Light beacons forming a giant teepee in the night sky, a memorial wall and a centrepiece fountain are all part of the plans to help make the First Nations University of Canada a national gathering place to honour and remember victims of residential schools.
Details of the plans were unveiled Monday during a ceremony marking the institution’s 40th anniversary. It began as the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College with only nine students back in 1976. Now, it is leading the way in First Nations education and tradition.
President Mark Dockstator says the capital fundraising campaign is aimed at honouring those who suffered in residential schools.
“So that people can come and remember, they can celebrate, they can mourn,” he said. “So there is a spot in Canada where their names are not forgotten, where their legacies are remembered, where people can come and remember that past, but also look to a bright future.”
Part of the plan would involve a circular wall outside the building engraved with the names of everyone who attended a residential school. At the centre of the segmented wall would be a large fountain, and in the sky, spotlights would create a teepee.
The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde, was among those taking part in Monday’s celebrations. He says education is the key to end poverty, but he says First Nations culture must also be part of that system.
“Our young men and woman have to walk in two systems of education,” he said. “Yes math and science, yes literacy and numeracy, very important, but equally important are your languages and your ceremonies.”
It was also announced that $72,000 has been committed by Heritage Canada and Prince’s Charities Canada to have the university produce a children’s Cree language book.