Schools celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day

Several schools launched new initiatives and hosted events in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day last week. McGill University raised the Hiawatha Wampum Belt Flag for the day to celebrate Indigenous heritage and culture. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board skipped the playing of the national anthem and instead read a message recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day and celebrating the first peoples of Turtle Island. In Toronto, around 1,000 students were invited to an event at the Scotiabank Arena to celebrate Indigenous cultures and learn about reconciliation. Lethbridge College hosted a round dance, unveiled a scholarship for Blackfoot students, and announcing the Aiitsi’poyoip Blackfoot Speaking Award which encourages students to preserve their Blackfoot language abilities. Students at Centennial Secondary School in Coquitlam unveiled a mosaic created collaboratively by students and faculty members. The artwork was developed in response to the news of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, and many of the tiles memorialize children who went missing while at residential school.