When Teacher Education candidate Dawn White attended a Think Indigenous Workshop delivered by one of her professors at Trent, she immediately saw the potential for bringing such an event into her own classroom one day. That day came on April 1 when, during her placement in Mrs. Hamer Strahl’s Native Studies class at Port Perry High School, Ms. White successfully brought the idea to life, hosting the Think Indigenous Expo.

“Our goal for this event was to showcase student work and understanding of First Nations culture,” said Ms. White. “The students have been researching eight different nations in Canada and were essentially teaching the cultures they have researched to guests at the Expo.”

Leading up to the event, students spent eight weeks learning about culture, traditions, history and current issues of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of Canada. The Expo showcased Indigenous food, crafts, history and culture of many Aboriginal nations, including: Anishnaabe, Inuit, Cree, Métis, Mi’kmaq, Dene, Haudenosaunee and Haida.

“It is our hope that this event will raise awareness province-wide of the importance of Native education in Ontario – showcasing how the collaborative efforts between First Nations communities, schools and the Province of Ontario can create wonderful education for the future,” Ms. White said.

To bring the event to life, Ms. White worked alongside her associate teacher, Mrs. Hamer Strahl. Together, they further collaborated with Art Beaver of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and a Trent alumnus, on the all the logistics of the event.

“We worked as a team with the students, other school staff and the principal to produce this event,” Ms White explained. “The fact that an associate teacher and principal had enough faith in a teacher candidate to allow me to do this is awesome, and seeing their excitement and willingness to participate made it exciting for me.”

Ms. White graduated from the Indigenous Studies program at Trent University in 2000. In 2008, she returned to Trent as a student of the School of Education and Professional Learning to realize her dream of becoming a teacher. After receiving her teaching degree this spring, she hopes to bring Think Indigenous Expos to as many of her future classrooms as possible.

Photo (from l to r): Professor Nicole Bell, Dawn White, Nancy Hamer Strahl, Jan Bate (Principal), Professor Deborah Berrill

Photo: Gr. 11 students Jordan Menzies, Amanda Forth, Melissa Lane, Rian Alldred