Lessons from the Land

This July 1, the New Canadians Centre invites you to participate in activities to reflect on our relationship with the land.

For many years, we have gathered on July 1 with our friends, neighbours and families to dance, feast and sing as we celebrate the richness of culture that we enjoy in Canada at the Multicultural Canada Day Festival. To many new Canadians, Canada Day is a day to celebrate their pride in being able to build relationships and write new chapters in their personal and family histories, to revel in the peace and welcoming that we enjoy.

At the same time, it must be balanced with the knowledge that Indigenous peoples endured, and continue to endure, tremendous violence and inequity for the prosperity that we enjoy today, and that racism and discrimination persist.

This is a time for reflection, education and commitment towards acts of healing.

Please join us as we take the steps to educate ourselves with Lessons from the Land.

Thank you to Janet McCue of the Wshkiigomang Native Women's Hand Drum Singers for singing "Meet Me By The Water"

We respectfully acknowledge that we are located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations.

We respectfully acknowledge that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.

The Land: Reflections from Newcomers

On July 1 at 9am, we will premiere a short film titled "The Land" featuring an intergenerational group of six newcomers sharing their reflections on the land, nature, and environment. They share what nature means to them and how it has supported their settlement, integration, and wellbeing.

Filmed and edited by Matilda DeBues, a 19-year old film enthusiast, Peterborough resident and newcomer working at the New Canadians Centre as a Community Engagement Assistant this summer.

Education Hub

We celebrate the heritage of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and commit to sharing Indigenous history, languages and culture with newcomers and refugees as important steps towards education and reconciliation.

In the Virtual Education Hub, you will find resources to learn more about Indigenous history, culture and teachings.

On July 1, learn about the water and its importance through videos shared with permission from the Peterborough Children’s Water Festival 2021 and their partners in the section titled "No Life Begins Without Water," along with other resources.

Go to the Virtual Education Hub

Film Screening: "Call Me Human" and "Trick or Treaty?"

In partnership with ReFrame Film Festival, we bring you free screenings of the films "Call Me Human" and "Trick or Treaty?"

Call Me Human (2020) is a portrait of Innu writer Josephine Bacon. There is no Innu word for "poetry", notes Josephine Bacon at the beginning of Kim O’Bomsawin’s enchanting, affectionate and transporting portrait of the septuagenarian writer, filmmaker, translator and poet. "I don’t think we needed one. We were poets simply by living in harmony with the water and the land." Directed by Kim O’Bomsawin. The screening features a question and answer session with the director.

Trick or Treaty? (2014) succinctly and powerfully portrays one community’s attempts to enforce their treaty rights and protect their lands, while also revealing the complexities of contemporary treaty agreements. Directed by Alanis O'Bomsawin.

Available for free streaming for two weeks from July 1 to 14.

Watch the Films for Free Now

About "Call Me Human"

When elders leave us, a link to the past vanishes along with them. Innu writer Joséphine Bacon exemplifies a generation that is bearing witness to a time that will soon have passed away. With charm and diplomacy, she leads a charge against the loss of a language, a culture, and its traditions. On the trail of Papakassik, the master of the caribou, Call Me Human proposes a foray into a people's multi-millennial history, in company with a woman of great spirit who has devoted her life to passing on her knowledge and that of her ancestors. In her language, Innu means “human.”

There is no Innu word for "poetry", notes Josephine Bacon at the beginning of Kim O’Bomsawin’s enchanting, affectionate and transporting portrait of the septuagenarian writer, filmmaker, translator and poet. "I don’t think we needed one. We were poets simply by living in harmony with the water and the land."

Bacon published her first volume of poems in 2009 and is already recognized as one of the most important Montreal writers. O’Bomsawin enjoys a deep rapport with her gregarious subject, who recounts her life primarily through celebrating the friendships she found along the way. Her words – and O’Bomsawin’s layered and lovely images – convey just how precious a gift this is. It’s an irresistible film.

About "Trick or Treaty?"

Covering a vast swath of northern Ontario, Treaty No. 9 reflects the often contradictory interpretations of treaties between First Nations and the Crown. To the Canadian government, this treaty represents a surrendering of Indigenous sovereignty, while the descendants of the Cree signatories contend its original purpose to share the land and its resources has been misunderstood and not upheld. Enlightening as it is entertaining, Trick or Treaty? succinctly and powerfully portrays one community’s attempts to enforce their treaty rights and protect their lands, while also revealing the complexities of contemporary treaty agreements. Trick or Treaty? made history as the first film by an Indigenous filmmaker to be part of the Masters section at TIFF when it screened there in 2014.

Summer Activity Books

Discover & Connect With the Land and Environment this Summer as a family!

We have partnered with the TRACKS Youth Program to distribute 100 free copies of their Summer Activity Books.

Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science (TRACKS) is dedicated to educating young people to be able to address increasingly complex environmental issues by creating and delivering culturally relevant programming which combines Indigenous and Western Sciences.

In the Summer Activity Book, you can expect activities such as turtle nest math, jiimaan engineering, butterfly science, tea recipe, info on ode'min giizis, nocturnal activities and much more!

Available for contactless pickup at New Canadians Centre (221 Romaine Street) from June 28-30 (9am to 4pm), while supplies last. Help yourself to the books in the storage box at the entrance via the parking lot.

"Lessons from the Land" is made possible through the generous support of: