Do you know your Indigenous U of M?

June 22, 2016 —

To celebrate National Aboriginal Day on June 21st, the U of M hosted a photo challenge on our Instagram account to test the knowledge of our Indigenous campus connections.

Congratulations to Chrysta Lee Wood for winning our “Do You Know Your Indigenous U of M?” contest. Chrysta is a recent U of M alumna, having completed her Bachelor of Social Work through the Inner City Social Work Program in the spring of this year!

Over the course of the day, we shared these eight pictures of Indigenous spaces, artwork, and symbols found around our multiple campuses. Chrysta, along with anyone who correctly answered any of the skill-testing questions that accompanied the pictures, was entered in a draw for our Indigenous prize pack.

Thank you to the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development Inc., Aboriginal Issues Press, the University of Manitoba Bookstore, the Indigenous Student Centre, and Justin Rasmussen for donating to our prize package.

The turtle sculpture is located in front of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) and it is where sacred fires are lit. The NCTR was created to preserve the memory of Canada’s Residential School system and legacy. It opened in the summer of 2015.

This Indigenous artwork can be found in the tunnels below Duff Roblin on our Fort Garry Campus. This Untitled work was done in 2000 by David Joseph Boulanger (born in Winnipeg and raised in Berens River, MB). Boulanger studied art at the UofM and died November 3, 2004 at the age of 28.

The Isbister Building was named after after Alexander Kennedy Isbister, an English Métis, who was one of the UofM’s first major donors, including 4,000 books. Scholarships provided by the Isbister Trust Fund have played an important part in student aid at the University. He had one stipulation for his generous gifts - that they be used for all who merited them, regardless of sex, race, creed, language or nationality.

This is a shot of the top of the William Norrie Centre – home of the UofM’s Inner City Social Work program. The Centre was built by Prairie Architect’s Inc. and was completed in 2005. According to the architects "the helix roof form evolved as a culturally non-identifiable form but one that is primal and symbolic, appealing to the basic human senses."

This unique piece is located in the Science Students’ Association (SSA) Lounge in the Armes Building. The circle symbolizes the circle of life and the Medicine Wheel. It was incorporated into the design of the SSA Lounge when they remodelled their space in 2014-2015.

The Medicine Garden of Indigenous Learning is located at our Bannatyne campus. A Traditional Blessing of the land took place on June 20, 2014. It is a space for people to meet, share and learn about the importance and value of traditional knowledge and medicines.

This photo shows a close-up shot of the floor of the foyer of Migizii Agamik – Bald Eagle Lodge. The white infinity symbol on a blue background represents the joining of two cultures and the existence of a people forever. It can also be found on the official flag of the Métis nation.

This inukshuk can be found outside of the Physical Plant building at our Fort Garry campus (corner of Freedman Cres. & King’s Drive). An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) is a figure made of piled stones or boulders, constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, inuksuit are integral to Inuit culture.

UM Today staff

Indigenous, Instagram, National Aboriginal Day, social media