Incoming International Students Honoured in Welcome Ceremony

On January 3, Indigenous people and the local community welcomed Trent’s newly arrived international students with a traditional Ojibway gathering in the tipi beside the First Peoples House of Learning.

Following some welcome songs by Indigenous Studies Professor Shirley Williams and community members Gerrard Saggasage and Liz Osawamick, students warmed up to a huge fire in the tipi while enjoying traditional Ojibway fare, including hot venison stew and fry bread. The students particularly enjoyed hearing the stories about how the woodpecker came to be, and how raccoon got his stripes and mask.

For the international students, many of whom travelled from as far away as Africa, China, Malaysia, St. Lucia, Mexico, Sweden and Norway, this was their first real Canadian experience. Those who came from tropical climates delighted in experiencing snow and frozen water for the first time. Despite the cold temperatures outside, Trent’s newest international students were happy to hear the stories, the songs of welcome, to eat the traditional foods and to feel the warmth of the welcome by the heat of the fire amid the icy snow and cold of Canada in the winter.

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