Indigenous Initiatives at Laurier
Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities – and we recognize and reflect on the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools in Canada.
Wilfrid Laurier University will continue to amplify the truth of the continuing legacy of colonial trauma and history of residential schools, and build towards reconciliation. We encourage the university community to engage in learning activities and reflection, and to give support and care to our Indigenous community members.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada recorded testimony of more than 6,000 survivors affected by residential schools. These testimonies were published in a report detailing the experiences and impacts of the residential school system, creating a historical record of its legacy and consequences. Read The Survivors Speak for the Survivors’ stories and lived experiences.
An outcome of the TRC’s report into the history and legacy of the Canadian residential school system was this document detailing 94 calls to action across a wide range of areas including education, health, child welfare, and culture.
The residential school’s crisis line is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. Support is available at 1.866.925.4419.
Starting on Sept. 23, Laurier will fly The Survivor’s Flag on all campuses. It will be lowered to half-mast on Sept. 30 to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Created through consultation with Inuit, Mi’kmaq, Atikamekw, Cree, Ojibway, Dakota, Mohawk, Dene, Nuu-chah-nulth, Secwepemc and Métis survivors, the flag is meant to honour residential school survivors and all the lives and communities impacted by the residential school system in Canada.
Survivor's flag image courtesy of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
On Sept. 30, Laurier departments on all campuses are invited to display red dresses in their work areas to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S+) individuals in Canada.
Laurier also participates in the Red Dress Day Initiative on other days of national significance, including Red Dress Day on May 5, the Women’s Memorial March on Feb. 14, and the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Oct. 4.
MarketFest is a celebration of contemporary Indigenous artists, artisans, performers, thinkers and makers, Sept. 27 and 28 in the One Market building on Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus.
Open to Laurier students, alumni, faculty and staff, as well as the public, this free event will transform One Market's atrium into an Indigenous vendor marketplace curated by Indigenous artist and Laurier alumna Alanah Jewell of Morningstar Designs.
Guests will also be invited to attend public lectures on subjects ranging from local history to Indigenization at Laurier and take in live music by contemporary and traditional Indigenous performers.
Sept. 30 is also recognized as Orange Shirt Day. Designed in 2023 by Maggie Allan from Laurier's Office of Indigenous Initiatives, this orange shirt is available for sale in the Hawk Shop on the Brantford and Waterloo campuses.
All proceeds go to support the Woodland Cultural Centre. Laurier community members are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on Sept. 30 to demonstrate support for the survivors and victims of the residential school system.
Ojibwe artist Mike Cywink’s woodland-style mural One Heart, One Mind, One Vision (2023) stands 40 feet high on the southwest wall of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus library.
The mural is a testament to Laurier’s commitment to Indigeneity, truth and reconciliation and a celebration of Indigenous cultural expression, storytelling, and ways of knowing.
One Heart, One Mind, One Vision serves as a reminder of the enduring strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples and an invitation for all of us to engage in meaningful dialogue and understanding. It reinforces our collective responsibility to create an academic community where diverse voices are heard, valued and cherished.
As a result of extensive consultations with Indigenous Elders, community members, faculty, staff, and students, Laurier’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives developed a university-wide Indigenization strategy that has been a core initiative of Laurier’s Action Plan for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) and Indigeneity.
The Indigenous Strategic Plan was unanimously approved by the university Senate and Board of Governors in the summer of 2023.
This plan is informed by existing Indigenous scholarship on reconciliation and decolonization in the Canadian academy. It reinforces Laurier’s commitment to Indigenization and fostering a community that honors Indigenous knowledge and practices at Laurier. It also reflects Laurier’s belief that educational institutions have a duty to address the legacy of harm caused by colonial policies and practices.
Through Laurier Continuing Education, community members can learn about Indigenous history, knowledge and practices, and how systems in Canada have impacted Indigenous communities.
Explore courses and certificates offered through:
Discover the work of some of Laurier’s Indigenous researchers, along with collaborative research projects with indigenous communities.
Laurier experts are available to discuss topics related to truth and reconciliation.
Social Work PhD student Laura Thibeault, a member of Dokis First Nation, was recently named a 2024 Vanier Scholar and was also the first Laurier student to win the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship, the most prestigious doctoral award for social sciences and humanities in Canada. Through her research, Thibeault wants to honour and gather stories from First Nations women who have experienced infertility.
Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies Jessica Bomberry has been named as Laurier’s second Grundy Scholar. Bomberry is a member of the Cayuga nation whose research focuses on language and cultural preservation within the Six Nations of the Grand River territory and surrounding Haudenosaunee communities.
Sheri Longboat (MA ’96, PhD ’13) has always felt a deep personal connection to water. Since her earliest years growing up beside Lake Ontario in Hamilton, Ont., her “reverence and respect” for water has driven her to help protect it. She explores how Canada can deliver safe drinking water to First Nation communities.
During the summer of 2023, six Laurier student researchers travelled to the Northwest Territories to study an urgent environmental issue: permafrost thaw. Permafrost – which is frozen ground – protects polar ecosystems and traps harmful carbon emissions.
The isolated community of Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation, Northwest Territories experienced a tragedy in 2019 when three community members are believed to have fallen through the ice on snowmobile while travelling over Great Slave Lake.
Ice travel is essential during winter months, but climate change is making ice conditions increasingly unpredictable. Łutsël K'é leaders approached Laurier researcher Homa Kheyrollah Pour for help.
The Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) is responsible for leading Indigenization at Laurier, a priority in the Laurier Strategy that involves fully integrating Indigenous knowledges and practices at the university.
The OII also provides oversight to Indigenous Student Services, whose mandate is to build a positive student experience for Indigenous students, provide community for students and support them in culturally appropriate ways during their time at Laurier.
The Indigenous Student Centres (ISC) on the Brantford and Waterloo campuses serve as the hub for Indigenous students. Whether you are looking for a space to study, hang out with friends, or continue on your journey of identity through cultural programming – the ISC has got you covered.
In Brantford, the generous support of the Grundy Family helped renovate Onkwehonwè:ne Brantford Campus.
This enhanced Indigenous Student Centre creates a larger supportive and nurturing space for Laurier’s growing Indigenous student community, allows for much-needed staff and programming expansion, and increases vital access to academic programs and assistance with career development to further enhance employment options for Indigenous students.
Thanks to generous philanthropic investment, Lucinda House was renovated into an enhanced Indigenous Student Centre on Laurier’s Waterloo campus. This beautiful space provides a place where Laurier’s Indigenous student community can participate in ceremony and activities; where Laurier can demonstrate its commitment to Indigenous culture and learning, and to Indigenous students’ success; and where Indigenous students can find a “home away from home.”
Laurier offers gratitude to the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, the Students’ Union, the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association, Ken Flood and the Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Students’ Association for their significant gifts in support of this project.
The Indigenous Student Emergency Fund is one part of the Indigenous Student Services’ circle-of-care approach to supporting Indigenous students at Laurier. Support staff at the Indigenous student centres work one-on-one with students to ensure they have access to the unique resources, support, and community they need to succeed in their studies and thrive at Laurier. This multi-campus fund is available to provide relief to Indigenous students facing unexpected financial crisis, no matter where they’re studying from.
If you are in a position to do so, please consider donating in support of the Indigenous Student Emergency Fund in honour of this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Thank you for your generosity.