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National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration

Date
June 21, 2022
Time
10:00 AM EDT - 4:00 PM EDT
Location
POD-250. Guests can join virtually via Zoom.
Open To
Students, faculty and staff
Contact
Co-Chair of the NIPD 2022 Organizing Committee: Amy Desjarlais, sdesjarl@torontomu.ca
The Eagle Staff

National Indigenous Peoples Day is a time for self-education, with a number of opportunities to celebrate and reflect on the contributions of Indigenous Peoples to the university community and beyond. 

A virtual heart garden that honours residential school survivors and their families will be projected in the Library at the Research Help Space. It can also be viewed online throughout the month (external link) .

For quick access to all of the sessions and registration details, access the event app (external link) .

Agenda:

Button making
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
POD-250

Join us for a creative social gathering while we make buttons! Come and make your own buttons, and keep them for yourself or donate them to the students at the university. 

Children’s Indigenous storytime
10:00 – 10:45 a.m. 
Kerr Hall Quad

Meaningful reconciliation engages young people in learning about Indigenous culture. Come join the Early Learning Centre, the Library and the School of Early Childhood Studies for storytime in the Kerr Hall Quad! We will be reading a selection of stories that celebrate Indigeneity and activities to engage our young community members. 

Welcome and opening remarks
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. 
POD-250 and Zoom

Elder Joanne Dallaire will speak about the significance of this day. Join us in POD-250 or virtually via Zoom (external link) .

Allyship Panel
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
POD-250 and Zoom

Organized by the Rebirthed Teachings working group, the panel will focus on the topic “how to be a good ally.” 

Participants will hear from community members who have recently worked to engage respectfully and collaboratively with Indigenous colleagues. Join us in POD-250 or virtually via Zoom (external link) .

Lunch
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Tour of the Indigenous Medicine Garden at the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex. 
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 – 3:30 p.m.

In 2021, the university opened a second rooftop farm at the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCC). It includes a community gathering space, a green house and garden plots dedicated to growing culturally significant crops and medicines. Community members are invited to tour the Indigenous Medicine Garden in small groups, and visit the display table on the DCC rooftop.

Two tours are being held. Registration is required; space is limited.

Register for the tour at 1:00 p.m. (external link) 

Register for the tour at 3:00 p.m. (external link) 

Wampum Belts woven through Anishinaabe history – a teaching by Brian Charles
1:30 – 4:00 p.m.
POD-250

Join Brian Charles, an Indigenous liaison for the provincial and federal government for over 20 years, as he presents how wampum was used to record relationships and treaties between the First Peoples of the Eastern Woodland, as well as with settler societies in Canada. 

Brian is an off-reserve Band member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island who has worked collaboratively with a small group of knowledge keepers to research and assemble a physical repository of wampum belts connected to Ojibwa history. 

Closing remarks
4:00 p.m.

Live captioning will be provided on Zoom

The university is committed to the accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities. If you require any additional accessibility accommodations to ensure your full participation, please let us know on the registration form or email accessibility@torontomu.ca.

Acknowledgements

A collective of Non-Indigenous staff members have come together to organise this year’s selection of activities to celebrate June as National Indigenous History Month, and National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD) on June 21, 2022. Co-Chaired by OAI Staff member Amy Desjarlais & Library staff Jane Schmidt

Departments represented in the collective are:

  • Central Communications
  • The Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
  • Early Childhood Studies
  • The Office Aboriginal Initiatives
  • The Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic
  • The Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion
  • Aboriginal Student Services
  • Student Affairs
  • The Toronto Metropolitan University Library

Questions?

If you have any questions about this event, please email the Co-Chair of the NIPD 2022 Organizing Committee: Amy Desjarlais,  sdesjarl@torontomu.ca