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News Release

October 13, 2006

U of G Celebrates Aboriginal Awareness Week

A week of activities and events, including seminars and performance, has been planned to celebrate Aboriginal Awareness Week at the University of Guelph Oct. 16 to 20. All performances, seminars and workshops are free of charge and will be held in Room 103 of the University Centre. Registration is required for seminars and workshops.

The week is spearheaded by the Aboriginal Resource Centre and supported by a number of campus departments and organizations, including Human Resources, the Office of Research, the Human Rights and Equity Office and the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.

“Aboriginal Awareness Week is an important time to continue to improve the environment of accessibility for our aboriginal students,” said Jaime Mishibinijima, organizer and U of G aboriginal student adviser. “Guelph’s campus is becoming more diverse, and we must respond with appropriate training and awareness building.”

On Oct. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., people are invited to watch a powwow dance exhibition and sample some traditional aboriginal foods from across Canada for $8 a plate in the University Centre courtyard.

On Oct. 18, a seminar on “Aboriginal Identity and Student Transition” from 10 a.m. to noon will help program advisors, student services staff and faculty work towards positive aboriginal student identity development. Also on Oct. 18, University of Toronto professor Deborah McGregor and Leslie McGregor, executive co-ordinator of Noojimawin Health Authority, will give a talk on “The Ethics of Researching Traditional Aboriginal Knowledge” from 2:30 to 4:40 p.m.

On Oct. 19, a seminar titled “Aboriginal 101: All the Things You Wanted to Know but Didn’t Want to Ask” runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Facilitated by two staff from Wilfrid Laurier University, the event is geared to student services staff and anyone with an interest in aboriginal people and issues. From 2 to 4 p.m., Schuyler Webster from Laurentian University and education specialist Ruth Reyno will discuss “Cross-Cultural Dynamics in Community Aboriginal-Based Research.”

On Oct. 20, people are invited to the South Residence Student Lounge from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to see the transformation of the aboriginal space. Student Housing Services and the Aboriginal Resource Centre received a Gordon Nixon Leadership Award in 2006 to convert the lounge into a space that celebrates aboriginal culture.