Laurentian University marked National Indigenous Peoples Day a few days early so its staff and students could take part in other activities on June 21, which will mark 30th anniversary of the celebration in Canada. “We learn from them all the time, but of course Laurentian University is a place with a tri-cultural mandate where we’re working to really honour First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures through our programming, our research and our community connections as well,” said LU President and vice-chancellor Lynn Wells. The post-secondary school had a full day of programming on Friday, including a keynote address from Niigaan Sinclair. Along with being a writer, advocate and university professor in Manitoba, Sinclair is also the son of well-known Indigenous rights advocate, the late Murray Sinclair. The younger Sinclair wove memories into his message about reconciliation. LU’s Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre was packed for Sinclair’s speech. But Sinclair told CTV News he doesn’t do this work because of his father. “I want to spend a little bit of time enjoying life, working hard to build a safe place for my daughter,” Sinclair said. “On top of that, I also want people to do the work on their own now. We have a critical mass of people who could do this work. We don’t need a Murray Sinclair to go and travel everywhere and do it. We can get people locally to do these things.” Laurentian’s Truth and Reconciliation Coordinator, Jason Nakogee, presented a report card on how well the university is progressing to fulfill the 10 recommendations it set five years ago. “I’m pleased to say we’ve made progress across all ten recommendations,” he told the crowd. Nakogee reported that Recommendations 1 through 4 were complete; Recommendation 5 is 75 per cent complete; Recommendations 6, 7 and 9 are 50 per cent complete, while Recommendations 8 and 10 are 25 per cent complete. “While these numbers help us track progress, reconciliation is not something that can simply be checked off a list. It’s an ongoing journey that requires commitment, accountability and strong relationships with Indigenous communities,” he said. During his presentation, Nakogee said Indigenous Peoples Day ‘reminds us that reconciliation is not a destination, it’s an ongoing commitment.’ “We have much to be proud of, and we have made meaningful progress together. At the same time, we recognize that there is still important work ahead,” he said. “We need to honour Indigenous People and the contributions they’ve made to Canada,” said Dominic Beaudry, Associate Vice-President of Academic and Indigenous Programs. He explained that LU’s celebrations include various presentations throughout the day to provide ‘teachable moments’ for LU staff and students. “We’ve been having some real success in terms of being more inclusive of Indigenous languages here,” Beaudry said. “If you walk throughout Laurentian University, we have a tri-cultural mandate: English, French and now we have Indigenous signage throughout all the facilities here.” “We’re very blessed to live in a beautiful country like Canada, but we also need to be more inclusive of Indigenous narrative,” he added. The celebration was also a chance to introduce Laurentian’s first Indigenous Chancellor, Kristan Straub, a member of Henvey Inlet First Nation. His family has long been associated with the post-secondary school. “It was very meaningful and almost a full circle journey (for me) as a young boy who was here,” he told CTV News. “My grandfather was/is Art Soloman, he’s now passed away – and Grandmother Eva Soloman – but they were instrumental in the establishment of the Native Studies Department here back in the 80s,” Straub said. Straub will hold the chancellor role for the next five years. “Part of my goals are to work with the university on the growth of the university and the growth of the university’s brand and presence within the North,” he told CTV News. “Part of the work that I will do in supporting the university’s president and the Board of Governors is work in supporting their path to putting the establishment back on the map and setting this establishment on the right course,” Straub said. Roughly 1,000 students at Laurentian identify as Indigenous.
