Peterborough ON – (July 1, 2021) – Fleming is committed to Truth and Reconciliation, which includes reflecting on our past and owning our truth. This Canada Day, we must honour our collective truth that this nation has been built on Indigenous lands and at the expense of the loss of Indigenous culture, traditions and lives.

This is a solemn time for grieving and reflection. Staff and students are encouraged to evaluate what it means to be Canadian and what it means to be treaty people living within Indigenous territories. Ask questions, reflect and seek resources.

Dr. Shirley Williams of Wiikwemkoong, now residing in Peterborough, is an Elder Advisor with Fleming Indigenous Education Council and Professor Emeritus at Trent University. She shares this important message.

The jingle dancer in the video is Elizabeth Osawamick, Anishinaabe kew from Wiikwemkoong, who has shared a healing dance to help lift our spirits and provide us with strength during this difficult time. The building Elizabeth is dancing in front of is the Spanish Indian Residential School, located in Spanish, Ontario. The filming was done by her daughter Florence Osawamick.

If you are an Indigenous student who requires support, please reach out to Indigenous Student Services Coordinator: ashley.safar@flemingcollege.ca.

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419.

External resources that provide an opportunity to learn something new and be active participants in the work towards reconciliation:

Findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Reconciliation: A Starting Point

Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials

Truth and Reconciliation in Post-Secondary Settings: Student Experience

Beyond 94: Truth and Reconciliation in Canada

Ne-iikaanigaana
(Anishinaabe word for “All Our Relations” or seeing ourselves reflected in creation.)