Why Lakehead University renamed its Indigenous resource centre in Thunder Bay

Lakehead University's Indigenous resource centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., has a new name – and its meaning goes beyond its direct translation.

Formerly called the Northern Studies Resource Centre, the Indigenous Elders Council has renamed the space Nanda Gikendan Gamik, which means 'Seek to Know, Seek to Learn Place.'

Located on the fifth floor of the Chancellor Paterson Library, the space overlooks Lake Superior, the City of Thunder Bay and Anemki Wajiw in Fort William First Nation. The walls are covered in Indigenous artwork, and a replica of the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850 is framed next to the entryway.

"This is one of the stops where we always bring people to say, 'This is where we are. This is the important role that centering Indigenous ways of knowing ways and being and our people [plays] in this learning institution,'" said Denise Baxter, vice provost of Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead.

A naming ceremony was held at the centre Wednesday and led by Elder Beatrice Twance-Hynes, a member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation. She shared what it was like when she arrived in the city to start university.

"I was so afraid and everything was just so alien to me – coming from the reserve and stuff," she said.

"It's not like it is today. We didn't have all those resources available for the Native students."

Renaming the centre is part of Lakehead's efforts to meet the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action. Trudy McKinnon, the librarian who manages Nanda Gikendan Gamik, has spent years building out the collection and making sure it's a space centred around Indigenous knowledge, Baxter explained.

All undergraduate students at Lakehead University are required to take a half-credit course focused on Indigenous content in order to graduate. 

Dr. Juan Sánchez Martínez is an associate professor in Lakehead's Indigenous Learning department. He was born in Bakatá/Bogotá in the Colombian Andes and completed his PhD in Canada. 

He said it's important for people to recognize when they are on Indigenous territory, wherever they go in the world.

"It makes sense that institutions are respectful and acknowledge through action that history, and courses like what we offer in Indigenous learning — but other departments are part of this commitment of Canada," he said.

"Sometimes it's hard because it's part of the settler-colonial history, but it's also about the future and how can we build it together with everybody included."

Chief Michele Solomon of Fort William First Nation spent a lot of time at the Indigenous resource centre as a student, and says she's seen the space evolve and become more welcoming and reflective of the Indigenous people in the room.