Indigenization, Truth and Reconciliation

Red Dress Day happens on May 5th every year starting from 2010. The goal of the day is to honor and bring awareness to the thousands of Indigenous women and girls, and two-spirit people who have gone missing or who have been murdered. Red Dress Day was inspired in 2010 by Jamie Black, a Métis artist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Black hung hundreds of empty red dresses in public places to represent missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and to bring awareness to the issue. We hung up several red dresses around the campus along with QR codes for several resources. 

National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada is observed annually on June 21. This day, chosen for its significance with the summer solstice, features a range of festivities, including cultural performances, traditional ceremonies, and educational events. Our college hosted an open event with a traditional drumming and welcome ceremony conducted by Dawn Naas who is an educator, poet, and drummer belonging to Nisga’a and statimic nations and a dance performance by The Wild Moccasin Dancers. 

Elder Kung Jaadee is an Indigenous storyteller, author and educator who belongs to X̱aayda (Haida), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Tlingit, Tsleil-Waututh Nations.  In honor of Indigenous History Month, she visited our college in June 2024 for a storytelling event. She shared a mix of Haida & Squamish stories and songs with a talk about her personal history and regalia. Many students, staff and instructors atteneded this event.   

In July 2024, our Faculty members conducted an Indigenization Poster Presentation. Instructors from diverse academic disciplines, including History, Art History, Anthropology, Chemistry, and Communication, delivered presentations on the incorporation of Indigenization within their respective fields. These presentations were complemented by educational posters, which featured compelling images and informative content. 

For the first time, Columbia College had representation at the Squamish Youth Powowow! Staff and student volunteers set up a solidarity table to learn more about how we can better support Indigenous communities in BC.  We asked participants and visitors to contribute to our idea pool by voting on proposed ideas or sharing new ones. The table was a huge success, fostering meaningful connections and a deeper understanding of the Squamish Nation.  

Oliver McDonald was born in North Vancouver, B.C. and has lived his entire life by the coast. He is a member of the Peguis Nation and identifies as a 2spirit person. Currently, he lives in Vancouver, where he continues to create. Oliver led beading workshops for students and staff as a part of the 2024 Truth and Reconciliation events of Columbia College.  

Spanning more than a decade, YINTAH follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their ancestral lands from the Canadian government and several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth. As a part of 2024 Truth and Reconciliation Events, we screened YINTAH for students, staff and faculty.  

Eden Fineday is a nêhiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) from Sweetgrass First Nation, Treaty 6 territory , and the publisher of IndigiNews, an Indigenous-women-led journalism outlet. Eden and her colleagues at IndigiNews are leaders in trauma-informed journalism, prioritizing the cultural safety of staff and community members while decolonizing the practice of journalism.  As a part of 2024 Truth and Reconciliation Events, Eden gave a lecture on Indigenous Cultural Safety to the Columbia College Community.  

Candace Rose Thomas, a Tsleil-Waututh artist has created an artwork for the college. This beautiful piece signifies our land acknowledgment, and the closing ceremony of 2024 Truth and Reconciliation week events was honoring the lands on which we are located. A beautiful event was conducted where the art was unveiled and we learnt more about the land from representatives from our host nations through talk, singing, and drumming.   

Spelexilh, Anjeanette Dawson is a Squamish educator, historian, counselor, traditional wool weaver, knowledge keeper, and cultural worker. She spoke about the importance of learning and researching about the lands on which we are located. Audrey Siegl ( χʷəy̓χʷiq̓tən )is an inspiring warrior, leader, activist, artist, cultural worker, and engaged community member of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking, Musqueam people, working with teachings & medicines passed onto her from her Musqueam family and ancestors. Her personal reflection about the land and the existing colonial system was enlightening and touching. Candace sang beautiful songs from the Tsleil-Waututh along with her cousin brothers Elder and Knoweldge Keeper Sam George and singer and storyteller Les George. They have ancient family bonds to the other two local nations and are descended from one of the most important local chiefs in history, Chief Dan George. Dawn Naas, poet, educator, and drummer from the Nisga’a and St’át’imc (Stat-lee-um) nations, who has become a part of our college community shared some concluding remarks. The event was enriched with a Bannock Lunch provided by Mr. Bannock (Paul Natrall) from the Squamish Nation.  

Charlene Seward is a proud member of the Squamish Nation with close family ties to the Snuneymuxw Nation. She brings a decade of experience in Indigenous engagement and reconciliation-focused work, with a passion for developing meaningful relationships that support change at multiple levels. Charlene has worked with government agencies, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and corporations across the country, building capacity for tangible change. In the 2024 Limitless Conference, Charlene conducted a workshop for students, instructors, and staff on the journey towards reconciliation. The workshop also discussed some action plans on how to create a meaningful impact on Reconciliation and a deeper relationship with the Indigenous communities.

Dr. Bruce Miller has been a professor at UBC since 1990, researching Indigenous peoples and their relations with the state in its various local, national, and international manifestations. He has served as an expert witness in Indigenous litigation in the United States and Canada, including, United States v Washington (a treaty case) and, the Radek case before the BC Human Rights Tribunal, (a precedent-setting case regarding Aboriginal presence in public spaces and racial profiling). He conducted a workshop during the 2024 Limitless Conference on Indigenous lands and rights in BC, the legal cases and challenges of the Indigenous communities in BC and stories from the repatriation process for many Indigenous artefacts, following Salish Law protocols.

Spelexilh, Anjeanette Dawson is an Indigenous educator, historian, counselor, traditional wool weaver, knowledge keeper, and cultural worker. She has been involved in Indigenous Education for 35 years and has worked in band operated, catholic, private, public and independent schools.

On March 17, 2023, she conducted a workshop on the impact of the Residential School system on the life, culture, and language of the Squamish people. The workshop helped the students to understand education through an Indigenous lens. Limitless, 2023.

Lori Snyder is a Métis herbalist and plant and herbal medicine specialist who conducted a walking tour in 2023. She expresses her gratitude to Mother Earth through nature walks, plants, dreams, moon teachings, creating skin and herbal remedies, and making earth art. On the walking tour, she shared her knowledge of plants and herbs in the neighborhood.

Dawn Naas is a Nisga’a educator and poet who conducted a poetry workshop and orientation program for students in 2023. She shared her poetry in the context of Residential Schools and the intergenerational trauma of the Indigenous peoples.

Anjeanette Dawson, a Squamish educator, and a traditional weaver, conducted weaving workshops in 2023 for the students and staff. In those sessions, the students, instructors, and staff learned to weave a small bag and about the history and revival of wool weaving in the Squamish community.

Brandon Redford is an Indigenous educator and mentor who delivered a talk to introduce the past and presence of Indigenous peoples in Canada. He graduated from UBC Okanagan, with a Bachelor in Human Kinetics- Clinical Exercise Physiology. His talk was titled “Indigenous Canada- An introduction to the Social and historical context of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People” and explored several themes including the historical colonial violence, legal settings such as the Indian Act, and their importance in the current society.

Listening to the Indigenous stories and voices is one of the most important aspects of Reconciliation. We organized a Listening Room experience for the students to listen to the Residential School survivor testimonies and reflect on our shared responsibility for healing these wounds in 2022. This was combined with a handout for students on the history of Residential Schools, the importance of Reconciliation, and the importance of Listening. In the end, the students were given a chance to reflect on their experience with a guided questionnaire.

A Bannock Lunch for Students was introduced where around 200 students received a free vegetable-filled Bannock from the Mr. Bannock food truck as a part of the Truth and Reconciliation week in 2022 and 2023. Paul Natrall, otherwise known as Mr. Bannock is from the Squamish Nation and started Vancouver’s 1st Indigenous food truck. This created an opportunity for the students to learn more about the Indigenous culinary systems.