Respected Elder Louis Bellerose, left, and workshop facilitator Charlene Bearhead, share a moment at the workshop.

Cultual awareness training offered at workshop

SPN Staff
Northern Lakes College is taking an active leadership role by hosting cultural awareness training for staff, students and the public.

On June 8, NLC hosted “Residential Schools, The History and its Effects on Indigenous Peoples” at the Slave Lake Campus. The workshop was facilitated by Charlene Bearhead, who is a mother, grandmother, community member, experienced educator and education innovator with 30 years of regional, national and international experience in the field.

The workshop was opened with a prayer by local Elder Louis Bellerose and his niece, Fern Welch.

“I am not an expert. I am a person with one lived experience, my own. Today we will learn together,” said Bearhead.

She encouraged the audience to ask questions, tell their own stories or add information which made the workshop interactive.

Bearhead’s hopes are that people will actively engage in the reconciliation process and educate each other on the collective history of Canada.
In that way, everyone can support and facilitate the building of positive and respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people in Canada.

NLC continues to demonstrate a commitment to local Indigenous cultures through the ongoing operation of the Native Cultural Arts Museum located at the Grouard Campus. They also host two major annual events, the Metis Celebration and the Round Dance. The two events bring the region together to celebrate Indigenous cultures and recognize the significant role of the Indigenous peoples from the area.

Bearhead serves as the co-chair of the Downie-Wenjack Fund board of directors and is a member of the Pathways to Education Canada Indigenous Education Advisory Circle. Recently, she served as the first education lead for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba. She is also working with the Alberta Joint Commitment to Action: Education for Reconciliation.