Pauline Shirt

Last updated
Pauline Rose Shirt
Born(1943-07-13)July 13, 1943
Saddle Lake, Alberta
DiedMay 7, 2024(2024-05-07) (aged 80)
Employer George Brown College

Pauline Rose Shirt OOnt was a Plains Cree Elder from Saddle Lake, Alberta, Red-Tail Hawk Clan and member of the Three Fires Society and Buffalo Dance Society. [1] A lifelong activist and educator, she resided in Toronto, Ontario for many years. [2] Pauline was the Elder at George Brown College in Toronto, ON. [3] In 2023 she was appointed to the Order of Ontario. [4]

Contents

Activism

In 1974, Pauline and her then-husband Vern Harper, led the Native People's Caravan. [5] The caravan travelled from Vancouver to Ottawa to deliver a manifesto to the government on the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Over 200 protestors peacefully gathered on Parliament Hill on September 30, 1974. [6] Among the issues that were highlighted by the protestors were Indigenous self-governance, control over education, better housing and health services. [7] This event is recognized as a turning point in Indigenous activism in Canada for the attention it garnered in non-Indigenous circles. [5]

Community work

Pauline was a member of the Attorney General of Ontario's Elder Advisory Council starting in 2015. [3] The Elder's Council is an advisory body intended to guide Ontario as it works to reclaim Indigenous approaches to justice in the province. [8]

Pauline served on the Elders Council of the Urban Indigenous Education Centre. In operation since 2008, the work of the council focuses on the well-being and opportunities for First Nations, Metis and Inuit students in the Toronto District School Board. [9] It is guided by the Elders Council, of which Pauline Shirt was a member. [10] Pauline also acted as cultural advisor to the Board of Directors of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival [11]

Kapapamahchakwew - Wandering Spirit School

In 1976, after unsuccessfully finding a public school that was culturally appropriate for her son's (Clayton) - education, Pauline started the Wandering Spirit Survival School (WSSS). [7] Originally a private school that started in her living room, [12] it was eventually declared an alternative school by the Toronto District School Board in 1977, thus making it the first school in Canada entirely operated by Native people. [2] Kapapamahchakwew, the Wandering Spirit for whom the school was named was a Cree War Chief, with whom Pauline shared lineage, though she did not know this at the time. [13]

WSSS operated on principles of self-determination through Native education - a response to the residential school system that had been imposed upon First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in Canada. [2] At the Wandering Spirit School, family and community were prioritized, and children learned about their traditions, culture and language through dance, storytelling, camping and song. [7] In 1983, it was officially recognized as a Cultural Survival/Native Way school, no longer an alternative school, [14] [15] and paving the way for the creation of other Indigenous schools in the TDSB. [2] In 1989, it became the First Nations School of Toronto (FNST). [15] In 2019, there was a renaming ceremony to return it to its origins: Kapapamahchakwew - Wandering Spirit School. This renaming was emblematic of the reclaiming of the complicated story of Wandering Spirit, in which he is recast as a fierce defender of his people and not a "killer of one's own", as was the common sentiment for several generations, owing to varied interpretations of the events that transpired during the Frog Lake Massacre. [2] [13]

Film credits

Plays the role of Elder Chahigee in the 2021 film Night Raiders. [16]

Honours and awards

2020 IPPY Award Best Nonfiction Book Regional Canada East Bronze Medal for The Name Unspoken: Wandering Spirit Survival School with co-author, Sharon Berg. [17]

2023 Named to the 2022 Appointees to the Order of Ontario. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-West Rebellion</span> 1885 resistance by the Métis and Cree peoples against Canada

The North-West Rebellion, also known as the North-West Resistance, was an armed resistance movement by the Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan, North-West Territories, against the Canadian government. Many Métis felt that Canada was not protecting their rights, their land, and their survival as a distinct people. Fighting broke out in late March, and the conflict ended in June. About 91 people were killed in the fighting that occurred that spring before the conflict ended with the capture of Batoche in May 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples in Canada</span> North American Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of present-day Canada

Indigenous peoples in Canada are the indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although "Indian" is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative. "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982, though in some circles that word is also falling into disfavour.

First Nations is a term used to identify Indigenous peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. Traditionally, First Nations in Canada were peoples who lived south of the tree line, and mainly south of the Arctic Circle. There are 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands across Canada. Roughly half are located in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assembly of First Nations</span> First Nations organization in Canada

The Assembly of First Nations is an assembly of Canadian First Nations represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, which dissolved in the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Métis</span> Mixed Indigenous ethnic group of Canada and the US

The Métis are an Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Northwest Ontario and the northern United States. They have a shared history and culture, deriving from specific mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, which became distinct through ethnogenesis by the mid-18th century, during the early years of the North American fur trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto District School Board</span> Public school system of Toronto, Ontario

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular francophone, public-separate anglophone, and public-separate francophone communities of Toronto also have their own publicly funded school boards and schools that operate in the same area, but which are independent of the TDSB. Its headquarters are in the district of North York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frog Lake Massacre</span> Masscare during the North-West Rebellion in Canada

The Frog Lake Massacre was part of the Cree uprising during the North-West Rebellion in western Canada. Led by Wandering Spirit, Cree men attacked and killed nine officials, clergy and settlers in the small settlement of Frog Lake, at the time in the District of Saskatchewan in the North-West Territories on 2 April 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wandering Spirit (Cree leader)</span> Cree war chief

Wandering Spirit was a war chief of a band of Plains Cree. There is little information on Wandering Spirit's life. Most of what is known begins shortly before the 1885 Frog Lake Massacre and ends with the Canadian justice system's convicting him of murder and hanging him. However, there is some information regarding his role within the Plains Cree people.

Vern Harper Vernon Harper born on June 17, 1936 in Regent Park Toronto, Ontario – May 12, 2018) was a Canadian First Nations Cree Elder, medicine man, and Aboriginal rights activist.

Maria Campbell is a Métis author, playwright, broadcaster, filmmaker, and Elder. Campbell is a fluent speaker of four languages: Cree, Michif, Western Ojibwa, and English. Four of her published works have been published in eight countries and translated into four other languages. Campbell has had great influence in her community as she is very politically involved in activism and social movements. Campbell is well known for being the author of Halfbreed, a memoir describing her own experiences as a Métis woman in society and the difficulties she has faced, which are commonly faced by many other women both within and outside of her community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christi Belcourt</span> Métis artist, Canada

Christi Marlene Belcourt is a Canadian visual artist and author. She is best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art. Belcourt's work often focuses on questions around identity, culture, place and divisions within communities.

Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture. The Indspire Awards are the annual awards presented by Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. The awards were first established in 1993 in conjunction with the United Nations declaring the 1990s "International Decade of the World's Indigenous peoples". June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day, in recognition of the cultural contributions made by Canada's indigenous population. The day was first celebrated in 1996 following Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc's proclamation.

The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Indigenous peoples in Canada, comprising the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Monkman</span> Canadian artist (born 1965)

Kent Monkman is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. Monkman lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.

Indigenous or Aboriginal self-government refers to proposals to give governments representing the Indigenous peoples in Canada greater powers of government. These proposals range from giving Aboriginal governments powers similar to that of local governments in Canada to demands that Indigenous governments be recognized as sovereign, and capable of "nation-to-nation" negotiations as legal equals to the Crown, as well as many other variations.

Chelsea Vowel, who often writes as âpihtawikosisân, is a Métis writer, professor, and lawyer from near Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta, whose work focuses on language, gender identity, and cultural resurgence. She has been published in the Huffington Post, The National Post, and The Globe and Mail. Co-host of the podcast Métis in Space and runner of the IndigenousXca Twitter account, Vowel has been noted as a "prominent and respected Métis blogger" and "one of the most visible of [the] new generation" of Métis intellectuals.

Susan D. Dion (Potawatomi-Lenapé) is professor at York University in the Faculty of Education. Dion specializes on issues related to Indigenous matters in education and the role of Indigenous relationships in teacher education.

References

  1. ↑ Potts, Kerry (30 September 2021). "Indigenous Toronto: Wandering Spirit School and the vision of Nimkiiquay". Spacing Toronto. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Potts, Kerry (2021). Bolduc, Denise (ed.). Indigenous Toronto : Stories That Carry This Place. Toronto, ON: Coach House Books. ISBN   9781770566460.
  3. 1 2 "Team". George Brown College. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  4. 1 2 "The 2022 Appointees to the Order of Ontario". news.ontario.ca. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Native People's Caravan". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  6. ↑ "Following the Red Path". www.connexions.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  7. 1 2 3 Bascia, Nina; Fine, Esther Sokolov; Levin, Malcolm, eds. (2017). "Alternative Schooling and Student Engagement". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54259-1.
  8. ↑ "Elders' Council named 2020 Guthrie Award recipient". TAG: The Action Group on Access to Justice. February 5, 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Urban Indigenous Education Centre". www.tdsb.on.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  10. ↑ "Elders Council". www.tdsb.on.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  11. ↑ hunachew (2022-06-23). "Board of Directors | imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival" . Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  12. ↑ Wandering Spirit Survival School , retrieved 2023-05-30
  13. 1 2 Monkman, Kent (2023). Being Legendary. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. pp. 112–115.
  14. ↑ "First Nation School of Toronto. Kapapamahchakwew - Wandering Spirit School (GR. JK-12)". TIPP - Tkaronto Indigenous Peoples Portal. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  15. 1 2 "Kapapamahchakwew - Wandering Spirit School". www.tdsb.on.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  16. ↑ Trente-trois (2021-11-15). "A Guardian Will Come From The North » Area 33". Area 33. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  17. ↑ "2020 Regional". ippyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
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