Creator Provides
Elder Peduhbun Migizi Kwe/Dr. Catherine Brooks (left) blesses the feast. With Betsy Anderson and Robin Buyers (holding strawberries) (Photo by Harold Durnford)
On June 6th, Noojimo’iwewin Gitigaan Leadership Team & Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Group (IPSG) member, Vanessa Barnes, sat down with Selina Young, Director of the Indigenous Affairs Office of the City of Toronto. They had a wide-ranging conversation about the history of the IPSG, its Noojimo’iwewin Gitigaan National Healing Forest Project, and the Ceremonies and programs offered. They talked about our 2024 funding challenges. “Creator has a way of providing,” Selina said as their time together ended.
She could not have been more prescient. That same day we received long-awaited approval from Heritage Canada for our September Why We Wear Orange Campaign. Donations started to come in through IPSG and Bloor Street United’s Social Justice Committee pitches. A hundred tickets sold for the Gala Midsummer Night’s Feast organized by Committee members Laurie and Nancy Gordon.
On June 22, Elder Peduhbun Migizi Kwe/Dr. Catherine Brooks opened and closed the Feast by honouring the Peoples of the Four Directions. In the kitchen, members of Bloor Street and St. Matt’s joined members of Bloor Street’s Refugee Outreach Program, latinxs from the Lands of the Quetzal and the Condor bringing their experience cooking together to ingredients from the Land of the Eagle.
The Feast was magnificent, featuring smoked trout, a choice of venison or 3 sisters stew, bannock, salads, pie, and strawberries in honour of the Summer Solstice. Entertainment followed, with songs in Anishinaabemowin, English, and Spanish; sketch and stand-up comedy; intergenerational dance performances by Juventud, Divino Tesoro; and spoken word by Mehnaz Lamia, Cordelia Shan, and Michael Freitas, students of Toronto Poet Laureate, Lillian Allen, who joined them in the house.
Thank you to Master of Ceremonies Brad Antle; musicians Kelly Ferguson, Maya Ferguson-Klinowski, Oriana and Sebastian Torres, and Michael and Emma Pravish; comics Maria Milenic, Bill Mowat, Sue Lam, and Laurie and Rob Gordon; and dancers Ester Rojas, Hope Vasquez, Jose Luis Valdes, Mery Castillo, Perla Valdes, Rebeca Romero, Viriginia Marin, and Virginia Franquiz, assisted by Aurelio Franquis and Edgar Cruz.
By the end of the evening, we knew that 2024’s funding challenges were no more: the Gala had raised almost $10,000 and the federal government had come through with both Heritage Canada and Canada Summer Jobs funding (earlier denied). We can pay appropriate honoraria to Elder Catherine as well as other Indigenous collaborators. Our OCAD Art and Social Change student, H Kryworuchko (s/he, they), went on payroll Monday, no longer an occasional worker. We’ve been able to offer 20 hours a week to
Stephanie Wiatr (Tyendinaga Mohawk) to supplement her University of Toronto Work/Study hours, bringing our 2023 summer staff back together, and at better wages.
H and Stephanie stand ready once more to take on the challenges of our windy outdoor space, coordination of volunteers, and joint programming with partners.
Creator has provided.
Kitchen crew prepares Bannock. (Photo by Harold Durnford)
