Indigenous Services
EPL sends our solidarity and sincere condolences to Indigenous communities and peoples who face the legacy of residential schools and other ongoing child removal policies. As Indigenous nations confirm more graves at residential school sites across Canada, we must recommit to work together for justice.
Read EPL’s full statement, opens a new window regarding Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation’s confirmation of a mass grave at the Kamloops residential school and learn more about Plains Cree teachings about the importance of children.
Contents
Indigenous: Featured
Featured: Mâmawô ayâwin
Mâmawô ayâwin is the new program for Indigenous Services at EPL.
The name means “all being together” in Nehiyawewin (Plains Cree). It is a reflection of EPL’s intention to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples together to learn, discuss and celebrate under various topics. Similar to PÎYÊSÎW WÂSKÂHIKAN, the Indigenous Gathering Space at Stanley A. Milner Library, Mâmawô ayâwin also uses the Indigenous language to bring visibility to Indigenous languages within EPL.
Mâmawô ayâwin follows in the footsteps of EPL's Exploring Reconciliation, launched in 2016 to provide opportunities for Edmontonians to deepen their understanding of reconciliation and how it impacts Canadians.
As we are acutely aware, and recent events remind us, the journey towards reconciliation is far from over. However, the conversation has evolved in the years since the TRC Report. Today, dialogue includes cultural teaching, reclamation of identity, language, names and spaces, and celebration of diverse peoples, voices and experiences.
Mâmawô ayâwin furthers our commitment to truth and reconciliation, while capturing the full breadth of meaning, action, and kinship at the heart of the process.
We look forward to gathering with you, in person and online, as we continue the conversation about our kinship to each other and to the land.
Mâmawôayâwin: Blog Post
Introducing Mâmawô ayâwin (gathering in Plains Cree)
About the Image
Recognizing the powerful role of imagery in storytelling, EPL felt it was crucial that customers see the Indigenous community reflected in the visuals associated with the Mâmawô ayâwin series. That’s why we commissioned local artist Lance Cardinal of Bigstone Cree Nation, Treaty 8 territory, to create the image that will be used across all Mâmawô ayâwin promotional materials.
The Inspiration
About the Artist
Lance Cardinal is a 2-spirit First Nations artist from the Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory. His artist name is ᐊᐧᒐᐢᐠ, meaning wacask or Muskrat. He is the founder and director of Soulflame Creative Services, one of the leading Indigenous Arts organizations in Edmonton. His Indigenous teachings and influences come from his home community of Calling Lake, Alberta, Canada.
