RRC Polytech, UWaterloo commit to reconciliation, Indigenization with local community

Red River College Polytechnic and the University of Waterloo both took steps to strengthen their relationship with local Indigenous communities during Truth and Reconciliation Week. RRC Polytech has signed the Indigenous Education Protocol, which commits the polytechnic to actions such as prioritizing Indigenous education, establishing Indigenous-centred holistic services, and implementing Indigenous traditions in the polytechnic’s curriculum and learning approaches. UWaterloo held a formal Commitment Ceremony where President Vivek Goel emphasized the university’s commitment to understanding Indigenous history and its responsibility in the reconciliation process. The Commitment Ceremony included a sunrise ceremony; a Cedar Circle; and a pipe ceremony in which Elder Myeengun Henry, the Indigenous knowledge keeper at UWaterloo’s Faculty of Health, gave Goel the name of Ogiima (leader) and gifted him an eagle feather and two wampum belts.