Indigenous CMU students welcome teepee on campus

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This article was published 20/09/2022 (1432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s something new on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University — a teepee.

The traditional Indigenous dwelling, which was put up in mid-September on the school’s north campus behind Marpeck Commons, was initiated by the university’s Indigenous Student Group as a way to honour the land and acknowledge the presence of Indigenous students at the school.

“It’s great to have,” said Katie Anderson, 21, a member of the Indigenous Student Group. “It’s a place to meet, a place to have ceremonies. It shows CMU is open to creating relationships with Indigenous people.”

And she said it’s not just decorative.

“It’s a place to host elders or have sacred fires.”

Anderson, who is Ojibwe and Cree, is one of about 40 Indigenous students at the school of 550 students.

It is part of the larger goal to promote CMU as a “safe space” for Indigenous students, said the music student, adding she personally feels welcome there.

Kelly Selkirk is a post-secondary co-ordinator at Fisher River Cree Nation. She served as an adviser to the CMU Indigenous Student Group as they went about working with the university to procure and set up the teepee.

The teepee represents how “CMU has taken on the responsibility for reconciliation in a meaningful and thought-out manner,” she said.

“Sometimes organizations do a lot of talk, but not much action. CMU is trying to do the work, understand what its responsibilities are,” she said.

The teepee was purchased last year, but COVID-19 restrictions prevented its use, said Charlie Peronto, director of student life.

He pointed out the structure was paid for by the student council and CMU.

A ceremony with an elder was held when the teepee went up.

“We learned each pole has a meaning,” Peronto said, noting about 100 people gathered to watch during the two hours it took to erect.

For Peronto, the teepee is “more than a symbol. It’s a sign of CMU’s promise to future collaboration with Indigenous people. We want it to be a conversation starter, to open doors to discussion, to be a place to gather.”

It’s also part of CMU’s commitment to “making Indigenous students feel at home here as we honour their heritage, language and culture and show it is respected and valued.”

Last year the university unveiled special Treaty One uniforms for its sports teams.

“We see ourselves as a school with Mennonite in the name that is far beyond Mennonites,” Peronto said, noting only about 30 per cent of students at the school come from Mennonite backgrounds.

Knowledge keeper Mervin McKay told CMU “the teepee now belongs to you. It’s your responsibility to remember the teachings and to follow through on what they mean in your own lives.”

“With honour we accept that call as a step in our path to truth and reconciliation,” said CMU president Cheryl Pauls.

The teepee will remain up until mid-October and will then be put away for the winter.

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