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U of G Celebrates Aboriginal Awareness Week
Campus will play host to powwow dance exhibition, seminars, open house to celebrate aboriginal culture
The University will mark Aboriginal Awareness Week Oct. 16 to 20 with a range of educational and cultural events.
The week is being spearheaded by the Aboriginal Resource Centre and supported by a number of campus departments and organizations, including Human Resources, the Office of Research, the Human Rights and Equity Office and the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.
“Aboriginal Awareness Week is an important time to continue to improve the environment of accessibility for our aboriginal students,” says organizer Jaime Mishibinijima, U of G's aboriginal student adviser. “Guelph's campus is becoming more diverse, and we must respond with appropriate training and awareness building.”
On Oct. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the University community is invited to watch a powwow dance exhibition in the University Centre courtyard, then sample some traditional aboriginal foods from across Canada for $8 a plate.
On Oct. 18, a 10 a.m. seminar on “Aboriginal Identity and Student Transition” is designed to help program advisers, student services staff and faculty work towards positive aboriginal student identity development.
At 2:30 p.m., University of Toronto professor Deborah McGregor and Leslie McGregor, executive co-ordinator of the Noojimawin Health Authority, will discuss “The Ethics of Researching Traditional Aboriginal Knowledge.”
On Oct. 19, “Aboriginal 101: All the Things You Wanted to Know but Didn't Want to Ask” is the theme of a 10 a.m. seminar led by two staff from Wilfrid Laurier University. It's geared to student services staff and anyone with an interest in aboriginal people and issues. At 2 p.m., Schuyler Webster of Laurentian University and education specialist Ruth Reyno explore “Cross-Cultural Dynamics in Community Aboriginal-Based Research.”
The week wraps up Oct. 20 with an open house from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the South Residences Student Lounge, which has been transformed into an aboriginal space. Student Housing Services and the Aboriginal Resource Centre received a Gordon Nixon Leadership Award in 2006 to convert the lounge into a space that celebrates aboriginal culture.
All seminars and workshops are free and will be held in Room 103 of the University Centre. Registration is required. Register online at www.uoguelph.ca/hr/training/coursereg.htm or www.studentaffairs.uoguelph.ca/reg or call Karen Kovats at Ext. 56495