Peterborough Blogs
Trent University’s Newest College to be Named Gidigaa Migizi to Honour Professor Doug Williams
/To honour and celebrate the memory of the late Gidigaa Migizi (Doug Williams), Trent University is naming its sixth college will be named Gidigaa Migizi College.
The Gidigaa Migizi College is being built on the east bank of the Symons Campus in Peterborough. The building will include as many as 700 new beds for first-year students and classrooms, faculty offices and student spaces. The University expects it to open in the fall of 2028. The new college crest, scarf and colours will be unveiled next year.
“This naming is a testament to Trent’s ongoing commitment to recognizing and celebrating Indigenous culture and heritage,” said Marilyn Burns, vice president of Trent communications and enrolment. “Gidigaa Migizi, a respected elder and a pillar in the Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg and Trent communities, has left a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire and educate our students for generations to come. Gidigaa Migizi College will stand as a beacon of knowledge, diversity, and respect, embodying the spirit of inclusivity and learning that is at the heart of Trent University.”
The professor, elder, and community leader was known for his dedication to Trent students and for protecting Anishnaabeg's treaty rights.
The decision to select an Anishnaabe name for the new college was a recommendation of the University’s Champlain Report to honour the treaty and traditional territory on which Trent University sits, according to a press release. Meaning ‘spotted eagle’ in English, the name Gidigaa Migizi College was recommended by the University’s Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers Council and approved by Trent’s Board of Governors.
“Gidigaa Migizi was a giant both at Trent and in the Anishnaabeg nation. He was a champion of knowledge, of learning, of students and of our community,” said Anne Taylor, Curve Lake First Nation Elders Council member. “In our culture, eagles are held in high esteem and symbolize honour, respect, strength, courage, and wisdom. These are all characteristics we want Trent students to embody.”
Migizi was one of the first graduates of Trent University’s Native Studies (now Indigenous Studies) program. After graduating, he remained involved with Trent, helping shape academic programs, administrative policies, and cultural practices and advancing education about Indigenous peoples.
He was co-director of the Indigenous Studies Ph.D. program and a professor at the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies. Migizi served on the University’s Indigenous Education Committee and the Elders Council. Before joining Trent as a student and then as a faculty member, Gidigaa Migizi was a bricklayer who helped build Champlain College at the University.
Migizi was an active negotiator for the legal recognition of treaty rights. His greatest accomplishment in this arena was the advocacy work he undertook in the precedent-setting case R v. Taylor and Williams, working through the court system to bring legal recognition of pre-confederation treaty rights through the interpretation of Treaty 20, 1818. As a result of this landmark case, he defended the right to hunt and fish for signatories to the Williams Treaties as stated by Trent.
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Fleming College Organizing Week-Long Events To Recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
/In recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Fleming College has organized a week’s worth of events and activities to honour the day on their campuses beginning on Monday.
A children’s shoe collection will be on display at Sutherland, Frost and Haliburton Campuses from Monday through Friday, recognizing, remembering, and honouring Indigenous Children who were lost to Residential Schools.
Nish Tees, a local Indigenous business, will be selling orange shirts throughout the week at scheduled times. All proceeds will be donated to the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
A full schedule of events can be found below:
Sutherland Campus:
Orange shirts will be on sale from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Shirts are $20 each for students, $25 for the rest of the Fleming community.
Monday, Sept. 25:
Welcome and Drum Opening: Main Foyer, 10 – 11 a.m.
Orange Shirt Beading: Main Foyer, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 26:
Reading of “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt”: Main Foyer, 10 – 11 a.m.
Screening of “The Secret Path”: Whetung Theatre, B3 100, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 27:
Orange Rock Painting: Steele Centre Patio, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 28:
Reading of “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt”: Main Foyer, 1 – 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29:
Rock Painting and Orange Shirt Beading: Main Foyer, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Frost Campus
Thursday, Sept. 28 and Friday, Sept. 29:
Reading of “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt”: ISS Lounge 180A, 12 – 12:30 p.m.
Orange Rock Painting: ISS Lounge 180A, 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Haliburton Campus
Wednesday, Sept. 27:
Orange Shirt Sales and Orange Rock Painting: The Great Hall, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
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Curve Lake First Nation Athletes Bring Back Five Medals From North American Indigenous Games In Halifax
/Curve Lake First Nation representing Team Ontario is bringing back five medals including one gold, two silver and two bronze from Halifax in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games in softball and soccer.
McKenzie Taylor was the lone gold medalist for U16 Female Softball. Team Ontario split the finals with Team Manitoba for gold due to weather cancellations for the playoffs.
The following are Team Ontario’s results for U16 Female Softball:
Game 1, July 17: 9-0 win vs. Alberta
Game 2, July 17: 9-4 win vs. Nova Scotia
Game 3, July 18: 7-3 loss vs. Manitoba
Game 4, July 19: 8-1 win vs. British Columbia
Game 5, July 20: 12-3 win vs. Saskatchewan
Game 6: July 20: 15-2 win vs. Wisconsin
Gold Medal Game: vs. Manitoba (cancelled)
Danika and Abagail Jacobs were able to take home silver for Team Ontario in U19 Female Soccer. Ontario went undefeated with a 3-0-1 record in their preliminary pools (Pool B) but fell short in the finals to Team Alberta, 5-1.
The following are Team Ontario’s results for U19 Female Soccer:
Game 1, July 17: 9-0 win vs. Nova Scotia
Game 2, July 18: 6-2 win vs. Wisconsin
Game 3, July 19: 0-0 draw vs. Saskatchewan
Game 4, July 20: 2-0 win vs. Saskatchewan
Finals, July 22: 5-1 loss vs. Alberta
Grady Taylor and Quinn Jacobs were the lone boys who brought back medals for Curve Lake, earning bronze in U16 Male Softball representing Team Ontario. They had a 2-2 record in the preliminaries that qualified them for the bronze medal match that they won 12-5 vs. British Columbia.
The following are Team Ontario’s results for U16 Male Softball:
Game 1, July 17: 13-3 loss vs. Saskatchewan
Game 2, July 18: 11-4 win vs. Nova Scotia
Game 3, July 18: 5-4 win vs. British Columbia
Game 4, July 19: 14-7 loss vs. Manitoba
Silver Medal Game, July 12: 12-5 win vs. British Columbia
The U19 Male softball team had finished in fifth place and had nine Curve Lake First Nation members (one coach and eight players).
Curve Lake First Nation Sends 10 Athletes to North American Indigenous Games In Halifax
/Curve Lake is sending ten young athletes to represent Team Ontario in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Halifax, N.S. in five days of competition beginning Monday.
Representing Curve Lake for Team Ontario are Louis Jacobs, Carter Jacobs, Rivor Taylor, Tristin Williams and Josh Knott who are all teammates for U19 Male Softball. Abagail Jacobs and Danika Jacobs are entered for U19 Female Soccer. McKenzie Taylor is the lone athlete for U16 Female Softball while Quinn Jacons and Grady Taylor are in U16 Male Softball.
The event started on Saturday and runs until July 24 with opening ceremonies that began on Sunday. There are 756 Indigenous Nations with over 5,000 athletes competing in 15 different events in this year’s games according to the official NAIG website.
The following is the schedule for Team Ontario with Curve Lake athletes:
U19 Male Softball
Monday, vs. Manitoba at 10:15 a.m.
Tuesday, vs. Nova Scotia at 8 a.m.
Tuesday, vs. Alberta at noon
Wednesday vs. Eastern Door and the North at 8:15 a.m.
Thursday vs. British Columbia at 1 p.m.
Thursday vs. Saskatchewan at 5 p.m.
U19 Female Soccer
Monday, vs. Nova Scotia at 8 a.m.
Tuesday, vs. Wisconsin at 8 a.m.
Wednesday vs. Saskatchewan at 8 a.m.
U16 Male Softball
Monday, vs. Saskatchewan at 4:15 p.m.
Tuesday, vs. Nova Scotia at 10:15 a.m.
Wednesday vs. Manitoba at 10:15 a.m.
Wednesday vs. British Columbia at 5 p.m.
U16 Female Softball
Monday, vs. Alberta at 7:30 a.m.
Monday, vs Nova Scotia at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, vs. Manitoba at 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, vs. British Columbia at 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, vs. Saskatchewan at 8:15 a.m.
Thursday, vs. Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m.
All games can be streamed via Youtube on NAIG’s official channel.
National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebrated Throughout the Peterborough Community
/To mark National Indigenous Peoples Day on Wednesday, several activities are being held throughout the community, announced by The City of Peterborough.
“National Indigenous Peoples Day is cause for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. “It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation commission and to renew our commitment to fulfill them."
The following are events from City of Peterborough facilities:
Peterborough Public Library
National Indigenous Peoples Day:
Summer Solstice Story Time, National Indigenous Peoples Day at Millennium Park, 130 King St., Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
10 Indigenous Titles You Should Read this Month is featured at the Seniors Showcase, Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, 775 Brealey Dr.
Other upcoming events marking National Indigenous History Month:
Tween Book Club: Barren Grounds by David Robertson, June 22, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday Film & Discussion: Voices Across the Water, June 23, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Adult Book Club: A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt, June 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space, open during library hours
Peterborough Museum and Archives
Interpretive tours between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. of the exhibition ‘To Honour and Respect: Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales’ exhibit
Quilling workshops will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This registered program is full, but visitors are encouraged to drop in to see the work being completed.
Art responses activities for all ages.
The exhibition will continue at the Museum until mid-November.
The Nogojiwanong Project
The City’s Public Art Program invites you to visit the Nogojiwanong Project. Located at the south end of Millennium Park, this project was a collaboration undertaken in the spirit of kinship between local First Nations, Indigenous peoples, and the City of Peterborough in recognition of the 200th anniversary of Rice Lake Treaty No. 20. Through the collaboration, this gathering space was created to encourage learning and reflection with a series of interpretive panels highlighting the evolution of local treaties and inherent rights of Indigenous peoples. The “Gathering” provides the focal point for the space.
Michael Belmore’s, entitled “Gathering,” complements the panels and anchors the space. It consists of a grouping of glacial erratic boulders, carved, lined with copper, and fitted so that they sit slightly apart and seemingly radiate heat. The stones are embellished with the Treaty 20 Clan Totems or Dodems as they are called in Anishinaabemowin.
Nogojiwanong is an Anishinaabe word meaning “place at the foot of the rapids” and the name given to the gathering place, at the bottom of a turbulent stretch of the Otonabee River, renamed Peterborough by European settlers.
Millennium Park forms the present-day landfall and eddy along the western shoreline. It is also the site of the trailhead to the Chemong Portage – a six- or seven-mile historic footpath between the Otonabee River and Chemong Lake.
The Nogojiwanong Project location acknowledges these ancestral lands and the thousands of years the Michi Saagiig navigated this route between their winter camps and traditional fishing grounds at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on Lake Ontario.
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City of Peterborough Community Activities for National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month 2023
/Activities are being held throughout the community, including at City of Peterborough facilities, for residents to take part in National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month in June.
Highlights from the activities at City of Peterborough facilities:
Art Gallery of Peterborough
250 Crescent St.
Exhibition: Special Project: Tea with the Queens, June 7 to June 29, 2023
Opening reception for new exhibitions, June 7, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Afternoon Tea with the Queens, June 11 and 14, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and June 11, 13, and 22, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Indigenous Day Celebrations at Hiawatha First Nation: Art Gallery of Peterborough tent; June 17, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Peterborough Public Library
345 Aylmer St. N.
PA Day Family Movie: Indigenous Cinema Shorts for Children, June 9, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Crafternoon: Beaded Rings with Malinda Gray, June 10, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Teen Book Club: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, June 13, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunset Story Time with Betty Baker, June 16, 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Non-fiction Book Club: Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente, June 20, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Summer Solstice Story Time, National Indigenous Peoples Day at Millennium Park, 130 King St., June 21, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
10 Indigenous Titles You Should Read this Month featured at the Seniors Showcase, Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, 775 Brealey Dr., June 21, 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Tween Book Club: Barren Grounds by David Robertson, June 22, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday Film & Discussion: Voices Across the Water, June 23, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Adult Book Club: A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt, June 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space, open during library hours
Peterborough Museum and Archives
300 Hunter St. E.
‘To Honour and Respect: Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales’ exhibit, open during museum hours until mid-November
Quillwork Workshops, June 21, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., registration required
Pride Flag Scavenger Hunt, during open hours all through June
Pride Craft based on the book ‘My Rainbow’ and Stories station, during open hours all through June
Indigenous Day Kids Crafts, June 21, during open hours
Interpretive tours of the ‘To Honour and Respect: Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales’ exhibit, available June 21, watch for details on the Museum website and social media