UNews - Lindi Shade

ULethbridge celebrates arrival of OKI sign

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 21:25:34 +0000

After four months on display in the community at Park Place Mall, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s OKI sign has come home to campus.

Designed by Blackfoot artist William Singer III, Api'soomaahka (Running Coyote) (Mgt Cert ’89), the OKI sign is currently located outside the Iikaisskini Gathering Centre. Titled Saakiaitapiiyopa (We Are Still Living), the artwork arrived on campus on Tuesday, January 24.

Dr. Leroy Little Bear, vice-provost Iniskim Indigenous Relations, and Nathan Crow, Indigenous student representative, with the ULethbridge OKI sign.

“The Oki Sign project is meaningful because it really brings about reconciliation for Indigenous Peoples here in Lethbridge,” says Lindi Shade (BA ’06), manager of Iikaisskini Indigenous Services. “It's meaningful not only to myself, but to our families and communities to be acknowledged for the traditional lands of the Blackfoot territory, and it brings us together as a community. It means a lot to our community that Oki is the official welcome to Lethbridge.”

In 2019, the City of Lethbridge adopted “Oki” as the city’s official greeting. “Oki” is the Blackfoot word for “greetings” or “hello.” In addition, 2019 was the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages. To recognize these events, the City of Lethbridge Heart of Our City Committee and the Reconciliation Lethbridge Advisory Committee partnered to develop an OKI Sign, which is shared throughout the community at special occasions. Due to the success of this initiative, several community partners expressed interest in having their own OKI signs.

In May 2022, the City of Lethbridge, through Opportunity Lethbridge, the City’s Indigenous Relations Office and the Public Art Program, partnered with six community organizations to seek Indigenous artists to design artwork for a series of OKI Signs. This initiative seeks to celebrate Blackfoot culture and language, and the important role that “Oki” serves as a symbol of respect, understanding and reconciliation throughout the community of Sikóóhkotok (Lethbridge).

Api'soomaahka (Singer III) was selected in August 2022 to design the ULethbridge OKI sign. He is a member of the Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy and has more than 40 years experience as a professional artist and illustrator.

Each letter on the OKI sign is illustrated with symbolic artwork.

O: The image of the sweetgrass signifies the foundation of knowledge and ongoing spiritual connection with earth and cosmos. The circle of life is the base of a tipi, secured to the land with the ohkotok (rock), an important element in creation as it is the bind that made all that exists in the universe.

K: This connection to the cosmos is defined by the miohpokoiyiiks (pleiades) at the top of the tipi. The north or “opposite” has the iihkitsikamm (the dipper) or the seven stars.

I: Since time immemorial, the Niitsitapi have adapted to many changes as represented by the matapi (figure) and is sign language for Kainai, a division of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Below the figure are three symbols that represent sign language for: “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow.” We all share the land.

All six signs were unveiled at Park Place Mall on September 28, 2022, in conjunction with Reconciliation Week. ULethbridge is excited to welcome its OKI sign to campus.

“At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, we need to ensure Indigenous students and staff are equally represented on campus and recognize the knowledge that Indigenous Peoples can bring to these spaces,” says Shade. “It means a lot that our students can be on campus and learn our culture and history, and that starts with the Oki Sign.”

The ULethbridge OKI sign may be moved to various campus locations throughout the year.

Additional OKI sign community partners include: Primaris (Park Place Mall), Galt Museum & Archives, Lethbridge Public Library, Lethbridge Agri-Food Hub & Trade Centre (Lethbridge and District Exhibition Society) and the Allied Arts Council of Lethbridge.

Record number of Indigenous students graduating throughout Spring 2022 Convocation celebrations

trevor.kenney — Tue, 31 May 2022 16:19:31 +0000

A positive trend has been developing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as more and more Indigenous students are earning post-secondary degrees, culminating with a record 98 graduates crossing the stage at the 2021/22 convocation ceremonies.

Trishell Provost (BA '19) is a graduate from the 2019 class who majored in kinesiology.

Nestled in the heart of Blackfoot Territory, ULethbridge has long nurtured its relationship with the Indigenous communities of southern Alberta and in 1975 established one of Canada’s first Departments of Native American Studies. In recent years, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ made it a strategic initiative to advance learning options and supports for Indigenous students through a variety of programs.

“When you see the number of Indigenous students who are finding success and completing their academic careers consistently increase, there is intentionality behind it,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, president and vice-chancellor.

Over the last decade, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has graduated, on average, 50 to 75 self-declared Indigenous students between the spring and fall convocation ceremonies. In the last three academic years, those numbers have shot up to 87, 84 and 99 students respectively. The roots of that growth can be traced.

In 2011, Mahon asked Roy Weasel Fat, then Red Crow Community College vice-president (academic), and ULethbridge faculty members Drs. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04) and Jane O'Dea to create a strategy to support Indigenous students, faculty, staff and community members. The seven recommendations they submitted set a course of action and elicited a pledge from Mahon.

“We will place greater focus on recruiting and retaining Blackfoot and other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, the fastest growing young adult population in Canada,” said Mahon at the time. “However, enrolment is not the only reason to focus on this population. Creating opportunity and an inclusive campus environment for all students is simply the right thing to do.”

The establishment of the Iniskim Education Committee followed in 2013, and in 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding with Red Crow Community College was signed, and the Iikaisskini Student Gathering Place opened. The calls of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission further highlighted the need for educational institutions to develop and implement a process of truth and healing and in 2019, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ appointed Charles Weaselhead as its 14th chancellor and first of Indigenous descent. Later that year, EleV — the monumental partnership initiative between the Blackfoot Confederacy, ULethbridge and the Mastercard Foundation — was born.

“I’ve always had a passion for our young people to grow and find success,” says Weaselhead, who will be presiding over the final convocation ceremonies of his term this week. “I never considered myself a formal role model, but I think being named chancellor, it probably opened some eyes and opened up minds for our young people and our community that there is a place for them here and these positions are possible.”

Lindi Shade, manager of Iikaisskini Indigenous Services, says it is gratifying to see the programs working and students reaping the benefits.

“It is inspiring to see our Indigenous students attend the U of L, complete degrees and go forward to serve all communities,” says Shade. “At Ikaisskini Indigenous Services we are so proud of all the Indigenous graduates at this year's convocation, and we wish them the very best in their future careers.”

U of L appoints new manager of Indigenous Student Services

caroline.zentner — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 16:50:21 +0000

Lindi Shade (BA ’06) brings plenty of wellness experience to her new role as manager of Indigenous Student Services at Iikaisskini Gathering Place, and she’s eager to help students succeed and build cross-cultural connections.

Originally from the Kainai First Nation, Shade completed a bachelor of arts with a major in psychology at the U of L. She continued her studies, finishing both a bachelor and master of social work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary’s Lethbridge campus.

Shade, the mother of three children, calls Lethbridge home and she’s lived in the city for more than 20 years. Since completing her university education, Shade has primarily worked in mental health. She worked as a clinical therapist with youth, adolescents and families and, in 2017, became director of the Kainai Wellness Centre. She later returned to a clinical setting with the Piikani First Nation and worked with people who had experienced complex trauma.

Shade felt a pull toward working at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Her mother also attended the U of L and Shade recalls taking piano lessons on campus.

“I was always part of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community so, in that sense, it was like coming home for me,” she says. “I’m comfortable here and I really enjoy the atmosphere and the environment of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. I was very honoured when I was selected as the manager. To me, it felt like this is where I was supposed to be, working with students, engaging with them and ensuring they get through their programs successfully.”

In her role as manager of Indigenous Student Services, Shade’s main focuses will be on the mental health of students and having elders available for students when needed, as well as having more programs, such as workshops and info-sessions, at the Iikaisskini Centre.

“The underlying foundation of Iikaisskini is to be a home away from home and ensure Indigenous, Métis and Inuit student succeed,” says Shade. “The beautiful part of my job is that I get to be a part of that and have the opportunity to connect them to services and supports. I feel very fortunate to be in this capacity.”

Shade also wants to develop a cross-cultural paradigm to build connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, both local and international, on campus.

“We want to start bridging those gaps; we want to start connecting so non-Indigenous folks are comfortable coming to the centre and learning more about the culture,” Shade says.

UNews - Lindi Shade

ULethbridge celebrates arrival of OKI sign

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