THUNDER BAY — Indigenous communities will be honoured this week both during the installation of Gillian Siddall as president of Lakehead University, and at the university's convocation ceremonies.
Siddall will wear a robe, a hat and sash that acknowledge the Indigenous peoples and their traditional lands on which the Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses are located.
According to information published in LU's Campus Connection, the robe – designed by Beverli Barnes – is made of vibrant blue silk with black linen panels and silver piping.
Barnes also designed the hat which includes a thistle pattern embroidered around the rim to represent Siddall's Scottish heritage.
The sash for the Thunder Bay convocation was created by Anishinaabe advocate Daanis Pelletier-Howcroft from Fort William First Nation.
Its beaded imagery includes ferns, blueberries, strawberry plants and maple leaves (representing the First Nation's maple syrup-making tradition), and the logos of the university and the First Nation.
"As a student and a member of the communities whose land Lakehead is on, it was empowering to make this sash," Pelletier-Howcroft said.
The president's installation ceremony will take place Wednesday on Mount McKay.
Graduation ceremonies in Thunder Bay on Thursday and Friday will include the bestowing of honorary degrees on Rosie Mosquito, a member of Bearskin Lake First Nation, and Patricia Ningewance Nadeau from Lac Seul First Nation.
Campus Connection quotes Siddall as saying that when she took on the role of president last July, she began thinking about how to make the ceremonies recognize that the Thunder Bay campus is on Fort William First Nation's traditional land, and that the Orillia campus is on the traditional land of the Three Fires Confederacy.
The sash for the Orillia convocation ceremony was created by Melissa Benson, a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation.
