From beading to dancing, Dalhousie's Indigenous community room creates new opportunity

From beading to dancing, Dalhousie University's new Indigenous community room has created a space where students can display their culture and share it with others.

The Ko'jua Okuom, which means "a place for celebration or coming together," was named by elder Tom Christmas when it opened in the university's Killam Library this past summer.

"To have this room, it's really special," Michelle McDonald told CBC Radio's Portia Clark during a beading workshop in the room earlier this month.

"We're being seen here in Dalhousie now and we're here. We're not just a number, a per cent of the students here —  we're actually here on campus. We're now seen." 

McDonald leads a beading workshop twice a month. In September, participants tried their hand at beading small orange T-shirts to mark Orange Shirt Day.

Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, was created to honour Indigenous children who were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada.

Next month, McDonald said students who want to attend will learn how to bead poppy pins for Remembrance Day.

Samantha Adema, the Indigenous Services librarian at Dalhousie, said the room will be used for other events in the future, including traditional dancing.

She said the room also serves as a place for Indigenous students to meet — something she wishes she had as a student.

"I think it's really important to students to have a space of their own and to see their culture represented, especially in an institutional setting like Dalhousie," Adema said.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.

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