Journey to Indigenization takes root at MRU
Second year of campus events sees growing involvement of students, faculty and staff
— Mount Royal University | Posted: October 5, 2022
Orange Shirt Day and the Every Child Matters March events took place Sept. 29.
Since spring, MRU students, faculty and staff have been witness to the growth of Indigenous gardens as “Three Sisters” (corn, beans and squash) and ceremonial tobacco plants have sprung to life, nurtured along the way by volunteers from across campus and MRU grounds crews.
This “experiential” expression of reconciliation captures the spirit of Mount Royal’s Journey to Indigenization that led up to Sept. 30, Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and through to Sisters in Spirit Day Oct. 4.
dr. linda manyguns, phd, avp indigenization and decolonization at MRU speaks about pre-contact seeds during a blessing ceremony held in the spring.
“This is what Indigenous knowledge will bring to universities, transforming it into an experiential context, an actual real, physical context,” says linda manyguns, MRU’s associate vice-president of indigenization and decolonization. “That's what these gardens do. People can actually see these ancient plants, pre-contact plants, growing, and just the physical awareness is profound to people. People never heard about this, they never saw this. If we can just make people wonder, then we’ve started the ball rolling. We can start to decolonize.”
Now in its second year, the Journey to Indigenization is an opportunity for MRU to commemorate the signing of Treaty 7, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Orange Shirt Day and Sisters in Spirit Day during a series of institutional activities from Sept. 22 to Oct. 4 hosted by the office of indigenization and decolonization. It is also a way to showcase the success and innovation in applying, linking and adding Indigenous concepts and epistemological changes to curriculum at MRU. Throughout the Journey, many of MRU’s Indigenous scholars presented their work.
Teachings transferred
On Sept. 30, manyguns and other University and community representatives were part of an Indigenous philosophy and teaching transfer ceremony at a double lodge erected on the East Gate lawn with MRU president and vice-chancellor Tim Rahilly, PhD. The philosophy of a special design and seven teachings and knowledge are now available for teaching.
After an opening prayer with Elder Alvin Manitopyes, Espoom taah (helper) Roy Bear Chief told the story of the design philosophy and all of the painstaking teamwork over many years that led to it. Grandmother Doreen Spence shared her teachings in the design. The artist who created the design, Jill Bear Chief, and Dion Simon, Medicine Trail coordinator with the Iniskim Centre, were also present. Paulette Fox was the event’s emcee.
dr. linda manyguns, phd, avp indigenization and decolonization at MRU and Elder Alvin Manitopyes during opening prayer at Indigenous Knowledge Transfer Ceremony in double lodge on East Gate lawn Sept. 30.
“Every one of you here today are what we call witnesses,” manyguns told a crowd assembled in front of the lodges that included students, faculty, staff and many children. “The witness process is what we use in the Indigenous world to validate the transfer of knowledge. And so every one of you is here today to validate the transfer of knowledge from Roy and Doreen to our president, Tim. And tomorrow every one of you can say you were here when the knowledge was transferred. You’ve now been woven into our Indigenous way of working.”
The teachings will be part of MRU and will be incorporated into curriculum but come with enormous responsibility.
“I acknowledge the gift and share with you my sincere gratitude for it. The challenge for me is to take this knowledge and incorporate it into the way I lead and stretch myself, and apply this for all people at the University, but particularly for the Indigenous people,” Rahilly said. “This means so much to me personally and it’s such a gift to the University.”
Dr. Tim Rahilly, PhD, president and vice-chancellor of MRU, left, and Espoom taah (helper) Roy Bear Chief, during Indigenous Knowledge Transfer ceremony on Sept. 30.
As part of the ceremony, Elders Bear Chief and Spence were gifted buffalo robes with images of an eagle and bison painted by Simon. The Indigenous Knowledge design has been painted on a framed buffalo robe that will be unveiled at a later date.
Other highlights of the Journey included an orange shirt campaign; a pipe ceremony; Elder Bear Chief reading the book You Hold Me Up to a group of children from the Mount Royal child care centre; a gathering of MRU leaders acknowledging the Day for Truth and Reconciliation following an Every Child Matters March, tours of the Indigenous gardens and much more.
On the Journey to Indigenization’s final day, Oct. 4, the focus was on Sisters in Spirit Day and included a red dress campaign, vigil and march, and The Canadian Library’s book art installation, an assortment of hardcover books wrapped in colourful material decorated with Indigenous artwork. The installation bringing attention to murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls is currently being housed in MRU’s office of indigenization and decolonization.
MRU’s Indigenous gardens
Explaining what is growing in the gardens (with pre-contact seeds originally from Buffalo Bird Woman, one of the last Indigenous gardeners who shared knowledge of the traditional Hidatsa agricultural practices), and how the earth was cultivated with traditional tools crafted from antlers, irrigation specialist Carmela Amoros said she has seen the benefit of the project first hand as she works.
Dr. Khatija Westbrook, PhD, associate professor, department of health and physical education, leads an Indigenous Gardens tour on Sept. 29.
“People are really excited about it. I personally am surprised at how many people are enthusiastic about the projects and come to see just how far things have grown. And it makes me feel very welcomed. We’re all learning together. And we’re all healing together. And we can all move forward together and I’m proud of being part of it.”
Read more about MRU’s office of indigenization and decolonization.