July 18, 2013 Vol. 47 No. 6
The Bulletin University of Manitoba special edition
umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Biindigen! “Welcome” (Ojibway)
The Bentwood Box (Also pictured on the front and back pages) A Bentwood Box, commissioned by the TRC, arrived at the Commission office in Ottawa, Ontario on April 27, 2009, from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where it was steamed and bent from a single piece of red cedar. Carved by Coast Salish artist Luke Marston, the TRC Bentwood Box is a lasting tribute to all Indian Residential School survivors. The carved panels represent the unique cultures of former First Nations, Inuit and Métis students. The TRC Bentwood Box reflects the strength and resilience of residential school survivors and their descendants, and honours those survivors who are no longer living. The artist pays respect to his own grandmother by depicting her residential schools experiences at Kuper Island in the carvings. As the Box travelled with the Commission to different provinces and territories, offerings were made to it to commemorate personal journeys toward healing and reconciliation. At the end of the TRC’s mandate, it will be housed in the permanent NRC venue.
SPECIAL FEATURE Pages 5 to 9 Truth, reconciliation and the path forward: U of M to house the National Research Centre
President's perspective Transformational change The moving a n d powerful signing c e r e m o ny on June 21 establishing the University of Manitoba as the home of the National Research Centre for Residential Schools was a highlight in a year of milestones where our world-class faculty and staff demonstrated their enormous commitment to our community and country. At the signing ceremony, Truth and Reconciliation commissioner Murray Sinclair proclaimed that our proposal stood “head and shoulders” above other submissions. The importance of this national research centre to our university, province and country is its power to help us all move forward on a path of reconciliation and healing. I cannot overstate the need for this transformational change to address the brokenness of our shared history. It is critical to ensuring that Indigenous peoples and cultures are reflected and respected in schools, workplaces and all public institutions. I am proud that our faculty, staff and students have embraced and championed the need to reject the status quo when it comes to our relationships with Indigenous communities and cultures and aspire to something better for all the right reasons.
The
Bulletin
You often hear me speak about the need for the evolution of our community of learning, discovery and engagement. The
The Bulletin is the newspaper of record for the University of Manitoba. It is published by the marketing communications office every second Thursday from September to December and monthly in December, Jan., Feb., June, July and August. Material in The Bulletin may be reprinted or broadcast, excepting materials for which The Bulletin does not hold exclusive copyright. Please contact editor for policy. The Bulletin is printed on paper that includes recycled content.
pace of transformation of our world — politically, economically, technologically and socially — is at times difficult to comprehend. At the University of Manitoba, we are witnesses, champions and at times challengers of change that we have and will continue to experience. If the University of Manitoba is to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff, as well as the broader community it serves, we too must evolve in a way that makes sense to all of us. Faculty and staff are living that change and we have asked a lot of you as we consider how we can best advance our mission as Manitoba’s only researchintensive university. The process of evaluation and re-evaluation of how our community functions, as with the Academic Structure Initiative, is important and necessary, and will lead us to a better place. Hundreds of staff members have been involved in service-oriented projects that are on-going across our university. Many of the initiatives that have been implemented are a result of your suggestions and feedback. These initiatives have inspired our community to adopt a culture of change that will help propel us forward as a more effective, modern and efficient organization, better able to do our work of learning, discovery and engagement in the community. We recognize the need to be open, flexible and responsive to your ideas on how we proceed with change.
publisher John Kearsey, Vice-President (External) Editor Mariianne Mays Wiebe Phone 204-474-8111 Fax 204-474-7631 Email bulletin@umanitoba.ca Production designer Pat Goss Phone 204-474-8388 Email pat.goss@umanitoba.ca Academic Advertising Kathy Niziol Phone 474 7195 Fax 474 7505 Email kathy_niziol@umanitoba.ca issue contributors Sean Moore, Mike Latschislaw, Katie Chalmers-Brooks, Dan Gwozdz Special thanks to Andrea Bilash and Niigaan Sinclair
As a result of a mutual agreement with ARAMARK, effective September 1, 2013, Physical Plant reassumes responsibility for managing custodial services at the University of Manitoba. We are also currently developing a policy regarding the use of personal printers paid for by personal funds that will soon be released to the community as we continue to roll out the Managed Print Services Initiative. We offer training to faculty and staff so we can all be more comfortable with Concur, the online system the University of Manitoba has adopted for flight bookings, management of expenses and reimbursement. Many sessions are available throughout the summer and the balance of 2013. While these actions were all taken based on feedback we received from you that prompted us to refine our plans, we are committed to change because of the results we are achieving together. We need to ensure we are good financial stewards of our limited resources and that we position ourselves to move forward on projects that directly support our mission. I am proud of the progress we have made together over the past year on creating suitable spaces for or community, initiatives that enhance our student experience and efforts to attract and retain faculty and staff. The passion, commitment and quality of our world-class climate change team, and the critical relevance of their work to the future of our fragile planet, has inspired us to build the Nellie J.
submissions The Bulletin welcomes submissions from members of the university community letters to the editor, columns, news briefs and story and photo suggestions. Events The Bulletin publishes notifications of events taking place at the University of Manitoba or events that are of particular interest to the university community. There is no charge for running notices in the events column. Send events notices to bulletin@umanitoba.ca Publishing Schedule Copy/advertising deadline: July 31, 2013 Issue date: August 8, 2013 Copy/advertising deadline: September 4, 2013 Issue date: September 12, 2013
Cournoyea Centre for Arctic Research, which opened this March. I want to congratulate our staff for making such a strong case for new investments in our libraries. The result of those conversations is the redeveloped Elizabeth Dafoe Library, now one of most popular student learning and study spaces on the Fort Garry Campus. Over the years, we have heard that “The Gritty Grotto” does not meet the needs of a community committed to healthy, active and sustainable living. As a result, we are now building a state-of-the-art Active Living Centre. We broke ground on that project in October. This spring we also saw the opening of the new stateof-the-art stadium, the Investors Group Field, where we will welcome the wider community to our campus as our Bisons Football team and the Bombers electrify the crowds. The enormous capacity for collaboration among faculty, staff, students and the broader community enabled our graduate students to shine at the University of Manitoba’s first-ever ThreeMinute Thesis (3MT®) competition late this winter. When I reflect on the past year, it becomes abundantly clear that the strength of this community is its people: remarkable individuals who meet and exceed the extraordinarily high standards you have set for yourselves and our community. While I am proud of what we have achieved over the last 136 years, I know the best days for the University of the Manitoba are ahead of us, thanks to all of you.
undeliverable copies Return with Canadian addresses to: The University of Manitoba Bulletin 137 Education Building, University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Phone 204-474 8111 Fax 204-474 7631 advertising The Bulletin welcomes advertising from within the university community as well as from the larger Winnipeg community. The publication is delivered directly to all University of Manitoba faculty and staff, and is additionally mailed to individual officials in provincial and federal government and at other universities and, upon request, to individuals formerly associated with or part of the university community. For more information, contact the editor. Publication schedule and advertising rates online at umanitoba.ca/bulletin/adrates
Advertising Policy With the exception of advertisements from the University of Manitoba, ads carried in The Bulletin do not imply recommendation by the university for the product or service. The Bulletin will not knowingly publish any advertisement which is illegal, misleading or offensive to its readers. The Bulletin will also reject any advertisement which violates the university’s internal policies, equity/human rights or code of conduct. online The Bulletin can be viewed online at umanitoba.ca/bulletin
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Page 3
Schulich Leader Scholarships awarded to upcoming U of M students Sean Moore The Bulletin
The other outstanding student winner is Ella Thomson. She will use her Schulich Leader Scholarship to study engineering at the U of M. She is also a recipient of a Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship from the U of M.
For the second year in a row, two upcoming U of M first-year students have each been awarded Schulich Leader Scholarships, a four-year award totaling $60,000.
Every Canadian high school, secondary school and CEGEP (in Quebec) could each nominate one student to be eligible to receive the scholarship. In the end, only 40 students could win this significant award, which will pay for their undergraduate degree at one of the 20 designated universities in Canada. This year there were 996 Schulich Leader Nominees across Canada. Of these students, 51 applied to the U of M, and only McKoy and Thomson were selected. McKoy will enter the Faculty of Engineering when he arrives at the U of M. He is a top recruit
Photo by Katie Chalmers-Brooks
Jayden McKoy, who recently graduated from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, and Ella Thomson, a new graduate of Balmoral Hall School, are the lucky ones.
Ella Thomson and Jayden McKoy, U of M winners of two Schulich Leader Scholarships. of the Bison Football team, receiving a Bison scholarship; he is also a gifted basketball player. In high school, he received the Harry Hood Memorial Award, the most prestigious honour in the Winnipeg High School Football League, given to someone who demonstrates upstanding character in academics and sport. McKoy
also graduated with a French Immersion Diploma and maintained outstanding grades. While in high school McKoy volunteered as a tutor in math and science, and coached a youth basketball team. While on student council he organized a penny drive for Free the Children, an international education charity.
From 2009 to 2013, Thomson placed first in the provincial Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge, and placed fourth in the national championships in 2012. She was a member of Team Canada at the World Public Speaking Championship in Australia in 2012, and in South Africa earlier this year. In Australia, her debating skills earned her a fourth place international ranking. These debating skills
also earned her the Arianna Meyers Award, which is given to a student who contributes most to Balmoral Hall’s debating program. She also won the Jacuzzi Family Scholarship for contributing the most to the school’s science program (she began a science club at her school for girls in Grades 6 to 8). During high school she not only volunteered at numerous organizations (and continues to volunteer at St. Amant), but she also completed four years of research in biosystems engineering at the U of M. She was investigating biofuel and bioplastic alternatives and reported on her work to members of government.
Vice-President’s term extended Joanne Keselman has agreed to a two-year extension of her term as Vice-President (academic) and Provost, to June 30, 2016. The extension was approved by the Board of Governors on June 25; Keselman has served in her position since January 2009. Her work, and that of her team, is central to the university’s implementation of the Strategic Planning Framework, particularly in the areas of academic enhancement, Indigenous achievement and the student experience.
campus news & Kudos Patricia Bovey, chair of the U of M Board of Governors, and Philippe Mailhot (BSc(hons)/77, PhD/86), director of Le Musée de St. Boniface Museum, were both appointed Fellows of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA). The CMA is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. Appointment as a Fellow is the highest form of recognition bestowed by the Canadian Museums Association. There can be no more than 50 Fellows at any time, and therefore inclusion in this order indicates significant accomplishment. There are currently 35 Fellows of the CMA. The University of Manitoba choral ensemble is a finalist in the Association of Canadian Choral Communities National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. They are competing in the category of Mixed-Voice Collegiate Choirs. Winners will be announced at Festival 500 Sharing the Voices, an international festival that began July 3 in St. John’s, NL. Now under the instruction of Elroy Friesen, associate professor in the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music, the U of M Singers previously won the CBC Radio National Amateur Choir Competition. You can hear them perform several of their song here: music.cbc.ca/#/artists/ Un i v e r s i t y - o f - M a n i t o b a Singers U of M Faculty of Music alumnus, 25-year old musician
and jazz drummer Curtis Nowosad, who will study at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music come September, snagged the $2,500 On the Rise Award that recognizes a promising artist in the city at the Winnipeg Arts Awards. It is the second year Nowosad has been nominated for the award at the annual Winnipeg Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts. Former Bison and Canadian Women’s National Team player Desiree Scott has been named a Team KidSport Athlete Ambassador for KidSport Winnipeg. Scott currently plays for FC Kansas City in the National Women’s Soccer League and won bronze as part of the team that competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. KidSport Winnipeg and Scott plan to hold a soccer camp for girls in October 2013. A new book published by two U of M graduates gives students advice on how to avoid accumulating huge amounts of debt while pursuing PSE. More Money for Beer and Textbooks offers tips on various ways to keep student loan debts down, while still enjoying the university experience. Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard, both 25, met in residence at the university. Eli Gotthilf, a U of M student, was selected for the Prairie region Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Scotiabank internship in public policy and entrepreneurship. He will spend the summer examining the red-tape burden on businesses across Manitoba and the residential-tocommercial property-tax gap in Saskatchewan.
A U of M student is living rentfree and attending some of the hottest festivals and events in the city this summer. Kayla Jeanson won the “Greatest Job in the City” contest to be Red River College’s blogger in residence. Jeanson, a film studies student, contemporary dancer and freelance videographer, will live in the Exchange District until August 16. While there, she will produce five stories a week on her experiences to showcase the unique area. The U of M’s ROSE program and financial services team have won the 2013 Western Regional Prize of the Quality and Productivity Awards for best practices. The award is presented annually by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). The U of M won for the transformation of its travel and expense reimbursement process to an integrated travel and business expense tool that works with the university’s finance system, allowing for the automation of processes including preparation, submission, reviewing, approving and payment of expense claims, as well as booking travel, improving customer service, and reducing travel costs and reimbursement time. CCAE (Canadian Council for Advancement in Education) Prix d’Excellence Awards were announced on June 9 and the U of M had an outstanding showing, with six winning entries. CCAE is the national industry association representing university and college advancement or external relations across the country and
the Prix d’Excellence receives hundreds of entries in over 30 categories at this annual event each year. The winners are as follows: Bronze in the category Best PR/Marketing/ Communications Initiative for the University of Manitoba 2012 Trailblazer Campaign; silver in the category Best Use of Social Media for the #Define Yourself Instagram Challenge; bronze in the category Best Brochure, Newsletter or Flyer for the Mini U Brochure; silver AND bronze in the category Best Print Ad or Poster for the 2012 Recruitment Campaign Billboards and Winnipeg Airport Pillars, respectively; and gold in the category for the Steve Kirby photo. The U of M also recently won a gold at the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards for its Recruitment Marketing Campaign.
Faculty trailblazing Professors Patricia Martens and Vaclav Smil have been chosen to join the Order of Canada. Patricia Martens is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine’s department of community health sciences and the director of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, an internationally acclaimed university-based research centre focused on population-based health services, public health and population health research. Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the department of environment and geography in the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, having retired from the U of M two years ago.
Patricia Martens was presented with the R.D. Defries Award by the Canadian Public Health Association at the association’s national annual conference. The award is the highest award of the association, presented annually in the form of a medal and citation for outstanding contributions in the broad field of public health and carries with it an honorary life membership. Martens is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine’s department of community health sciences and the director of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the U of M. Dietmar Straub and Anna Thurmayr, professors in the department of landscape architecture, Faculty of Architecture, and life partners, have won honours for a design project called “Hier und Dort” (“Here and There”). The two awards are an honourable mention for the Deutscher Landschaftsarchitektur Preis 2013 and for the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) Awards of Excellence 2013, a National Citation Award in the category “new directions.” Karine Levasseur, an assistant professor in political studies, has won the 2012 J.E. Hodgetts Award from the Institute of Public Administration in Canada for the best English article published in the prestigious Canadian Public Administration journal. The award will be presented at the IPAC national conference on August 18-21, 2013 in Montreal. Congratulations, faculty members!
Page 4
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
We’re with the band
U of M music students help celebrate new stadium Mariianne Mays Wiebe The Bulletin
A 32-piece U of M concert band played the Winnipeg Blue Bombers into their new stadium at the home opener on June 27. The band consisted of Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music students, and alumni, plus some high school band directors. They played a piece that John Williams composed for the 1984
Los Angeles Olympics opening ceremony at the north end of the stadium on the patio level. Fraser Linklater, who conducted the band, said that everyone was “very pleased” to have been asked, and that the performance at the event had a “community celebration feel” to it. The group had the bonus of a “great view” of the entire game and opening ceremony, he added.
The whole thing came about, interestingly enough, because of the Bombers’ Jerry Maslowsky’s connection to music. Maslowsky, who works as vice-president of marketing and brand development for the Bombers organization, used to be a singer and knew Linklater from their participation with the Chai Folk Ensemble. Linklater said that Maslowsky thought it would be “a great thing for the city and the
province to have involvement from the music program at the U of M.” The idea was for everyone to celebrate together, said Linklater. A 10-piece pep band comprised of U of M music students also played outside the stadium in front of Gates 2 and 3 — and will continue to be part of the football season. The plan is for the band to be made up of brass & percussion majors at the Faculty of Music and will also involve alumni when students are unable to play, said Richard Gillis, an associate professor in the faculty and the pep band’s leader.
Photo by PrairieView School of Photography
“Opening night was certainly exciting & everyone was pumped,” he said. “I borrowed some old marching band arrangements from Fort Richmond Collegiate and also wrote some simple arrangements for the group to improvise on. We will add more material as we go along.” “We were very pleased to be part of the Bombers’ first season in Winnipeg’s new stadium and feel honoured to have been asked to
collaborate,” adds Joan Linklater, associate dean of the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music. “We hope our musical contributions, both the opening game Concert Band and the Pep Band, will enhance the experience for everyone, and we look forward to being part of this mutually beneficial relationship between the University of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.” “Go Bombers Go!”
Performance schedule for 10-piece pep band:
• Fri., July 19: 6:00 p.m. start time (7:00 game time) • Fri., July 26: 6:00 p.m. start time (7:00 game time) • Fri., Aug. 16: 6:00 p.m. start time (7:00 game time) • Sun., Sept. 8: 1:30 start time (3:00 p.m. game time) • Fri., Sept. 20: 6:00 p.m. start time (7:00 game time) • Fri., Sept. 27: 6:00 p.m. start time (7:00 game time)
Left: Fraser Linklater conducts the 32-piece U of M student orchestra that opened the Bomber season
• Sat., Oct. 19: 1:30 p.m. start time (2:30 game time)
Nairobi and various safari tours. Although there is no one “real Africa,” spending five weeks in a rural town like Bunda certainly changed my idea of Africa. Memories of traffic jams, black diesel smoke and police road checks have been replaced with classrooms, markets and the CPAR Bunda office. I definitely felt like more of a part of the community in Bunda, although we stood out way more than I did in Nairobi. Although I like to joke that I am really an African on the inside, for the last five weeks I really did feel like an
African, although somewhat paler and more sunburnt than your average Tanzanian. I had the goal of changing how Tanzania sees women;I ended up changing my view of Tanzania.
• Sat., Nov. 2: 12:00 p.m. start time (1:00 game time)
Karibu tena — welcome again! Left: U of M students Nadine Kaefer, Jennifer Hearn and Lydia Gindy with CPAR people in Tanzania and other participants in the five-week Badili Mtizamo program. Top right: Lydia Gindy teaches in Tanzania.
Mariianne Mays Wiebe The Bulletin
This year, three U of M students travelled to Tanzania for an annual five-week program called Badili Mtizamo — Girl Power! Badili Mtizamo is Swahili for “change the way you see things.” The theme of this year’s program is ‘”Girl Power!” and is designed to deliver a curriculum on gender equity, leadership and health to secondary school boys and girls in the Karatu District of Tanzania. This five-week project is supervised by Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) in parnership with the U of M’s International Centre for Students (ICS). During their time with the program, students are required to keep a blog in order to report and reflect on their work. One of those students was Nadine Keafer, a third year
medical student at the U of M. Prior to entering medical school, Nadine received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa in 2005 and with a Master of Science degree in Medical Microbiology at the University of Manitoba in 2009. She also completed the Space Studies Program at the International Space University in Barcelona, Spain in 2008. After graduation from medical school, Kaefer plans to pursue a career in Family Medicine with a focus on Child & Maternal Health. What follows is her final blog entry. Karibu tena
On our last day here in Bunda, it is hard to believe we have already spent five weeks in Tanzania. Yesterday some CPAR staff and the Badili team went to Musoma for some reflection and relaxation by
Lake Victoria. One question we kept coming back to was if we thought we made a difference, and if making a difference was important. I found that a particularly difficult question. It is very difficult to measure change in a program like ours. As Alan Kaplan said, measuring change with a program like this “is like holding infinity.” From my mission statement, the difference I wanted to make was to help empower and educate women. In hindsight, my goals were both overly ambitious and immeasurable. We certainly contributed to the education of both young men and women, but it is impossible to determine if they were changed or empowered. When asked if they learned something, most students replied “yes,” but it is difficult to determine if they actually did learn something or if they were being polite. Of course, the purpose of the Badili Mtizamo program wasn’t just about “making a difference,” it was about changing the way we involved in the program see things. Although I can only speak for myself, I think we all have changed our view in some way. For me, the biggest change was viewing Africa beyond
And now I must add a few final words now that I am back in Canada. Words cannot describe how much I will miss our new family at CPAR. Many tears were shed at our last dinner as a group. Good-byes are always hard, but thankfully there is a better phrase often used in Tanzania at partings – Karibu tena (“welcome again”).
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Page 5
Truth, reconciliation and the path forward The National Research Centre at the U of M From the heartbreak of the Residential School System comes new hope for reconciliation and healing. Stories shared by thousands of former students will find a permanent home at the University of Manitoba. The university is honoured to be chosen by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) to host a National Research Centre on Residential Schools. The University of Manitoba joined hands with
communities across Canada on June 21, National Aboriginal Day, for the signing of this historic agreement. The U of M will play a key role in the preservation of all statements, documents and other materials collected during the Commission’s five-year mandate. The centre supports the TRC’s aim to inform all Canadians about what happened in the 150year history of the Residential
School System, and to guide and inspire a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect. The National Research Centre will be located on the U of M campus and will house thousands of video- and audiorecorded statements from Survivors and others affected by the schools and their legacy; millions of archival documents and photographs from the
Government of Canada and Canadian church entities; works of art, artifacts and other expressions of reconciliation presented at TRC events; and research collected and prepared by the Commission. The U of M is committed to Indigenous achievement and to making Manitoba a centre of excellence for Indigenous education and research. We encourage debate and discussion
The spark to light a fire: U of M entrusted to house TRC National Research Centre come. The song was almost over. At the very last moment, the tiny spark took, as the three of us fanned the grass and tinder.”
Photo by Dan Gwozdz
For Sinclair, the difficulty of the task was a sign from the spirit not only of how much work the TRC and reconciliation will take, but also that it will take everyone working together. “It will take all of us. We cannot give up, and we cannot give up on each other,” he said.
Inuit Elder Levinia Brown lights the ceremonial traditional seal oil lantern (qulliq). Mariianne Mays Wiebe The Bulletin
The historic document-signing ceremonies that took place on June 21 sealed the university’s position as the new research centre of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). The event was the culmination in a long process of preparation that can be traced back to the U of M’s statement of apology to the TRC by President Barnard on behalf of the university. The spark represented by that apology had already been fanned by much of what came earlier at U of M — years of building and investing in Aboriginal scholarship, capacity and access to education and training, and a renewed commitment to Aboriginal scholarship and education through the U of M’s Strategic Planning Framework. The U of M Statement of Apology and Reconciliation, given in October 2011, was one step in the university’s ongoing commitment to Aboriginal scholarship and education, as outlined in its Strategic Planning Framework. Pillar three of
four states that the university’s goal is “Advancing Aboriginal education by providing students with the tools they need to be successful and reinforcing the University of Manitoba’s role as a national centre for Aboriginal scholarship.” From spark to flame: It takes everyone to build a fire It didn’t come easy. The fire that burned throughout the document-signing ceremonies didn’t want to light at first, said Niigaan Sinclair in an address at the morning pipe and water
ceremonies that started the day. Sinclair, who is a lecturer in the Native studies department, was there as one of the younger representatives of the Aboriginal community. The fire was meant to invoke the grandfather spirit to oversee and bless the proceedings, he said. “We started the song to accompany the lighting of the fire, but the spark could not come. “The brother that was lighting the fire was joined first by me and then by another brother,” he continued, “and still it could not
The TRC flame symbol A flame was chosen as an appropriate symbol to represent the TRC Commission. In every culture stories are told around a flame, a campfire, a candle. The flame illuminates the darkness and has transformative properties. This could be interpreted as one of the most important aspects of the TRC, to shed light on a past that has been hidden away in the darkness for far too long. It is the hope that the TRC will be a transformative instrument in healing, reconciliation and recording history, while also assisting to renew and rebuild the relationship between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal peoples.
Much work has already taken place in preparation as U of M becomes the permanent host of a National Research Centre (NRC) which will house the statements, documents and other materials gathered by the commission during its five-year mandate. Those historic documents, which U of M representatives, TRC officials, residential school survivors, media and staff, faculty and students of the university had gathered to see signed, were referred to several times
around the understanding of human rights, peace and justice, and respect for others. In our proposal to host the National Research Centre, we emphasized local, regional and national partnerships; meaningful Survivor and community engagement; a solid governance model; worldclass archival expertise and facilities; privacy and access expertise; public education and awareness; and financial stability.
throughout the day as “trust documents.” “Before, when we shared information about ourselves,” said Carl Stone, who works at the Aboriginal Student Centre housed in Migizii Agamik (Bald Eagle Lodge), where the sacred pipe and water ceremonies took place, “it was used against us. Now it will give life for all people.” Elder Wally Swain, who also spoke at the ceremonies that preceded the document signing, told the gathered crowd that the ceremony signified the living nature of the TRC/NRC process. “This is a continuation of the ceremony that began this process,” he said. “It is alive and follow-through must happen, in order for this these lives — the sacred beings who went to residential schools, some never to return — to be honoured, to be held sacred. For these documents to have their own sacred place.”
The Sacred Ceremonies in relation to U of M’s NRC proposal When the University of Manitoba was ready to submit the proposal to host the National Research Centre on Residential schools to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Sacred Water and Pipe Ceremonies took place to ask that the proposal be sent off and received in a positive manner. The Spirit was invoked in this document. The proposal is attached to Spirit, and what was asked for is now here. The Spirit continues to be part of this process, as we are honoured that the knowledge from the National Research Centre on Residential Schools will be coming to the University of Manitoba.
U of M statement of apology and reconciliation In October 2011, University of Manitoba President David Barnard issued a statement of apology and reconciliation to former residential school survivors and their descendants. He acknowledged that the U of M “failed to recognize or challenge the forced assimilation of Aboriginal peoples and the subsequent loss of their language, culture and traditions.” One of the U of M’s strategic objectives is advancing Indigenous achievement and “reinforcing the U of M’s role as a national centre for Aboriginal scholarship.” Mindful of our past, we approach this task with humility and openness. (From the U of M NRC bid proposal.)
Page 6
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Truth, reconciliation and the path forward
Photo by Dan Gwozdz
‘A sacred trust’: The signing of the documents
Elder Wally Swain, Elder Levinia Brown, Elder Florence Paynter, Chief Wilton Littlechild, TRC commissioner, Marie Wilson, TRC commissioner, Justice Murray Sinclair, head of TRC, David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor, Rod Bruinooge, MP, Winnipeg South, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, Phil Fontaine, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (behind) and Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (research and international). Sean Moore The Bulletin
The materials to be collected and housed in the NRC are a “sacred trust,” said Justice Murray Sinclair in his address during the document-signing event on June 21. The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has chosen the University of Manitoba to become the permanent host of a National Research Centre to house the statements, documents and other materials gathered by the Commission during its fiveyear mandate.
“Knowing that the TRC’s mandate ends one year from now, we knew we needed something ongoing,” TRC Chair Justice Murray Sinclair told the roughly 300 people gathered to witness the historic moment. “Part of that obligation is being
assumed here at the U of M. It began with the President’s apology in October 2011, an academic institution taking responsibility for their part in the education [and assimilation process],” he said. “That was a factor that showed us that there was a very strong commitment here to truth and reconciliation, and the proposal by the U of M stood head and shoulders above the other proposals because it was also national in its scope.”
he added that the proposal of the University of Manitoba and its partners to host the research centre “demonstrated a strong commitment to Aboriginal peoples and governance, the highest standard of digital preservation, long-term public access and the protection of privacy. Its current and pending partnerships for this project ensure that the records of the Commission will be accessible across Canada.”
The announcement was just made at a Signing Ceremony at the University of Manitoba, Manitoba’s only researchintensive post-secondary institute. The U of M is committed to Indigenous Achievement and to making Manitoba a Centre of Excellence for Indigenous education and research.
David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Manitoba, said: “The heartbreaking impact of the Indian Residential School system on First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples and cultures represents one of the most tragic human rights failures in Canadian history. The University of Manitoba is deeply committed to human rights research and promotion. It takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that the oral and written history collected by the TRC is respectfully preserved, helps contribute to the healing of our society, and is accessible for use in teaching and research so the grave mistakes of the past are not repeated.”
Justice Sinclair told Survivors, dignitaries and community representatives that the National Research Centre “has the potential to carry on the work and spirit of Truth and Reconciliation long after the Commission closes its doors in June of 2014.” Speaking on behalf of his fellow Commissioners, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson,
Excerpts from Justice Sinclair’s speech
Education and the path forward
Justice Murray Sinclair, head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
“It’s an important day for us at the TRC. I need to remark upon the fact that when we have a TRC gathering, there is always someone in the room who doesn’t know why we have a TRC. Imagine what it would be like if someone came to your communities and took away all the children and grandchildren, and stopped them from learning your language and culture.” The residential schools system was wrong, he stated. “It was wrong then, and it’s been acknowledged now. It was devastating. First Nations peoples lost their sense of identity, their sense of self, their sense of direction and their sense of spirit. “They had no idea who there were. They tried hard. We tried hard, many of us at great cost to our sense of self. Reconciliation will be a hard thing to achieve, but remember that residential schools were around for 150 years. It may take that long for the reconciliation process. “It will involve changing the way we educate our children, and the way we think about ourselves as Canadians, the way we are Canadians. What does it mean to be Canadian in the context of this story?” he asked.
What is reconciliation? “Reconciliation is about ‘What can we do about this now? What can we do about the fact that all this damage has been created?’ One of the first steps in that process is to understand that it wasn’t just Aboriginal children who have been damaged by this history; all Canadians have been damaged by it. This is not just an Aboriginal problem. At the same time those children were being placed in institutions and being educated that they were inferior and they came from inferior cultures and irrelevant languages, non-Aboriginal children in the public schools of this country were being told the same thing. And inadvertently, unconsciously, and perhaps unintentionally but perhaps intentionally as well, they were being taught to believe in the superiority of their own ancestors, the superiority of their own culture, the superiority of their own communities, and that therefore they had a right to be there, they had a right to govern, they had a right to be in charge. At one of our gatherings, a Survivor stood up and responded to a question about what reconciliation means, and he said, ‘I’m not sure, but I sure wish these people would stop acting like they own the place. They need to talk to us about where we
fit into that ownership question. “Reconciliation is going to be a hard thing to achieve. But remember this: Residential Schools were in existence for 150 years almost. It may take us that long to fix all of this, in order to address it properly. But it begins by acknowledging what the vision of reconciliation must be, and where it must take us. And as Commissioners we have agreed we must look towards reestablishing a relationship of mutual respect which would have been here at the time of first contact. When Europeans first came to this part of the world, they needed Indigenous peoples in order to survive.They needed Indigenous people in order to understand what they were able to do, how they were able to live on this land, and in order for that to happen, there had to have been a relationship of mutual respect. Reconciliation calls upon us to move back into that direction.”
The NRC as a reminder to all Canadians “The NRC will serve as a constant reminder to all future Canadians. Rather than forgetting or denying this occurred, it will stand as a testament. Knowing that the TRC’s mandate ends one year from now, we knew that we needed something ongoing. Though reconciliation will be a long, difficult process,
Photo by Dan Gwozdz
The past of residential schools and educating forward
someone has to take care of those documents in the meantime, and continue to collect those stories. Over 6,000 documents have already been collected.”
A Sacred Trust: The U of M, reconciliation and NRC “Part of that obligation is being assumed here at the U of M. It began with the President’s apology in October 2011, an academic institution taking responsibility for their part in the education [and assimilation process] … That was a factor that showed us that there was a very strong commitment here to truth and reconciliation, and the proposal by the U of M stood
Justice Murray Sinclair. head and shoulders above the other proposals because it was also national in its scope. The documents we will be signing here today are trust documents. When we began the [TRC] commission it was with the sense of it being a sacred trust, and it is hoped that the same sense of sacred trust will be carried forward [in housing the NRC at the U of M].” >>To read all of Justice Sinclair’s speech, go to: umanitoba.ca/about/trc.html
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Page 7
Truth, reconciliation and the path forward
RESPONSES During the ceremonies, many speakers were called on to reflect upon the historic moment. Here is what some had to say. Elder Garry Robinson (also Elder-in-Residence at U of M) “Going through all my trouble in my early life,” said Elder Garry Robinson, “I believe that I was a survivor — because I was surviving day by day. There were the old people [elders] who put me back together, who opened it up to see what was inside there. And then to close it up again. ‘Someone who got on with living,’ that’s what I want for our people.
He reiterated the significance of the survivor records and the place that will house them: “Now for us to have this place for us to able to sound this voice again, for our young people who are coming up, so that they can see the footprints of their grandmothers, grandfathers, fathers and mothers, aunties and uncles,” he said.
Phil Fontaine, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations “This has been a pretty happy day. I want to acknowledge the strength and the incredible resilience of the survivors and following generations. I am so glad to be a small part of that journey; we still have a long distance to travel.”
Photo by Ian McCausland
Robinson also spoke about how he lost a brother who had been through the residential school experience. “I’ve seen it, someone who ran all his life, trying to get rid of the memory.”
Elder Levinia Brown On residential schools: “This was a painful experience, giving trust to look after the children, putting our children in the hands of trusted adults. But it didn’t happen like that. Our hearts were broken.”
Elder Florence Paynter (also Elder-in-Residence at the U of M) Elder Florence Paynter thanked the “people who made it possible for peoples’ voices to be believed.” She told about her own experience of residential schools: “When we would leave for school on Sundays, Mother was not able to face us. I didn’t know it as a child, but she was a survivor herself,” she said. “I know that I carry those ancestral teachings with me, that were so much a part of our lives before residential schools. We still dream about those places; we still go back to those places when something triggers a memory,” she said. “It means a lot to us who are on this journey; we want to thank you for your tears for us, because we weren’t allowed to cry then.”
Marie Wilson, commissioner, TRC “I am so pleased that this milestone is being marked on a sacred day, the solstice and National Aboriginal Day. We are here to acknowledge what we have begun to no longer deny.” Referring to the quilt that was given to U of M officials, she said, “We are not giving a blanket, but giving a trust.”
Chief Wilton Littlechild, commissioner, TRC “This series of ceremonies is to show the sacred trust of this work. As commissioners, we committed to that work and held it as a sacred trust.” He spoke about the unmarked graves of those who died at residential schools, the ones that went missing. As part of the commission, he continued, “we invited a child spirit to help us in our work.” So far, it’s been noted that there were 4,135 children who died, he said.
Conversation about the National Research Centre to be housed at U of M Laara Fitznor: [The documentsigning event] is not really a wrap-up; it’s one step of the many part of the journey, that [all of this] has come together.
Deborah Young, left, co-chair of the second phase of the NRC initiative, and executive lead, Indigenous achievement and Laara Fitznor, right, co-chair of the proposal committee, and a professor in the Faculty of Education, spoke with The Bulletin’s editor, Mariianne Mays Wiebe, about the U of M housing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) National Research Centre (NRC). They were asked about the proposal writing process by the bid committee, the implications of winning the bid for the U of M going forward, and their personal reactions to the document-signing event.
The bid committee … had several meetings over a couple of years, working meetings to see what sections people might pool up, offer up, based on their expertise and research and desire. We had some good writers from Karen Busby’s area. There was a lot of checking back and forth; there were always points of clarification that were needed, about the bid committee and what our hopes and desires were, without losing sight of what the TRC wanted, and the good sensibilities of survivors and archivists … when you think about all those pieces … I would say that there was a lot of thoughtful, deep discussion, a lot of dialogue. I don’t like calling
them debates. A lot of dialogue and a lot of recognition that we needed to work with a deep ethics, of why we’re doing what we’re doing. People were very caring. The final stages were kind of exciting too, pulling things together and seeing something begin to take shape — our hopes and desires and desires for it to be accepted by the TRC. Bulletin: Deborah, do you have anything to add, about what the NRC proposal process was like, or what your role was? Deborah Young: Well, I’ve been here for two years, and I came into the committee probably six months into it, and as you can tell from what Laara shared, the work of the committee was already well advanced. They were working over the span of four years, these ideas were being
cultivated and formulated. The committee became formalized two years ago. Fitznor: Even more than two years ago, because it has been a year since the submission, and the committee worked in collaboration two years before that, so it’s going on four years. And the thing is with this [centre], it gets formalized within an institution but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t doing work on our respective teaching and connection with community service and research into residential schools. Bulletin: Can you say more about that, about it now being housed in a large educational institution? I’m sure that there are some mixed feelings about that as well. continued on p.8
Page 8
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Truth, reconciliation and the path forward
Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven By W.B. Yeats Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. President Barnard addresses the audience at the document-signing event. He read a poem by W.B. Yeats in honour of the occasion.
Comments from the U of M community
I am pleased to support my students’ research and having the records available for them will be beneficial. My personal opinion is that the tragedy of our history stands as a lesson and more for all Canadians. My father was a residential school survivor and I was taught to see our resilience and our potential which I proudly share in my research. My dad also said, let the wounds heal so some of us don’t talk about it. That’s best. He taught me that we are much more than our problems, pain and suffering. We have overcome much and the future is ours.
Karen Busby, participant in NRC proposal preparation, professor, Faculty of Law, and director, Centre for Human Rights Research One of the biggest challenges facing Canada today is how to foster achievement in Indigenous people, especially the youth. Indigenous students and scholars thrive in institutions were they are respected for the cultural knowledge they bring and where such knowledge (including respect for community history) is nurtured. The very presence of the NRC at U of M and on other campus sends an empowering message of welcome and respect. Moreover, the NRC’s research and outreach will ensure that other Canadians cannot forget the terrible injustice foisted on generations of Indigenous children, their families and their communities. But the NRC’s work will also help to pave a path to reconciliation, to living together respectfully. Indigenous faculty and staff at the U of M have been involved in planning for the university’s bid from the beginning. Signed Indigenous partners in the bid as submitted included the University College of the North and two national organizations, the National Association of Friendship Centres and Legacy of Hope. Since we were identified as the preferred bidder, we have reached out to more organizations and we anticipate signing partnership MOUs with them. U of M committed from the beginning to ensuring that that NRC governance committee membership would be predominately Indigenous and these requirements are built into the agreements between the TRC and the U of M.
Conversation, continued from p.7
is, this has an impact.
Fitznor: Sure, there would be. If you talk to survivors at the ground level, they may make critical remarks, and it’s hard not to agree with them. Our faculty had a retreat once at one of the convents, Villa Maria. I’ve never been at residential school but I walked into the meeting and my body went weird, I think because I’ve heard so many stories from friends and family, and the way they would describe it, like floors that were spic-and-span shiny, like there’s no lived-in feeling — and the way my body experienced it, my being there. I had shared it with a couple of my colleagues, that it struck me that this would have an effect on survivors. And if you want to be a feeling person, you have some compassion and commitment to the depth of how people can get hurt and whatever the oppression
So getting back to your question, I think, yes, that would be their angst about it. We have to find ways to make changes at all levels, multiple sites, multiple perspectives, multiple disciplines. It can’t be just in one place, and that’s one of the things we had talked about: to ensure that we have a number of organizations and groups involved. Bulletin: That’s something that really impressed me about that document [the NRC proposal] — how many organizations and partnerships are already lined up there. Fitznor: We had lots and lots of discussion about that, and the importance of that. Bulletin: So there’s less of a sense of it being housed someplace or, of course, in any sense, being “owned” by an institution, and
Event photos by Dan Gwozdz
Wanda Wuttunee, professor, department of Native studies, Faculty of Arts, and director, Aboriginal Business Education Partners, Asper School of Business
Harvy Frankel, dean, Faculty of Social Work Housing the TRC NRC at the University of Manitoba will put us at the centre of research on Aboriginal residential schools in Canada and their impact on generation of Indigenous and non-Indigeneous peoples. It includes a responsibility to work in partnership with Canada’s Indigenous peoples as the holders of peoples’ life stories and lived experiences. Standing with Deborah Young, Elder Gary Robson, and President Bernard as President Bernard delivered the University of Manitoba’s apology at the Truth & Reconciliation meeting in Halifax [in October 2011] was a deeply moving experience. It emphasized the responsibility of the Academy to be accountable for what we do and fail to do. At the recent announcement of the TRC/NRC I was pleased to hear Justice Sinclair speak of the importance of that apology as a contributing factor to our success in being granted this important responsibility. Not only is this an honour for the University of Manitoba, it is also a solemn responsibility.
Young: This is part of our, the university’s, journey towards reconciliation, but also …
levels of oppression. So for us, for David [Barnard] to be making a public statement like this, that’s in many ways taking a big risk. People may not be on the same page as he is about it, or they prefer to keep it quiet, or keep it under wraps, or deal with it but not in such a public arena. I think it’s been good.
Fitznor: Also making it a public declaration. If I can just add, the things that have been important for me, is seeing the public statements that have been made. Whether it was the United Nations making the declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, I get my students to read those, because they go in-depth. If you want to do something with programming, just read that! What rights are and about reclaiming the language and recognition of
Fitznor: Trying to convince others that it’s real … As a professor in education, I need this kind of thinking to help students move forward, not just me…. So it becomes a shared responsibility and a shared desire. Because it may be a responsibility but people may
more of a sense of it, first of all, being a “stewardship,” I think was the word used, and just being a shared resource and responsibility. Deborah, do you have anything to say about that part of it?
Bulletin: Yes, it’s been an education for me too, since I’ve started working here, almost four years ago, and since that time I’ve attended many different events.
not desire to do it, so there’s resistance. One of the things that we’ve talked about is having allies, so that it’s not just Aboriginal people working alone, so that we’re gaining and working with allies, alongside. You would hope that people have the same shared value of community and non-oppression. There are so many things with the Canadian Charter — if you look at that and see what happened in history — that can’t continue to happen. Young: The residential school experience, although it deeply impacted our communities, it’s a Canadian experience. It’s a Canadian experience that impacts all of us, not just our First Nations people. It’s a non-Aboriginal issue as well. It impacts everyone — and our history, interpretation of
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
Page 9
Truth, reconciliation and the path forward Shelley Sweeney, co-chair of the NRC, phase 2, participant in NRC proposal preparation, and head, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
The Water is Wide by The Edmund Partridge Community School’s Grade 8 Choir The water is wide, I can’t cross o’er And neither have I wings to fly Build me a boat that can carry two And both shall row, my friend and I
The Edmund Partridge Community School Grade 8 Choir sang two songs to end the event. Facing page, above left: The standing-room-only crowd at the event on June 21. Facing page, below left: TRC Commissioners Chief Wilton Littlechild, Marie Wilson and Justice Murray Sinclair present a quilt to U of M officials Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (research and international) and President David Barnard (not pictured). The quilt is part of the Living Healing Quilt Project commissioned by the TRC, a tribute to Residential School Survivors by survivors and coordinated by Alice Williams of Curve Lake First Nations. The project brought together Inuit, Metis and First Nation survivors who contributed quilted squares which were then sewn together.
Carla Loewen, University 1, Cree from Mathias Colomb By gaining the National Research Centre the University of Manitoba has the privilege of caring for residential school survivor documents. It is a momentous undertaking that will not be easy, but with so many dedicated people who believe in carrying this forward, I know it will be done well. I knew attending the event would be difficult, but was not expecting to be instantly overwhelmed by the emotional atmosphere in the room. It was hard not to cry through the whole event. It is so important that more people learn about the residential school experience so that we can experience these feelings together and be able to talk about it.
As an educator of archivists in the Archival Studies MA program in the history department, my work with the TRC/NRC project has been the most enlightening and fulfilling archival project I have worked on in my 35 year archival career. It has been a privilege to learn from Aboriginal people on campus, at the Commission, and among Residential School survivors about how profoundly important this archives is. This has also brought home what is often less well understood about archives. They are not simply about keeping history as something static, past, or ‘over’, but about making history today, or about shaping significantly places such as universities and our wider society. The TRC archives can be a powerful force for a historic transformation of both the University of Manitoba and of Manitoba and Canada as places where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people can build a better future together.
history. It impacts how we act as individuals, as a family and how we act as a community member. It all has implications, right across the spectrum. Bulletin: Deborah, what do you see as the wider implications for this being housed here? Reading some of the vision statements in the proposal, and how it envisions people coming here [to the university] not only to do the kind of scholarly work here, but also doing personal research. Young: Absolutely. And I view it not as implications, but as opportunities. “Implications” is a very … Fitznor: Oppressive Young: Yes, an oppressive word. So I tend to view it as opportunities that are coming towards our university, and are
indelible not just to our survivors and Aboriginal community but the larger population as well. The importance of the National Research Centre — and I suspect that it will be renamed, that we’ll go through a naming ceremony.
the government archives, the church archives, archives that are existing within our communities, and the personal, oral stories that some of our survivors are carrying with them and are yet to be shared. So, for me, yes, it is
Young: ‘We’re talking about a living institute, a living, alive institute that’s holding sacred teachings.’
For me on a personal level — I’m all for research, but this is a collection of the stories of my people, of our people and they need to be treated with respect, with integrity, and I view each of the stories as containing the spirit or the soul of the person who is choosing to share those stories with us. And it’s either through those oral testaments, the personal statements that the TRC has been gathering over the last five years, or the stories that we are finding in the archives —
Part of the implication is that it really does give a stronger emphasis on Indigenization and the development of appreciation and interest in Indigenous issues — and given that it is one of the four pillars of the university, it’s quite important, knowing how residential schools have affected not just those who attended but all of the children and grandchildren and so on, and how they were affected by this tragic and genocidal activity. For the university, I think it’s a way of orienting ourselves to Indigenous issues that have affected our community in Canada. On an international scale, it provides us an opportunity to train Aboriginal archivists and through working with these records, they will gain insight into some of the issues about preservation, access, privacy and so on and will be able to use those both within Canada but also abroad if they want to work with Indigenous populations there. ‘I could suddenly see that there is a way forward.’
Tom Nesmith, participant in NRC proposal preparation and associate professor, department of history, Faculty of Arts
Conversation, continued from p.8
I think it’s a critical development in orienting the university towards a human rights bent. When you’re talking about human rights on an international scale, it really does come down to the records: what can be proved, and so the research implications for our research scholars and students and of course for the Indigenous communities in Canada, is extremely significant. It allows a lot of research but then the other part of the TRC/NRC is that we’ll be able to provide information to students, to teachers for the development of curriculum, that we can also provide information not only to the Indigenous community, but also the non-Indigenous community and the rest of Canada, to let them know what has happened with the residential schools.
research, but it is so much more than that. We’re talking about a living institute, a living, alive institute that’s holding sacred teachings. And that’s how I tend to view the national research centre. It’s something that’s very personal for me. You have the bid; the bid is now done and now we are moving into the next phase, the development of the centre itself. The beginning part of that phase was June 21, the signing ceremony.
I attended the event and found that it was very moving, certainly the speeches that people gave spoke to how important it was for the community, but I thought when the students started singing that was sort of a zap to the heart. I just thought, you know, it’s tragic and terrible, but I could suddenly see that there is a way forward. It was a beautiful group of kids, and they just looked so hopeful. They couldn’t have picked two better songs. Maybe it was with the speeches having already taken place, but when they sang, it really spoke well beyond what they had to say. It just seemed laden with meaning and they were able to convey that. [The Edmund Partridge Community School’s Grade 8 Choir sung two songs: One was the English Folk Song called “The Water is Wide” recorded by many singers, including James Taylor and Eva Cassidy; the second was a song by contemporary recording artist Bruno Mars, “Count on Me”). To see all of them, Filipino students and Vietnamese students and Caucasian students and Aboriginal students, all standing there singing together was very affecting. To me, that sort of summed it all up: It’s not just for the Aboriginal students, it’s not just for the non-Aboriginal students, it’s for the entire community and the future.
Bulletin: Yes, thanks, both of you, for making that clarification. It’s one part in a much bigger process. I see a lot of good will coming from the administration that’s in place now — not that I think it wasn’t there before, though I know less about the administration that was here before I started this position — but to what extent is that key? Or what role does that play in all of this, do you think? Fitznor: [Laughs.] That’s the biggest key you could ever find. In all my years of teaching and looking at what needs to happen, if you don’t get that support — that’s the teeth to make it happen. If you don’t have the policy support, the policies and the declarations, and making it unapologetic: these are the issues and we shouldn’t have to apologize that we “have” to talk about this. I’ve been here
since 1982, off and on, except for a five-year span when I went to teach at the University of Toronto, so I’ve seen a lot of starts. Different administrations will have different ideas of what will or should happen, but with this administration, its goals and Strategic Planning Framework that articulates goals in it, it makes it a lot more “real.” I was going to say “easier,” but that’s not necessarily true, but it makes it more real. Even for a faculty to be talking about it, it’s more real when the goal is embedded within the institution. So in a sense, it’s not just an initiative led by a faculty member and when that person leaves, so does that really neat project. Once it’s instituted, it becomes part of the culture of the institution, and it makes it easier to ensure that these things will continue.
Page 10
The Bulletin | July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
U of M at the Fringe
Murder on the menu and other offerings from U of M alumni, staff and Faculty of Arts students Daniel Tompkins, Daniel Chen, Sarah Putnam, Kevin Ramberran, Joshua Banman and Darcy Fehr. Faculty member Robert Smith is also in the cast.
Joshua Banman (Brandon), left, and Kevin Ramberran (Phillip) in Rope, presented by The 28th Minute and directed by Rhodes Scholar Thomas Toles. Mariianne Mays Wiebe The Bulletin
A play version of Hitchcock’s creepy film Rope is one of many Fringe Festival plays mounted this year by U of M students and alumni. The discomfitting script exploits the gap between stage and audience as two young men “with refined taste for music, literature and homicide ... indulge themselves in the ultimate Nietzschean fantasty by strangling the life out of a former classmate whom they take to be an inferior being,” as the play notes read. After the murder, audience members become uneasy participants at a posh dinner party — complete with a feast served on the dead man’s coffiin — thrown by our two charming murderers in their quest to “make their work of art a masterpiece.” U of M Rhodes Scholar Thomas Toles directs as part of the 28th Minute company, and the play features eight other current or former U of M students in its cast, including Caitlin Belton,
Says Toles, “It is daunting but rewarding to be directing such a difficult show mostly on my own! It has been extremely rewarding to work with so many people I enjoy and respect from the Black Hole Theatre Company.” Having previously co-directed a play (last year’s Orphans), Toles says that the main things he tries to keep in mind as a director are “to encourage actors to feel comfortable and flexible, and to try many different things while blending their skills and ideas.” Though it’s a “hugely daunting task” to be in Hitchcock’s shadow, says Toles, “we want to do our own version of a script that we find irresistibly moving, funny, suspenseful and disturbing.
“We try to find humour in the drama and unusual moments that can complicate the moral questions of the show.”
Three on a Bench is directed by U of M Black Hole Theatre alum Matthew Legacé and its cast features two other former Black Holers, Vicki Rutkowski and Cynthia Heibert-Simkin, along with current student Jeff Homer. Alumna Meaghan Labossière stage-manages the production. Three on a Bench, says Legacé, is a comedy by Doris Estrada about “misunderstandings, love and human nature. Set in a park on a lovely spring day, Harry and Betty discover what can happen when one wrong comment or look can almost destroy a relationship.” The rehearsal that took place in Assiniboine Park was a highlight, Legacé says. “It was lovely day and we spent an early evening working on this wonderful show outside in the fresh air. Definitely one of my favorite moments.”
On June 13, it was my pleasure to take part in the Extended Education Graduation Ceremony, at which we celebrated 487 graduates from Extended Education certificate programs. The total includes 441 graduates from Continuing Education programs (of which 61 are in the Canadian Institute of Management program, and for whom a CIM grad took place June 15), 36 from English Languages and International’s CTESL program, and 10 from Aboriginal Focus Programs. This graduating class is the largest in the seven years I’ve served as Extended Education’s Dean, and we have great reason to be proud of our students, our staff, and our programs. At the UM Spring Convocation on May 30th, we also celebrated the following achievements of our students: Aboriginal Focus Programs: 11 graduates in the Aboriginal Community Wellness Diploma program; and 1 graduate from the Aboriginal Child and Family Services Diploma program. Access Programs: seven
Canadian playwright George F. Walker, Better than Bong Water, Phoney Baloney Pantalone, Dog Act, Winnipeg is Beautiful, Better Looking Boys, Offices, Fire Woman, Raising Roger and Shakey Must Die.
Television and Error by Three Beggars Company features two plays for the price of one. Both written by U of M alumnus, new playwright Logan Stefanson, the dark comedies are directed by another former student, Daniel J. Tompkins.
Phoney Baloney Pantalone and Winnipeg is Beautiful play at the Kids Venue.
Other U of M offerings include Kissing Sweet by the playwright John Guare, Tom Noonan’s The Wife, Comedy Plus Time Equals Tragedy, The Broken Ballerina, Adult Entertainment by
______________________ Rope, Three on a Bench, Television and Error, Better than Bong Water and Shakey Must Die all play at Venue #4 — Alloway Hall, 190 Rupert Ave. (Manitoba Museum). Tickets are $10 ($8 for students). Strange Day at the Fringe, Adult Entertainment, Fire Woman and Raising Roger play at Venue #3 — the Playhouse Studio, 180 Market Avenue.
Dog Act plays at Venue #1 (John Hirsh Mainstage); Better Looking Boys plays at Venue #2; Offices plays at Venue #1. The Broken Ballerina plays at Venue #9 (Shaw Performing Arts Centre MTYP, 2 Forks Market Rd.). >>See winnipegfringe.com for showtimes
New Electronic Communications with Students policy From left to right, Vicki Rutkowski (Betty), Cynthia Heibert-Simkin (Mrs. Moore), and Jeff Homer (Harry) in Three Beggars’ production of Three on a Bench, directed by U of M alum Matthew Legacé..
Congratulations to the Extended Education graduating class of 2013 Lori Wallace Dean, Extended Education
In keeping with this year’s Fringe theme, “Embrace the F-word,” Strange Day at the Fringe is a play that asks that age-old question, “Do I dare go to the Fringe?” It features staff member Chris Reid of the marketing communications office, a seasoned theatre performer who will play the lead. As the play notes explain: “Rachel wants to go. Harry doesn’t. It’s too far outside his comfort zone. Urged to relax and enjoy the experience, he remains uneasy and tense, as strange encounters with colourful characters and musical numbers blur the line between reality and imagination. After all that, will Harry ever go again?”
students graduated this spring, representing the faculties of Arts, Education, Human Ecology and Nursing. Distance and Online Education: 45 students graduated from the Bachelor of Social Work via DE program, and 29 Canadian Forces grads who completed their degrees via DE Bachelor of Arts: Integrated Studies: three graduates, all of whom are Extended Education alumni.
Please join me in congratulating all of our graduates, and in offering our appreciation to our instructors, employers and partners for their support of our students and programs. Finally, thank you to all of the staff involved in planning and assisting with these graduation ceremonies. As always, your commitment to Extended Education means that hundreds of details have been anticipated, and the ceremonies are splendid events.
Academic Job Opportunities A full listing of employment opportunities at the University of Manitoba can be found at umanitoba.ca. U of M encourages applications from qualified women and men, including members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Please include the position number when applying for openings at the university.
FACULTY OF PHARMACY
Position: full-time, term
(ending June 30, 2016) Senior Instructor Position number: 16925 Deadline: August 9, 2013 Start Date: Sept. 1, 2013
For information: Dr. Neal Davies, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Apotex Centre, 750 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, neal.davies@ad.umanitoba.ca
Every year at the U of M, students miss emails with crucial information from the university, their instructors, faculties, and other service offices. A related concern is that the university must protect student privacy. In order to improve in both of these areas, the university is implementing a new policy on September 1, 2013 — the Electronic Communications with Students Policy. This policy will provide consistency, limit risk, and help to ensure that students use their U of M email account, so that your important messages are received. The full support of the entire university community is anticipated, and is needed to encourage student compliance. As it affects all instructional and support staff who communicate with students via email, as well as administrative heads responsible for policy compliance, it is important to know what this policy means for you! The Electronic Communications with Students Policy states that all university communications must be sent to a student’s U of M email account — no other email address can be used to communicate with a student about official university business. In most cases, this will require a change to current practices, including internal systems used to contact students and store their contact information. The Registrar’s Office has begun this
process by requesting changes from IST that will ensure JUMP, D2L, Aurora Class Lists, and Aurora Self Service reports are compliant with the policy and do not include personal email addresses. Supporting this change is a move to a new email service for students called “myumanitoba.” You will begin to see the new student email address extension “@myumanitoba.ca” in class lists throughout the 2013-2014 Academic Year. Helping to ensure students use their U of M email accounts, myumanitoba features increased storage capacity and is more user- and mobile-friendly than the current system. Answers to frequently asked questions, including suggestions for how to change your own processes to accommodate the new policy and deal with noncompliant students, will soon be available on the Registrar’s Office Staff and Faculty Resources website: intranet.umanitoba.ca/ registrar. >>The full policy is available at: umanitoba.ca/admin/ governance/governing_ documents/community/ electronic_communication_ with_students_policy.html. >>You may send any questions you have which are not answered by the FAQ (coming soon) to my attention; the FAQ page on our website will be updated continually.
The Bulletin Page |1 July 18, 2013 | umanitoba.ca/bulletin
The Bulletin
Page 11
Bringing Research to LIFE Upcoming events
mitacs Globalink 2014 Call for applications Are you interested in expanding your research network?
science’s version of mr. fix-it
A childhood spent tinkering—with computers and cars— prepped this medical physics student for his latest challenge: helping doctors better diagnose disease
Would your research team benefit from the insight and perspective of an international student? Would you like the opportunity to evaluate potential graduate students in a hands-on lab setting and access funding to help support them? Mitacs Globalink is offering Canadian faculty members in science, engineering, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences the opportunity to work with exceptional senior undergraduate students from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam during a 12-week research project from May to September 2014. Deadline for online applications: July 31, 2013 For more info: mitacs.ca/globalink/informationcanadian-faculty
Bruce D. Campbell farm and food Discovery Centre I Scream for Ice Cream! July 26 All-day event targeting families with children age 2 to 12. How does milk become ice cream? Make this delicious dessert using one of our ice cream makers and discover your favourite flavour. ice cream making: 10:30 am and 2 pm Eat your ice cream in a bowl (complimentary) or as an ice cream sandwich (additional charge). Cost: $5 youth/seniors $8 adults $20 family For more info: http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/ discovery_centre
faculty of science PhD student Bryan mcintosh in the John Buhler research Centre
By Katie Chalmers-BrooKs for the Bulletin What does a 10-year-old rural kid do when his computer is too slow to play video games? If you’re Bryan McIntosh, you get to work tweaking and tuning until you find a fix. “It was a bit of reading, a bit of trial and error—actually a lot of error,” he says, “which prepared me well for a career in science.” All grown up, the medical physics PhD student has since moved on to more sophisticated machines. He researches an imaging method that uses positron emission tomography (PET). It’s a scanning technology used daily in hospitals on patients wanting to know whether or not a lump is malignant or if their cancer has spread. The PET scanner provides doctors with a 3D image of what’s happening inside the body. Patients are injected with a radioactive tracer, which is a compound equipped with a radioactive atom or isotope. As it decays, it emits tiny particles—called positrons. These particles react with electrons, and the reaction produces a pair of light particles (called photons). The PET scanner detects these photon pairs and creates an image, revealing to doctors any abnormalities in the body. Glucose labeled with radioactive
umanitoba.ca/research
Fluorine-18 is a frequently used tracer because it accumulates in the body’s tissues and organs. Since tumours take up more glucose than healthy tissues, they show up brighter on the scan. This tells a doctor if the tumour is growing or responding to therapy. During the procedure, photons can lose energy causing them to scatter which results in noisy or blurred images. McIntosh and his colleagues at CancerCare Manitoba have developed software that would allow the scanner to figure out where a photon scattered and to correct for it. But this software requires a detector with a higher energy resolution than is currently available. In search of a solution, McIntosh is designing and building a better detector, one that will allow him and the team to finally test their software. “Once we finish testing a small scale detector, we will scale it up to full size so that we can test the software to see if it works on real data instead of just running simulations,” he says. The ultimate goal? To equip doctors with better quality images so they can better diagnose disease. And to create technology that is faster, less expensive and uses lower doses of radiation, making the process safer for patients. As obesity rates climb, so too does the demand for this technology, McIntosh explains. Because the larger a patient
Photo by Dan Gwozdz
is, the more photons scatter during a scan. “Since scatter gets worse as patient size increases and we are seeing more overweight and obese cancer patients, finding better ways to deal with scatter will be a great benefit…No one else is using this type of scattered-enhanced algorithm.” A PhD student of Prof. Stephen Pistorius (physics and astronomy) and Prof. Andrew Goertzen (radiology, physics and astronomy), McIntosh recently received a 2013-14 Manitoba Health Research Council funding award. The physics and astronomy student, who’s been working with medical imaging hardware for about seven years, traces his approach to these complex devices back to his Warren, Man., roots. Tinkering with computers and cars with his dad, an auto mechanic, taught him early on how to problem-solve on the fly. “The type of troubleshooting that you do on a car is the same thought processes as troubleshooting in the lab. The real key is understanding how things are supposed to work,” he says. “When developing new detector hardware and something doesn’t go right, which is pretty much every day, the process of finding out what’s going wrong and how to improve it is very similar to working under the hood of a car. Or trying to fix a gaming computer that’s not working right.”
Published by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International) Comments, submissions and event listings to: research_communications@umanitoba.ca Phone: (204) 474-7300 Fax (204) 261-0325