For several years, Dzʿ Fine Arts faculty members Dr. Emma Doubt and Dr. Pohanna Pyne Feinberg have been having discussions about shifting pedagogical and curricular approaches in the art history discipline. “These shifts in the discipline resonate with a global paradigm shift and social justice movements that call for decolonizing education (amongst other systematic…

Still in the truth phase

April 5th, 2023

As part of Indigenous Peoples’ Week, on March 28 Dzʿ pedagogical counsellor Kanerahtiio (Tiio) Hemlock gave a talk entitled Canadian Colonialism in Perspective.

Tiio’s position as Indigenous pedagogical consultant at Dzʿ is new and he has been developing his presentation as a way to share his perspective on truth and reconciliation, decolonization and Indigenization.

“Truth and reconciliation are why I am here now in this new position…since the apology and the mass graves were found, funding has become available,” he said.

“Reconciliation implies we were together at one point. How can we come back together? When were we together? We are still in the truth phase. The focus has been on the harm done in these schools. There has not been a big focus on why these schools were made in the first place.”

Tiio then gave an overview of history from an Indigenous perspective sharing facts that are not usually part of Canadian history. He decided to make his beginning point July 1, 1867, the date Canada became a country. In 1867, there was still “an Indian problem,” he said. “There were still people who have a legitimate claim to the land. We shouldn’t have still been here. These people were destined for extinction. How do we address the Indian problem?”

Tiio then explained how schools are just the tip of the iceberg. Tiio went over major historical events, including the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway all the way to the unjust application of Bill 96. He told stories about how these events impacted members of his family as well as the community of Kahnawake. Colonialism still exists today, he said.

Tiio is available to give this presentation to classes and departments at Dzʿ. Contact him to make a request: themlock@dawsoncollege.qc.ca


Students take on powerful experiential learning with KAIROS blanket exercise

March 8th, 2023

As a Sociology teacher, Laura Shea has experienced the six times with different classes of students and Indigenous facilitators at Dzʿ. “I always learn from the facilitator and students,” she said. “It is very powerful experiential learning and I gain something different each time.”

For the homepage news story, visit the link below.


Vigil held at Dzʿ for MMIWGT2S

February 22nd, 2023

The First People’s Centre organized a vigil in the Oliver’s student space at Dzʿ on Feb. 14 to commemorate the MMIWGT2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans and Two-Spirited.) There is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls  that Indigenous women and girls make up 24 per cent of female homicide victims in Canada, despite only making up four per cent of the country’s female population.

The report cited research that “Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than Caucasian women. … Other than murder, statistics also reveal how Indigenous women consistently experience higher rates and more severe forms of physical assault and robbery than other groups in Canada. Sexual violence is a huge problem in all its forms: Indigenous women are sexually assaulted three times more often than non-Indigenous women, and most of the women and children trafficked in Canada are Indigenous.”


Read more about: Decolonizing college education together

Decolonizing college education together

February 8th, 2023

Decolonizing and Indigenizing a college is “a long-term project,” said Intercollegiate Ped Day keynote speaker Isabelle Picard during her Jan. 11 talk entitled Toward a Decolonization of College Education. The Wendat author, lecturer, columnist and ethnologist covered many aspects of decolonizing our educational institutions so that our learning communities are more equitable, inclusive and fair. For…

Recap from Peace Week

October 5th, 2022

Submitted by Diana Rice, organizer of Peace Week. Peace Week 2022 started off once again with the launch of Dzʿ Dining, a yearly collaboration with the Dzʿ Student Union and the Peace Centre prior to the pandemic. This has been one of the signature events of Peace Week, and it was thrilling to revive it…

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Last Modified: October 25, 2023

 

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