SIFC campuses celebrate at community feasts

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Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and La Ronge joined together in celebration on March 25, with each location hosting a pipe ceremony and feast. This is the second year the SIFC has hosted a spring feast at each of its campuses across the province.

"We have a lot to be grateful for," said Jo-Ann Episkenew, academic dean and associate professor of English in Regina. "Whatever good fortune we have came about from prayer and all of our relatives who have gone on before. They help us to continue to do good things."

Episkenew believes that the involvement of students, faculty, friends and family from the community is important to SIFC at this time. The college is experiencing an interesting stage as an institution -SIFC has been gaining worldwide recognition as an Indigenous educational institute fostering Indigenous values and beliefs. According to Episkenew, the college is grounded in First Nations traditions and sense of community.

"People are always happy when they pray together and eat together."

The Elders were responsible for the second province-wide occasion as they recognized and encouraged the power of annual collective prayer. Wes Stevenson, vice president of administration for SIFC in Regina, said the Elders are a crucial part of the feast.

"Elders are there to guide the ceremony, but they have also been individually approached for prayers and blessing by many."

To Stevenson, the feast represents "pride in our culture and institution, remembering our past, celebrating our present, thanking those who contribute to the lives of the students, thanking and encouraging our students, etc. It's a moment when all four campuses stop and give thanks to the Creator for all of these things.

"It holds old and new traditions, and it reminds us, the First Nations people, that we need to learn to 'walk in two worlds' as we make our journey through life," Stevenson said. "Our world/their world, the academic/non-academic world, female world/male world".

Many diverse guests came to join in the celebrations held across the province. One of those attending the Regina feast was Irene Vernon, guest lecturer and American author of Killing Us Quietly: Native Americans and HIV/AIDS. Vernon's talk focused on the growing concern about HIV and AIDS within tribal communities, especially among women.

With 36.1 million people worldwide infected with the HIV virus, Vernon stressed, "We haven't done enough, we need to do more. It's very scary." Vernon has helped to raise awareness about the problem of HIV and AIDS within tribal communities, which are among the rapidly growing populations facing this epidemic. Women within those communities are especially at risk.

"We need to start talking about it. Our survival is at stake," Vernon said.

Episkenew said this annual gathering is crucial for remembrance.

"There are lots of people who have passed on who have built this place. We can't forget."