School division taking events out of churches in gesture of reconciliation to Indigenous families

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This article was published 09/11/2023 (707 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s largest school division is moving away from holding graduation ceremonies and other events in churches in an effort to create safer spaces for Indigenous families.

Last year, some parents of graduating students in Winnipeg School Division schools requested that ceremonies be moved from Christian faith-based spaces because of their historical connection to colonialism in Canada, superintendent and CEO Matt Henderson said.

The division recently requested that its 79 schools consider using other venues for grads and other events, including concerts.

“I think over the last few centuries, Canada, through residential schools and the Indian Act, have really excluded Indigenous families from education in pretty heinous ways,” Henderson said Thursday.

“And so the onus is on the Winnipeg School Division to build those bridges… one small step of that is when we have Indigenous students who are graduating and are wanting to be celebrated by family, that we remove all barriers.”

There is no mandated policy in place, but the division is working with schools to make alternative bookings and will help with possible penalty fees resulting from cancellations, he said.

“We’re just trying to be a little bit proactive, because you have to plan so far ahead for grads, that we just we don’t want to be left scrambling in future years, he said.

Many divisions don’t use churches at all, including Pembina Trails, which holds all of its graduation ceremonies at the convention centre, and Seven Oaks, which also books larger venues, including the convention centre and Centennial Concert Hall.

Spokespeople from both divisions pointed to large class sizes as the reasoning.

While schools in St. James-Assiniboia typically don’t hold grads in churches, some events are held in religious venues on a “case-by-case” basis.

“Divisional administrators remain open to having discussions about venue selection and welcome input from the SJASD community on this matter,” said Jordana Buckwold, the assistant superintendent of K-12 education and administration.

WSD has more than 33,000 students at schools of varying sizes. Last year’s grad ceremonies were held in school gyms, the convention centre and several churches.

“It’s not a huge deal for us to make that switch,” Henderson said.

It’s a small change that could have a big impact on students and families, said National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation head of archives Raymond Frogner.

“Five or 10 years ago, even I don’t think we’d have this kind of a critical conversation about what these church buildings as cultural spaces represent,” he said. “We’re starting to now inquire about them and think critically.

‘If we’re going to reset the relationship, it has to be done in a positive way. And starting to have mutual respect or recognition of our cultural signposts and our values… is one good example.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca