On Friday, members of the NAIT community gathered where the Advanced Skills Centre (ASC) will be built to participate in a collective blessing ceremony led by NAIT’s Indigenous leaders.
Staff and students stood in a circle on the Treaty 6 land as Lonny Potts, a Cultural Advisor at the Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre, led a blessing based on Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being.
After a prayer, a medicine wheel representing the cardinal directions and four elements was placed on the land before a drum song.
Potts is an Indigenous knowledge keeper from Paul First Nation who has been an Elders’ helper for 18 years. He explained that putting tobacco and prints down is a way to show respect to the land and the spirits that live in the area.
“So that’s what we’re doing here, spreading some of that blessing. And it’s such a positive step with the collaboration of everybody and all the teams that have been asked to be a part of this project,” Potts says.
To gain the blessing, Potts explained we must acknowledge the people who “helped us come to fruition” and recognize past leadership — but it’s about setting good intentions for the future, too.
“This event marks the collaboration and some of the TRC [Truth and Reconciliation Commission] towards investing in the future for the students,” says Potts. The ceremony was also a way to pray for the workers that will be putting their energy into building the centre.
“I think it’s a high honour … to pray for that,” he says.
Female leadership was a significant part of the ceremony, and Potts says it “helps get us to that sacred space.”
“Because anytime we want to talk about culture, we talk about Mother Earth, the water and the moon and those are the female sisters. And that always has to be adhered to because that’s who brought us to Earth here. That’s the sacred being and that’s what the Elders tell us,” Potts says.
Camille Louis, manager of the Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre, Laura Jo Gunter, NAIT president and CEO and Teaira Current, NAITSA vice-president internal, all participated in the ceremony.
“We are all Treaty peoples, and I am hoping that the blessing that was done here today and the respect will continue on in the spirit of the Advanced Skills Centre.”
Current says she was honoured to be asked to be part of the site blessing by Louis, who organized the event. According to Current, it’s important for students to be part of the beginning processes of the ASC since they are “at the core” of everything that happens at NAIT.
“We have a large Indigenous student population, especially in the trades, and it’s so fitting for those students to see themselves reflected at the forefront of these decisions,” Current says.
Nadia Shewchuk, a NAIT business student, attended the ceremony as a supporter of the Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre. She says she participated in the centre’s smudge events throughout the semester.
“We’re having this new building come up, and I’m just interested to see how they’re going to take care of the area and just experiencing the ceremonial aspect of it. I think it’s really good to get involved with the Indigenous community and see their pathway,” Shewchuk says. “They were here before us.”
NAIT’s president and CEO, who spoke during the ceremony, reminded attendees that they are on Indigenous land. She says the event was “very moving.”
“We are so fortunate that Lonny [Potts] came and did the blessing,” Gunter told the Nugget. “We are all Treaty peoples, and I am hoping that the blessing that was done here today and the respect will continue on in the spirit of the Advanced Skills Centre.”
Throughout the process of planning the ASC, NAIT worked with Naheyawin, an Indigenous-led organization focused on building relationships between Edmonton’s people and its land.
According to NAIT’s website, “Ongoing and meaningful engagement opportunities will be built into the design and planning of the Advanced Skills Centre from now until completion.”
The ASC site location is located outside of the V Building near 118 Avenue and 106A Street. NAIT hopes to have foundations for the Centre in place by 2026/27, and the building is expected to be completed by 2030.
