As a Sociology teacher, Laura Shea has experienced the KAIROS Blanket Exercise six times with different classes of students and Indigenous facilitators at Dawson. “I always learn from the facilitator and students,” she said. “It is very powerful experiential learning and I gain something different each time.”
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The First People’s Centre organized a vigil in the Oliver’s student space at Dawson on Feb. 14 to commemorate the MMIWGT2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans and Two-Spirited.) There is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has reported that Indigenous women and girls make up 24 per cent of female homicide victims in Canada, despite only making up four per cent of the country’s female population.
The report cited research that “Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than Caucasian women. … Other than murder, statistics also reveal how Indigenous women consistently experience higher rates and more severe forms of physical assault and robbery than other groups in Canada. Sexual violence is a huge problem in all its forms: Indigenous women are sexually assaulted three times more often than non-Indigenous women, and most of the women and children trafficked in Canada are Indigenous.”
Decolonizing and Indigenizing a college is “a long-term project,” said Intercollegiate Ped Day keynote speaker Isabelle Picard during her Jan. 11 talk entitled Toward a Decolonization of College Education. The Wendat author, lecturer, columnist and ethnologist covered many aspects of decolonizing our educational institutions so that our learning communities are more equitable, inclusive and fair. For…
Submitted by Diana Rice, organizer of Peace Week. Peace Week 2022 started off once again with the launch of Dawson Dining, a yearly collaboration with the Dawson Student Union and the Peace Centre prior to the pandemic. This has been one of the signature events of Peace Week, and it was thrilling to revive it…
Orange Shirt Day resources:
Workshops Native Women’s Shelter Second Stage Housing and Indigenous Leadership Monday, Sept. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Virtual Session Nakuset, Executive Director of the Native Women’s Shelter, will discuss the project and issues. Register at https://arlo.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/register?sgid=79e4526481714b35b2005b9be055138d Decolonizing the Library/Decolonize the Catalogue: Tuesday, Sept. 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the library…
On Friday Sept. 30, the Dawson community will observe Orange Shirt Day – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As a young child at a residential school in 1973, Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation in British Columbia, was wearing a brand-new orange shirt on her first day of…
This fall, Dawson will host several events leading up to, and in observance of Sept. 30, Orange T-Shirt Day-National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
A dedicated team of students, faculty, professionals, and support staff, in consultation with Indigenous advisors, will organize these events with the goal of providing learning opportunities and raising awareness about decolonization and the importance of this day.
Support (resources, ideas, suggestions for speakers) is available for faculty who would like to include the theme of residential schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Report, or other decolonization topics in their course.
To request support, or to contribute your ideas or your time to the organization of events, please contact Diana Rice drice@dawsoncollege.qc.ca.
Currently, Rotshennón:ni Two-Axe and Kayla Spencer-Young are two of a handful of Indigenous students in Dawson’s Science Program.
Rotshennón:ni and Kayla wanted to encourage and support their fellow Indigenous students who may be interested in Science. They came up with an idea last semester that has won them the local Forces Avenir award and put them in the running for the provincial award, which will be announced at an event in Quebec City in September.
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On May 5, the First Peoples’ Centre will be commemorating the National Day of Awareness and Action for MMIWG2S. They are asking for your help in gathering red dresses (all sizes – child and adult) for an exhibit. If you have any dresses to donate, please bring them to the First Peoples’ Centre (3E.15) before 12 p.m. on Thursday. If you’d like to participate or help in other ways, please contact Billi-Jo Poirier or Jessica Quijano through MIO.
Last Modified: March 8, 2023
