FNH Magazine Fall/Winter 2016

f i rs t n at i o n s h o u s e • u n i v e rs i t y o f t o r o n t o • f a l l / w i n t e r 2 0 1 6

The Moment of Truth The University of Toronto Responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Recommendations

Thriving Against the Odds Student Success Stories from Survivors and Survivors’ Children

Signs of Indigenous Life A Street Art Project Affirms and Asserts Indigenous Presence in Toronto

CONTENTS Fall/Winter 2016 First Nations House Magazine

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Volume 2 • Issue 3

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Indigenous Education Week Exploring Indigenous knowledge

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INDIGENOUS PHYSICIAN IN PROGRESS Celina Nahanni

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MY JOURNEY Christine Smith (McFarlane)

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TRC FINAL REPORT U of T esponse Committee

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PRESIDENT’S AWARD - UNDERGRAD Audrey ochette

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SIGNS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE Street art project renames and reclaims

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U of T LAW GRAD Aaron Christoff

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EDUCATIONAL EVENTS Commemorations and celebrations

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GRADUATE TOGETHER Atik Bird

Fnh logo beadwork created

by Lindy Kinoshameg.

Lindy is a fourth-year student in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Physical Health & Education, and a graduate/coordinator of the university’s Summer Mentorship Program for high school students of Indigenous and African ancestry.

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Advisory Council Lee Maracle, Susan Blight director Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo Editor Anita Christoff Design Fresh Art & Design Inc. Cover Photography Stefanie Neves

VISIT US ONLINE @ issuu.com/fnhmagazine

Contributors Anita Christoff, Sasha Chabot-Gaspé, Shak Gobért, Trina Moyan, Christine Smith (McFarlane) Photographers James May, Ethan Horst Mitchell, Stefanie Neves

Printer Colour Innovations Published by First Nations House, University of Toronto, 563 Spadina Avenue, Toronto ON M5S 2J7.

To request your copy of fnh Magazine, or if you are interested in writing for us, contact us at: fnh.info@utoronto.ca.

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It’s Time for the Truth by jonathan Hamilton-Diabo

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ON THE COVER FNH Elder Andrew Wesley, a Survivor of residential schools, is an advisor on the University of Toronto’s Response (to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report) Committee.

NH Magazine shares stories from our university community and highlights the diverse knowledge and experiences of our Elders, students and faculty.We hope these narratives inspire our readers to seek out more Indigenous knowledge and join us on the journey to building healthy relationships.

Dialogue about Indigenous people has been occurring at an unprecedented magnitude since the Truth and econciliation Commission’s final report was released in late 2015. The TC’s Calls to Action urging Canadians to be engaged with understanding the issues facing Indigenous communities struck a chord; people want to right the wrongs.

In January 2017, in response to the TC’s Calls to Action, the university’s TC Steering Committee released its report, Wecheehetowin (“Working Together” in Cree), calling upon the U of T to become a place worthy of Indigenous communities. The report points out the need for a transformation as well as the need to enhance Indigenous presence. Much learning and understanding is required, and trust needs to be formed. This will all take time and a commitment. But these initial steps are necessary if the TC’s vision is to be fully realized – and it is key to remember, as the report title suggests, that this work must be done collectively.

– Nelson Mandela The report also issues a challenge to acknowledge the truth. Because for reconciliation to be successful, it is essential that the truth be understood. What truth? The truth about the people who lived in this territory for thousands of years.

The truth about broken promises and lost traditions. The truth about Indigenous people’s contributions to society. There is much about Indigenous communities, cultures and traditions that needs to be known.

“ Only the truth can put the past to rest.”

ON THE BACK COVER Love appears courtesy of the artist Kent Monkman, who is of Cree and Irish ancestry. See more of his work at www.kentmonkman.com.

First Nations House Magazine 3

Indigenous

Education Week 2

By Sasha chabot-gaspÉ

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1. FNH Traditional Teacher Lee Maracle with Dr. Kyle Mays Wabinaw. 2. Keynote speaker Wab Kinew with members of the Native Students’ Association. Pictured are: (back row, L-R) Matthew Capella, Dhanela Paran, Jonah Russell, Durika Siva, Audrey Rochette, Roy Strebel, and (front row, L-R) Trina Moyan, Erika Dawson, Shak Gobért and Wab Kinew.

ndigenous Education Week (IEW) is a yearly week-long celebration of Indigenous art, culture and thought at the University of Toronto. Held in February 2016, this year’s IEW brought together some of the world’s smartest, most compelling Indigenous artists, academics and activists to explore the themes of Land and Indigenous Knowledge.

Pulling off such a significant event and attracting sold-out crowds was a major group effort, says Susan Blight, the IEW’s lead organizer.

As Aboriginal Student Life Coordinator at First Nations House, Susan collaborated with organizations across the U of T, including the Native Students’ Association; the Indigenous Education Network at OISE; the Multi-Faith Centre; Hart House; the ace and Ethnicity Caucus and the Diversity Committee, both from Massey College; the Arts and Sciences Students’ Union; and the Indigenous Studies Students’ Union.

At the opening reception in the First Nations House lounge, Traditional Teacher Lee Maracle started the week off in a good way with some warm words of welcome. Guests mingled while viewing pieces from artists Nah-Hak Hartmann and Neil Polson. Later 4 Fall/winter 2016

that day, Secwepemc-Ktunaka author and activist Arthur Manuel delivered his lecture, 150 Years of Canadian Colonization and Our ight to Self-Determination, an in-depth history of colonization in Canada and the resulting impoverishment of Indigenous peoples, themes he covers in his 2015 book, Unsettling Canada. “Everybody that comes to our territory should be familiar with Indigenous peoples and their history,” Arthur said.

Other events included a talk by NDP MLA Wab Kinew – Anishinaabe musician, broadcaster, university administrator and leader – who spoke about reconciliation and the Truth and econciliation report. “Until the bear speaks, only the hunter’s narrative will be known,” he said to a packed house at the Isabel Bader theatre. “It’s time for the bear to speak.”

Dr. Kyle Mays Wabinaw from the University of North Carolina spoke on the intertwining histories and identities of Indigenous peoples, Black Americans and European Americans in Detroit. “My experience during Indigenous Education Week has been a fundamental component of my research career,” he said. “As a Black and Anishinaabe scholar, I was able to present my work on Detroit and

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3. John Kim Bell (President, Bell & Bernard; and founder and former CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, now called Indspire) and Wab Kinew (politician, activist, broadcaster, author) endorsed a petition by the Native Students’ Association calling for more Indigenous knowledge and content throughout the University of Toronto. Afterwards, they posed with NSA members Dhanela Paran and Audrey Rochette. 4. Wab Kinew signing the NSA’s petition before his talk on reconciliation. 5. “Hip Hop for a Different Future”: Hip Hop artist Jasiri X with Susan Blight, Hawa Y. Mire, Dr. Kyle Mays Wabinaw, Dr. Sameena Eidoo, and Dr. Mark V. Campbell (photo by Gelek Badmaashtsang).

receive incredible feedback from relationship with First Nations. the attendees.”

Emcee and community activist Another event, Imagining an Jasiri X and Cree lyricist and hip Indigenous Future, featured panellists hop artist Shibastik discussed hip L. Catherine Cornum, a two-spirit hop as a liberation movement and its Navajo writer and futurist, and potential to build solidarity between – Wab Kinew Dr. Jarrett Martineau, a Cree-Dene Indigenous and Black communities. media maker and artist, reflecting on their works – which imagine “Hip hop at its core is the idea of taking music as it was and making the future of Indigenous peoples while blending elements of sci- it new,” said Jasiri X. “It’s envisioning your own future.” ence fiction, magical realism and historical fiction. “Our ability to For U of T student and Native Students’ Association Bear Clan imagine a future for ourselves is resistance in and of itself,” said one Leader oy Strebel, the week was meaningful not only because of attendee on what she found meaningful about the panel discus- what he learned, but because of the action it inspired. “The NSA sion. “Too often colonialism limits our ability to imagine ourselves was circulating a petition for a mandatory credit in Indigenous outside of it.”

Studies at U of T, and when Wab Kinew signed the petition on The Native Students’ Association hosted a free screening of The stage before his talk, that gave us the support we needed to get Grandfather of All Treaties, a documentary by U of T alumna Can- enough signatures! Incorporating Indigenous courses explaining dace Maracle. The film tells the history of the two-row wampum, treaties, residential schools, and Indigenous cultures into the unithe original treaty between Indigenous peoples and the Crown, and versity curriculum will educate more students about Indigenous how a legacy of broken treaties informs Canada’s contemporary people in Canada.”

“Until the bear speaks, only the hunter’s narrative will be known.

It’s time for the bear to speak.”

First Nations House Magazine 5

A Modern-Day

Medicine Woman U of T Med student Celina Nahanni plans to embed reconciliation into her practice By sasha chabot-gaspÉ

elina Nahanni, a proud Dene woman, is in her third year of medical school at the University of Toronto after earning her PhD in neuroscience from Queen’s University. A fierce advocate for Indigenous rights and reconciliation, Celina has a deep and abiding interest in health as a result of losing her mother, Phoebe, a residential school Survivor, to breast cancer when Celina was just 18.

One of her ultimate goals is to make healthcare more accessible to Indigenous patients.“There’s been a long legacy of paternalism,” she says. “And this has been, on the whole, to the detriment of both the doctor and the patient. Granted, it’s changing, but it is rooted in this paternalistic attitude that doctors know best and patients must blindly accept what the doctor is saying – that doctors act in the patient’s best interest every time. I think the paternalistic legacy is what has often led to people having this distrust of the medical system. It’s also damaging to doctors. It puts too much stress on them because it sets unrealistic expectations.”

To combat the paternalism of traditional Western medicine, Celina intends to embed reconciliation into her medical practice.

For her, reconciliation in medicine starts with consensus-based leadership. She particularly likes having round-table discussions with people and making sure everyone feels heard, believing that if people were to be engaged in conversations and invited to be a partner in their own health process, this would make them less wary and would lead to more engagement.

Celina’s inclusive style also means embracing alternative health practices and traditional ceremony instead of seeing them at odds with Western medicine. “You actually need both,” she says. “You need doctors to keep you in a state of health when you’re sick,

especially if your illness is life-threatening. But, you need more holistic healthcare providers to make you as well as possible. If you’re healthy and you want to have optimal health, you might consult a traditional healer or naturopath – but if you have a disease, then you also need a doctor.They are two different roles, and we need to learn to make those two elements respect each other and work together rather than antagonizing each other.” econciliation can’t just happen on a grand scale; Celina understands that it’s in the details, and weaves reconciliation into every aspect of her daily life, especially at school. She enjoys positively influencing her peers to be more aware of their implicit biases towards Indigenous people, and regularly pushes her fellow medical students to see the world through an Indigenous lens by challenging their assumptions in classroom discussions. This school year, she and four other students co-ran the Indigenous Health elective and brought Indigenous voices directly to students in a 10-week speaker series. econciliation also means building inroads in her field for the next generation, Celina believes. As the co-director of outreach for the Ontario-wide Altitude mentoring program, she regularly interacts with Indigenous high school students who are considering a career in healthcare. She has also worked with Canadian oots Exchange to build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.

Celina strives to be a leader and a role model who can give Indigenous youth the encouragement they need to reach their potential. Her advice? “Find a mentor. Ask questions if you need to, get help where you can. The resources are out there. And call me. I can help out if you want; I’ll read over your application,” she says, laughing. She quickly turns serious again. “Just do it. Just go for it.”

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Photography: Ethan horst mitchell

“Reconciliation in medicine starts with consensus-based leadership – Indigenous people should be partners in their own health process.”

First Nations House Magazine 7

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My Journey

By Christine Smith (McFarlane)

never thought I would one day graduate with my Master of Education in Social Justice [from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education / OISE], but I did it! And I cannot help but shake my head and say, “Wow.” My journey has not been easy. My biological mother, who survived two residential schools in Manitoba and suffered a lot of mental health issues as a result, had all four of her children taken from her. At first my sister and I were kept together, but my adoption broke down when I was 10 years old and I was put back into the foster care system. One brother was put into an institution, and we still don’t know where our other brother was sent. I aged out of the system at 17 after living in different foster homes.

I returned to my hometown of Windsor, Ontario (I never knew my home community of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba until I was well into my twenties, which is when I met my birth mom).There, I enrolled in Journalism - Print at the local college, but could not finish the program due to battles with depression and anorexia nervosa.

I did not return to school until I was in my late twenties and had moved to Toronto.

A social worker who worked with me advised me to go to First Nations House at the University of Toronto. At FNH, I was encouraged by their academic counsellor to enroll in Academic Bridging. I did, and after passing the program, enrolled in Aboriginal Studies at the U of T. I was finally learning about my culture and my language and making my own community here in Toronto, something I had lacked before. I was offered many opportunities, including studying in Sydney,Australia for five weeks in the summer of 2010 and studying in Belize in 2011. I won several awards, including the Lillian McGregor Award for Excellence and the President’s Award for Outstanding Native Student of the Year in 2011, when I graduated with a specialization in Aboriginal Studies.

In 2012, I also won the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction’s (CAMH’s) Transforming Lives Award for overcoming mental health issues. I still clearly remember standing before a crowd of 900 people and saying, “Obstacles can be overcome.”

My formal educational journey is ending this December when I finish the course work for my Master of Education (I will officially graduate in 2017), and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life. Throughout my studies I obtained high grades and was part of the TC Steering Working Committee of Students at the University of Toronto. I did it for myself, my niece and my birth family. I wanted to show them that they could overcome obstacles too!

I also kept up my writing, contributing to Anishinabek News, FNH Magazine and other places, including a personal blog that primarily focuses on First Nations issues.

I want to say a huge “Thank you” to the staff of First Nations House for believing in me and encouraging me, and to my friends who have stuck by me throughout my journey. I will never forget any of you, no matter where I head in life.

Photography: Ethan horst mitchell

“ A social worker who worked with me advised me to go to First Nations House at the University of Toronto. At FNH, I was encouraged by their academic counsellor to enroll in Academic Bridging.”

First Nations House Magazine 9

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Truth, Reconciliation and

Education The U of T is responding to the TRC’s Recommendations

By SAShA CHABOT-GASPÉ

he Final eport of the Truth and econciliation Commission of Canada (TC) energized Canadians, including university communities, to prioritize reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. At the University of Toronto (U of T), a steering committee that was formed following the report’s release has been working to determine how the U of T can best respond.

Tasked with reviewing the TC’s Calls to Action on education and reporting on how to implement and embed them across the school, the TC esponse Committee is cochaired by Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo, Director of First Nations House at the University of Toronto, and Stephen Toope, Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. It is supported by a team of advisors including Elder-in-esidence and residential school Survivor Andrew Wesley (pictured left) and mature student and residential school Survivor James Bird (pictured on the following page).

“I think the TC really lit the fire to achieve reconciliation,” says Jonathan. “I’m not saying there was nothing going on or people weren’t interested – they were – but I think First Nations House Magazine 11

the TC gave it the extra push. When the TC’s Executive Summary and Calls to Action came out [in December 2015], you could feel it almost instantly. The focus has really honed in on Indigenous issues.”

The esponse Committee is currently reviewing recommendations made by its five separate working groups, which conducted research in the areas of curricula, students, faculty and staff, co-curricular education, and research ethics and community relationships.

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Photography: Stefanie neves

“ The TRC Response Committee will recommend priorities for the university in the areas of curricula, students, faculty and staff, co-curricular education, and research ethics and community relationships.”

The committee will use this work to write a report that will include recommending some priorities for the university.

The Vice-President and Provost will be responsible for making final decisions and implementing the recommendations.

While the esponse Committee carries out its tasks, the U of T continues to build on the reconciliation work it has been doing for almost 25 years now through First Nations House, which supports Indigenous staff, students and faculty, as well as through the Centre of Indigenous Studies, formerly known as Aboriginal Studies; the Ontario Institute for Studies Education (OISE), which has been engaging with Indigenous communities and education for many years; the U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, which has done tremendous work to support Indigenous students, including establishing the Office of Indigenous Medical Education; and the U of T’s Faculty of Law, which has increased its Indigenous recruitment and included Indigenous content in its courses.

Jonathan is pleased with the university’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation, and is excited by the widespread enthusiasm at every level. “There’s this desire to learn more now amongst the university community,” he says. “We’re increasingly noticing it with student groups, staff and faculty members, and larger groups who aren’t engaged with this and want to be engaged.”

He would like to see more of what he calls an “Indigenous presence” on campus – that is, more Indigenous students in all different areas of study, including the stem areas, more Indigenous faculty and staff, and more Indigenous voices in curriculum and in programming, whether it’s cultural events, social events, or academic speakers coming from outside. He sees these efforts directed not only at Indigenous students, faculty and staff, but also at engaging the entire university.

“I want to show that Indigenous people have contributed to education and continue to contribute, and that all students can learn the value of different perspectives and worldviews.That will be one good step toward achieving reconciliation in the area of education.”

President’s Award Undergraduate Audrey Rochette by Christine Smith (McFarlane)

udrey ochette, winner of the 2016 President’s Award for Outstanding Native Undergraduate Student of the Year, is an Anishnawbe qwe from Whitesand First Nation, the daughter of a residential school Survivor, and the mother of a kind, loving young man.

Coming to the U of T through the Academic Bridging Program was instrumental to her educational success, Audrey says. “It prepared me in many ways, including helping me to improve my writing ability and time management skills.” After completing the program,Audrey went on to major in Political Science, focusing on advocacy and systematic change for First Nations and Indigenous peoples. She also gave back by mentoring Indigenous students through the Academic Bridging Mentorship Program and serving as one of the leaders of the Native Students’ Association (NSA).

“The NSA has had a consistent team of individuals who excel as leaders, visionaries and role models,” she says. “I am blessed to have them in my life; they motivate and encourage me. I want to say ‘Chi Miigwetch’ to the Clan Leaders of the NSA for leading with their hearts and truly adapting the Seven Grandfather Teachings in their lives.”

Audrey says she is grateful to U of T professors Jill Carter and Pamela Klassen for treating her with “love and respect, and going above and beyond their roles as educators” to encourage her to apply to graduate school and believe in herself when she was exhausted and in need of support. She also wants to thank FNH Traditional Teacher Lee Maracle and FNH Elder-in-esidence Andrew Wesley for guiding her in her role at the NSA and providing spiritual support, and the President’s Award Committee for selecting her. “I am deeply committed to this institution and to Indigenous education, and I will continue my work with the support of my family, friends, campus community, professors and role models. The Creator has given me a responsibility and I will continue to walk the path chosen for me.”

Advice she’d give to new students: “It’s okay to feel lonely, overwhelmed and isolated. This is a large campus and the stakes are high, but remember, you’re not alone.The Creator walks with you.

Photography: Ethan horst mitchell

“ This is a large campus and the stakes are high, but remember, you’re not alone. The Creator walks with you.”

Find a friend; one friend will turn into two. Get involved with whatever drives you, find your passion and never let anyone determine your fate.You are unique and special. Each of us was given a gift by the Creator – nurture that gift!”

Now working on her Master of Arts, Audrey’s goals include continuing to foster positive relationships and outcomes for Indigenous peoples. She serves as co-chair, with Heidi Bohaker, for the Working Group on Indigenous Teaching and Learning in Arts & Science. The group will be writing a report with recommendations to the department this school year.

“We need to create new relationships with our institutions – with each Dean, Chair, egistrar, and Professor,” she says. “This is not a scenario of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’ This is about systematic change and so will require the efforts of many people. I look forward to developing these relationships and changing the future for our children.”

First Nations House Magazine 13

Vital Signs of Indigenous Life

street art project started in 2003 by Anishinaabe artists, activists and Anishnaabemowin language learners Susan Blight and Hayden King, the Ogimaa Mikana Project reclaims the streets and landmarks of Anishinaabek territory by replacing official street, park and landmark signs with Anishinaabe versions.

Initially, Susan and Hayden plastered stickers with Anishinaabe translations of Toronto street names over the English signs. Now, three years later, official signs in the Anishinaabe language stand proudly on four of Toronto’s major streets – Dupont/ Spadina and Davenport/Spadina, or, in Anishinaabe, Ishpadinaa and GeteOnigaming. They are the result of a collaboration with the Dupont Business Improvement Areas and the City of Toronto. Susan and Hayden are also using billboards, located in Parkdale and Thunder Bay over Mt. McKay, to spotlight Anishinaabe language, culture and philosophies.

The Ogimaa Mikana Project has a relationship to social practice and interventionist art, says Susan, and it has two main objectives: “to reclaim and to rename.”

“At its heart is the revitalization and centering of Anishinaabemowin, and we view it as a ‘push back’ against the settler colonial system in Canada – a system with an objective that has not changed – that is, to dispossess Indigenous peoples from their lands in order to access our lands and resources.

“The Canadian state has long sought to achieve this dispossession through the imposition of assimilationist policies that have had, and continue to have, devastating effects on Indigenous peoples and our languages.”

Another objective of the project, Susan says, is to reach out and communicate with other Anishinaabeg to make them feel at home in the city.“This is important because most Indigenous people in Canada now live in urban areas, according to recent statistics. Seeing cities’ signage and emblems reflecting dominance of settler colonial systems, and not seeing our own cultural identities reflected in the cityscape, can make Indigenous people feel alienated.

“I see Anishinaabe language revitalization as reclamation and resistance. On the one hand, for me to speak my language is resistance

“ It is a project about affirming that our ways, our philosophies, and our language are vital, alive and worth fighting for.”

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Photography: Ethan horst mitchell

Anishinaabe language revitalization through reclaiming and renaming streets and landmarks By Christine Smith (McFarlane)

“ Another objective of the project is to reach out and communicate with other Anishinaabeg and to make them feel at home in the city.”

Standing by a renamed street sign are University of Toronto graduate Shak Gobért (BA in Environmental Studies 2016) with his mother, current student Trina Moyan (BA in Environmental Studies 2017), and his brother, future student Phoenix Bell.

against the colonial system in Canada, which sought to destroy our connections to each other and to the land by forcefully preventing us from speaking our languages. We know that one of the goals of the residential school system in Canada was to assimilate Indigenous children into the body politic; they hoped we would become people no longer connected to the land and to our ways so that we would not stand in the way of resource extraction and destruction of our

land. So to me, speaking my language means they haven’t won; Anishinaabe people are still here, we are strong in our ways and our language. Speaking my language is a commitment I have made to my grandparents and my ancestors before them – and to Anishinaabe children and future generations. It is a commitment that our ways will survive.

“This project is about asserting Anishinaabe presence in the city. It is about letting people – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – know that we are committed to a future for ourselves in which we have the freedom to live fully as Anishinaabe peoples on our own lands. It is a project about affirming that our ways, our philosophies and our language are vital, alive and worth fighting for.”

Projects like the Ogimaa Mikana Project are important because they remind non-Indigenous peoples that they live and work on Indigenous land, and that Indigenous peoples are still here.We have not disappeared, and we are not going anywhere.

First Nations House Magazine 15

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A New Legal Eagle

Takes Flight U of T Law grad Aaron Christoff fights for Indigenous rights

By SHAK GOBÉRT

ince graduating from the University of Toronto’s law school in 2011, Aaron Christoff has been serving Indigenous people and communities through Maurice Law Barristers & Solicitors, an Indigenous-owned boutique firm with offices across Canada. Now based in Calgary, where he lives with his wife, Aaron specializes in treaty rights, specific claims, First Nations governance, and civil litigation.

During his studies, Aaron knew he wanted to practise Indigenous law, which he considers “very meaningful, important work,” but he did not know he’d end up in Calgary. “I had barely any connections there – but the job was the best fit for me and a great opportunity, so I took a leap of faith.”

Though it took time to get to know people and adjust to life in a new city, Aaron is happy with his choice. “My work here gives me a really good mix. I get to do a lot of governance work, employment law, and of course, specific claims – which are historic claims of First Nations arising from the Crown’s failure to live up to its treaty obligations, often to do with reserve lands or band funds. These claims are the firm’s bread and butter. Small claims are also great, because I can work independently and deal face to face with clients, which is important to me.”

It is also important to Aaron, who is of Cree and Bulgarian ancestry, that he can do legal work on behalf of his home community, Saulteau First Nations at Moberly Lake in northeastern BC, on Treaty 8 territory. He travels regularly to the community to assist

with band matters, including governance and housing issues. He loves to spend time with his grandmother and other family members when in the area for these work trips or his annual hunting trips, a tradition started by his late grandfather, whose ashes are buried there. eflecting on his journey so far, Aaron says that one of the biggest challenges was moving for school and work, which meant being far away from family. “I know that’s typical for Indigenous students – many of us are from remote areas where there are few educational or career opportunities – so I was grateful for First Nations House. I enjoyed going there to study, to use the library or computers, or just to hang out.

[FNH Librarian] Jackie Esquimaux-Hamlin was very kind and helpful. The law school also provided a supportive environment, and I enjoyed being involved in activities with other Indigenous students, including being an editor of the Indigenous Law Journal.”

Throughout law school, Aaron worked part-time as a legal researcher for the Métis National Council and helped his single mother with her day-to-day life as she had health issues. (She graduated from the U of T as a mature student in 2004, the same year Aaron started his undergrad.)

Advice he’d give to those who are still in school: “Believe in yourself, never give up, and find a supportive community like First Nations House. I had great friends at my church (Stone) and college (Trinity) as well. Also, do the best you can with what you have. I have no idea what my life would’ve been like without my own set of challenges and opportunities.”

Photography: James May

“I was grateful for First Nations House; I enjoyed going there to study, to use the library or computers, or just to hang out.”

First Nations House Magazine 17

Indigenous Educational Events

“Hip Hop for a Different Future�: Gelek Badmaashtsang, Dr. Kyle Mays Wabinaw, and Susan Blight.

Orange Shirt Day at FNH to honour the children who attended residential schools: student Christine Smith (McFarlane), FNH Librarian Jackie Esquimaux-Hamlin, and FNH Administrative Assistant Jennifer Wesley.

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Dr. Geneva Smitherman (University of Michigan), renowned Black language scholar and author of Articulate While Black, visiting at First Nations House this summer. From L to R: Susan Blight, Dr. Kyle Mays Wabinaw, Dr. Geneva Smitherman, Eric Ritskes, AJ Rice, and Dr. Karyn Recollet.

Graduate Together Finding Healing in Education

By Trina Moyan

his year’s University of Toronto President’s Award winner for Outstanding Native Graduate Student is Atik Bird of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba.

Atik completed her Master of Education in Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She was chosen because of her academic achievements and her long-term dedication to both the university’s and the city’s Indigenous communities.

It was her years of community work at Pedahbun Lodge Addiction Centre and the Anduhyaun Emergency Shelter that inspired Atik to pursue a formal academic education. She was frustrated because some of the Indigenous women in the shelter who were experiencing abuse at home wondered why they seemed to be living the stereotypes, and she didn’t know either. “I wanted to get a grasp of our Indigenous history and I wanted to be more helpful.”

During her academic journey, Atik found answers, including for her own childhood issues. Growing up in Winnipeg, Atik was a quiet girl who enjoyed running. “I didn’t get to graduate, I barely made it because of the racism in school – I got the strap and was called derogatory names like,‘dirty Indian.’ I dealt with life as a kid by finding solace in running.” The racism was compounded by challenges at home, where her parents were grappling with their own trauma as residential school Survivors struggling with substance abuse, causing their divorce when she was 11. Her mother later remarried, and the ensuing struggles caused Atik to leave home at 16.

Years later, while Atik was working at the domestic violence shelter, someone from the University of Toronto came to talk about

the university’s Transitional Year Program. Shortly after that, in 1991, she began the program. First Nations House was then in its fledgling years. “I just love it there; I thought it was an amazing thing Diane Longboat did, starting it. It had two little rooms in some obscure building, and when I started my first year it moved into the Borden Building. Indigenous students deserve and need that space after everything we’ve gone through and are still going through!”

After Atik started her academic journey, she encouraged her younger sister Cynthia to follow. With the support of First Nations House, they immersed themselves in coursework, including a course at OISE called Indigenous Worldviews with Dr. Jean-Paul estoule.

What they learned helped heal their childhood wounds. “Together we were able to unravel our own histories. It was such a powerful thing because we had never talked about our issues growing up.”

The sisters were starting to take another course together at OISE when Cynthia became sick with cancer and passed away in 2014. “I’m glad I was instrumental in her going to school where she was able to learn about what our ancestors had gone through and put our pain in perspective. I loved her so much.”

Today, Atik lives with her husband of 30 years and still loves running. She has four adult children and three grandchildren that she loves to spend time with. She also still loves learning, because it was her formal education that gave her and her sister the tools to uncover the answers they wanted. “Cynthia was happy the last two years of her life while in school. It sustained her and gave her answers she needed to leave this world a healthy person. And how could you not want that for anybody?”

Photography: stefanie neves

“Atik encouraged her younger sister Cynthia to follow her into the academic world.

They immersed themselves in coursework, and what they learned helped heal their childhood wounds.”

This page is dedicated to the memory of Cynthia Bird, who passed away in 2014.

“Graduate together” is a phrase she often used to encourage other students.

First Nations House Magazine 19

Love appears courtesy of Cree artist Kent Monkman, www.kentmonkman.com.

72” X 48”, Acrylic on canvas, © 2014