MRU’s journey to decolonization
Bella Coco, News Editor |
Since 2021, through the months of September to October, MRU has held annual activities on a journey to Indigenization and Decolonization. The university commemorates Orange Shirt Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the signing of Treaty 7, and Sisters in Spirit Day.
As stated by MRU’s Office of Indigenization and Decolonization, “The Journey to Indigenization aims to provide an opportunity to learn from one another through a series of knowledge infrastructural events. These events showcase the success and innovation in applying, linking and adding Indigenous concepts and epistemological changes to curriculum content at MRU. The knowledge and learning will be shared with students, faculty and staff.”
The effects of colonization have ripped cultures, families and traditions apart. Generations of trauma and spirituality loss have been committed by systematic oppression and discrimination.
When the Indian Act was enacted in 1876, events like the Sixties Scoop, residential schools and forceful child welfare were acts of genocide against the Indigenous peoples of Canada in an effort to assimilate them into Western practices.
As Canadians living in occupied land, it is crucial to fully know and understand our history to work towards mending it from the gouges of colonization and Eurocentrism.
A key word used by the Office of Indigenization and Decolonization is “Nitoyi,” which is defined as, “The moment you know you belong. It is the moment when things start, and an idea pops into your head when you understand. Nitoyi is the beginning. Nitoyi is the very point of change.”
In order to understand decolonization and to decolonize your mind, you have to change your mindset and educate yourself on the ideas and events that you may not understand, or that may make you feel ill at ease. MRU’s efforts to decolonize and spark Nitoyi come in the form of presentations, art installations, posters and educational segments.
Faculty, student and staff presentations will be running from Sept. 23 to Sept. 27, with topics ranging from land-based education, sharing Indigenous stories in the media, Indigenous art, the residential school system, the ethical responsibility as settlers, and more. The campus will be lit up in orange, as well as have orange shirts displayed to visually represent the university’s commitment to reconciliation.
In October, MRU will recognize Sisters in Spirit Day, a movement across Canada raised by Indigenous women to increase knowledge on violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit. On Oct. 4, people are encouraged to wear red to show support for the families who have experienced losing a loved one to violence against Indigenous women.
From Sept. 25 to Sept. 30, students, staff, faculty and all are encouraged to wear an orange shirt in support of Every Child Matters, which honours Indigenous individuals who survived residential school and commemorates the children who never made it home.
The community of MRU can purchase an Every Child Matters shirt at the Cougars Campus Store, where a section of the proceeds goes to MRU’s Indigenous student emergency fund, and to the care of the white buffalo–a resource centre dedicated to create a strong sense of community between Indigenous families and youth.
Things you can do all year long in support of decolonization are respectfully engaging with members and elders of Indigenous communities, supporting Indigenous artists and writers, calling out your own unconscious bias, and extending your knowledge on decolonization efforts beyond this article. Commit to more research on the topics at hand, and attend teachings and talking circles for education and knowledge sharing
Materials by Indigenous writers about Indigenization and decolonization will be displayed on the first floor of the Riddell Library and Learning Centre and available to borrow.
