First Nations Program - Yearend Celebration

Laura Cranmer invited us today to the First Nations Studies’ Yearend Celebration. It was unlike any such event we have ever participated in. First of all, it opened with a song and a prayer said by the Elders in Residence, blessing all the guests and thanking the Snuneymuxw for giving permission to hold the celebration on their territory. All participants were required to stand up and many held up their hands in prayer and thanksgiving. After the official beginning of the celebration, Louise Mandell, the honoured guest speaker, gave a lecture about her involvement in the Aboriginal Rights movement and about the legal and political situation of First Nations in Canada. She spoke at length about the founding of the Assembly of First Nations and their 1980 manifesto in Ottawa entitled Declaration of First Nations, as well as the subsequent fight for treaty rights of Aboriginal Peoples. 

Songs with the Accompaniment of Drums.

Members of the Faculty with the Snuneymuxw Chief (second left).

 

After the lecture we attended a splendid feast in honour of the graduating students of the First Nations Program. The meal was followed by several aboriginal songs performed with the accompaniment of drums, as well as other cross-cultural performances courtesy of first year students of the program (a song from the Republic of South Africa and a dance from Japan, among others). Many thanks were expressed on behalf of lecturers, students, and the First Nations elders sharing their wisdom during classes. What was most heartwarming was the welcoming atmosphere that made the Yearend Celebration more like a family gathering rather than a university event. These extremely close bonds formed between the faculty and students is what sets the First Nations Program aside from other programs at Vancouver Island University and we felt very honoured to take a small part in their celebrations.

Colloquium

We went to the Vancouver Island University campus today – it’s much smaller than UBC, but it’s situated on a hill and we’re told that when the weather permits it, there are some lovely views out there, which we didn’t get to see yet, because of the rain. ;) Not many sunny days out here in Nanaimo, apparently. We spent two hours walking around and then sitting in the cafeteria, composing our class schedule for next week.

Before the Colloquium.

At ten we went to the Malaspina Theatre Department, where we attended an Art and Humanities colloquium. Eliza Gardiner and Laura Cranmer delivered a presentation on “The Power of theatre in Indigenous Communities”. The talk was extremely interesting, as it strove to compare the Potlatch with Ancient Greek theatre. It was also very emotionally demanding of Laura Cranmer, who spoke of her family’s experience with the Potlatch for the very first time in public.

Laura Cranmer (left) and Eliza Gardiner (right) Preparing for the Presentation.

After the colloquium we were introduced to many members of VIU faculty, and then we had a lovely lunch with Laura Cranmer and Eliza Gardiner, during which we talked a lot about Poland and Canada’s history and experiences. In the evening we had an international family dinner and lots of Canadian, English, Polish, Columbian and Burmese anecdotes were exchanged over wine and rice pudding. :)