//
Skip to Main ContentIndigenous Education at NC provides a variety of academic and cultural supports for students, in a culturally sensitive manner, and encourages Indigenous student success. Services and supports include guidance on how to access College services, referrals and access to Indigenous counselling; advice and one-on-one support; opportunities for student leadership development; assistance with connecting to community organizations; support with applying for funding or working with bands; support for 2SLGBTQQIA+, and more.
They host initiatives such as Soup luncheons for students; provide community-building opportunities with peers, staff and faculty; offer cultural programming and workshops, and encourage participation in Indigenous events and celebrations where students have an opportunity to take on leadership roles. Visit niagaracollege.ca/indigenouseducation.
Our mission is to provide academic and culture support, in a culturally sensitive manner, and encourage Indigenous student success. For more information about our supports for Indigenous students as well as upcoming on-campus events, please visit our website.
Ontario is the first province in Canada to legislate the observance of an annual Treaties Recognition Week, demonstrating the continuing significance of the treaty relationship in Ontario. This year marks the fifth annual Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario, which runs from November 1 to 5.
Why Ontario marks Treaties Recognition Week:
First Nations were the original occupants of this land we call Ontario. Our shared history begins around 400 years ago, when Europeans first arrived.
Treaties between the British Crown (government) and Indigenous peoples were negotiated and signed with the intent of delivering mutual benefits. They signed as independent, self-governing nations.
Despite the promise of early treaties and the respectful partnerships they established, Indigenous Peoples were targeted by colonial policies designed to exploit, assimilate and eradicate them.
Today, the Ontario government recognizes the wrongs of previous generations. The Journey Together plan outlines Ontario’s commitment to changing the future by rebuilding relationships based on trust and respect.
Part of that commitment includes educating Ontarians about the role treaties play in each of our lives and in our relationships with each other. Though they were signed more than a century ago, treaty commitments are just as valid today as they were then. Every Ontarian is a treaty person.
Ontario is covered by 46 treaties and other agreements.
(information taken from https://www.ontario.ca/page/treaties)
Wampums are visual memory keepers that help record history and communicate ideas. Beaded patterns represent a person, nation, event, invitation, shared values and understandings/agreements between two or more parties. Traditional wampum belts were used as covenants and petitions for understanding. Words spoken during an agreement are made into wampum to be used for ceremony, teaching, and reminders of law and values.
Dish With One Spoon Wampum belt
The “Dish” or sometimes it is called the “Bowl” represents what is now southern Ontario (from the Great Lakes to Quebec and from Lake Simcoe into the U.S.). We all eat out of the Dish – all of us that share this territory – with only one spoon. That means we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty; which includes, taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. Importantly, there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace.