Indigenous Education Archives - Page 2 of 2

Connecting to the land

Posted on June 23, 2016 by admin

Recently our secondary schools students had an opportunity to attend a sweat lodge building and ceremony as part of the “Bundle Roots Program”. The event was hosted by Indigenous Education Secondary Support staff & teachers. At this event we had students from various cultures take part. The turnout was great and the weather was wonderful. There were three secondary schools that took part in this activity. The Sweat lodge was held on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory.

The sweat lodge is a structure, which is dome shaped made using natural materials given to us by the land. sweat lodges are used by Indigenous people on Turtle Island for ceremonial prayers. The ceremony and traditions associated with the sweat lodge vary from region to region but are similar in nature.

Students were able to partake in constructing the sweat lodge which was a rich learning experience for all staff and students. All the young men and women took part in constructing the sweat lodge. The Elders were both helpful and insightful for the youth and the staff, and shared their knowledge.

We completed our very full day with a very delicious feast, along with a spirit plate given back to our sacred helpers during this ceremony.

Sharing Indigenous Arts and Culture at MMA

Posted on February 11, 2016 by admin

On Friday January 18, 2016, Marymount Academy had the pleasure of spending some of their afternoon with special guest Lisa Marie Naponse. Their guest was introduced by two very confident young women, students Tyanna Soucy and Hailey Organ. These two ladies are currently representatives of the Aniisinaabe Cultural group here at Marymount Academy which is organized in collaboration with Carla Petahtegoose, the SCDSB Indigenous Education Support Worker. Lisa Marie is a self-taught singer and songwriter from Atikameksheng Anishinawbek. She shared her art and music which is a blend of blues, folk, and country. During her visit with Marymount she engaged the students in song and rhythm. Lisa shared with the students that as she was growing up, she was surrounded by music and creativity her mother and father played music and her sisters were pow wow dancers and craftswomen. Lisa speaks to people through music on indigenous life and her experiences as an Anishnawbe Kwe(Woman). Lisa quickly embraced the microphone community; which lead her to eventually co-founding an Indigenous Arts Collective that showcased Indigenous performances and art throughout the city of Ottawa. Today Lisa Marie has returned to her community and is working on new music and art. Finally, to finish off our assembly Hailey Organ kindly presented a gift on behalf of the Marymount staff and students.

Learning About Residential Schools at MMA

Posted on June 9, 2015 by admin

On Friday, May 22, Marymount Academy had Elder, Gert Nootchtai come and speak about her residential school experience. Students TiCarra Paquet, and Starr Trudeau, along with aboriginal support worker, Carla Petahtegoose coordinated the event. Students from Gr 9 – 12 were able to shed some light on a very dark part of Canadian history. Elder Nootchtai spoke about how she wasn’t allowed to speak her language, or practice her culture at residential school, there were punishments in place according to what you did. Elder Nootchtai shared most of the time she did what she was told to avoid punishments . She also touched upon the “1960’s scoop,” when aboriginal youth were taken from their families by Indian Agents hired by the government, and then put into the residential schools or child protective services. At times her memory is unclear if her guardians were aware of what was happening or if they just took her to school without consent. On a lighter note she did mention some fun activities for her at Spanish Residential School was when the Native teacher was hired and she took them outdoors for walks a lot and the kids would always sign up for this to get out of school. Following Elder Nootchtai’s shared experience, staff and students participated in an activity that allowed students to experience what it felt like to be removed from a community. of Residential School survivors. In recognizing the trauma and historical truths of Canadian history, it was a very educational day, and Marymount Academy looks forward to embracing more FNMI culture in the school.

Sharing Best Practice and Honouring Culture

Posted on September 30, 2011 by admin

Visitors from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board were in town on Wednesday, September 29 to learn more about the inclusion of aboriginal culture within the school system. Dufferin-Peel CDSB’s Director of Education John Kostoff, Superintendent Clara Pitoscia and General Manager of Communication and Media Relations, Bruce Campbell visited with administration from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to discuss the inclusion of aboriginal culture into the teaching and learning practices at the Sudbury Catholic Board. The group visited three of the Sudbury Catholic schools including St. Charles College, St. David Catholic Elementary School and St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. At each of the sites, the principals, teachers and students spoke about the importance of the presence of aboriginal culture physically in the learning spaces, as well as embedded in their curriculum and teaching.”At Sudbury Catholic, we are so privileged to have key people in place in our organization who are passionate about honouring aboriginal culture in our educational community,” Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic Board stated. “We always welcome the opportunity to share what we continue to learn, with other Boards across the province.”