Kyle Cook
The Saint Mary’s community observes the new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. Treaty Day follows on October 1 to commence Mi’kmaw History Month in Nova Scotia. Both occasions provide important opportunities to reflect upon Indigenous knowledge, Treaty relationships, and the ongoing legacy of residential schools.
“These two days go hand in hand together,” says Kyle Cook, Vice President of Advocacy for the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA). “I think it’s a time for folks who identify as settlers, especially here in Mi’kma’ki, to really understand their place on this land, and how they can respect the overall treaties and to stand by as allies. It’s also a time for settlers to understand how they can either establish or further develop healthy relationships with not only Indigenous Peoples, but also the land and water as well.”
Cook plans to commemorate the days by attending the Weekend of Reconciliation events on the Kjipuktuk (Halifax) waterfront, organized by the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. But he also puts a lot of his time and energy into making sure the important work of truth and reconciliation happens all year long, not just on a few special days on the calendar.
“Moving forward, for the Indigenous community, it’s more than just having a day to reflect or having a few days of events to look at Indigenous knowledge,” he says.
Cook grew up in a Mi’kmaw community near St. George’s, on the rural southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. In his newly created position with SMUSA, one of his priorities is collaborating with other Indigenous students and staff to advocate for the creation of a Community Drum on campus. The group submitted its proposal to the university a few weeks ago.
“A Community Drum will serve as a key tool to revitalize Indigenous knowledge here at Saint Mary’s, and to create a safe and empowering space for Indigenous students,” he says. “It can also act as a liaison between SMU and the Indigenous community, to collectively come together here or to gather in other places in Halifax. It’s a way we can continue to reflect and learn every day.”
Cook acknowledges the valuable input on the proposal from Professor Raymond Sewell, a role model whose songs and drum performances have been highlights at many university and other community events. The former Indigenous Student Advisor is now a full-time faculty member teaching Indigenous Literature and Culture courses.
A number of other courses can provide students with more opportunities to deepen their cultural knowledge and understanding, says Cook. Launching this winter, Indigenous Knowledges and Relations is co-located within seven academic departments. The Mi’kmaw Language course is available again this year, and Prof. Tammy Williams is teaching a new course, Indigenous Peoples’ Religion, Spirituality and Social Justice, to name a few options.
Events beyond the classroom are also educational. Cook collaborated with Prof. Williams and Elder Thomas Christmas in hosting a memorable virtual workshop in February, Decolonizing Education with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. Nearly 250 attendees tuned in from across the country and even as far away as Europe.
“We were able to create connections and have meaningful conversations with folks all across Turtle Island and beyond,” he recalls. “It was a powerful moment for me to really understand that when you work within the community, and come together on a collective understanding of how you want to promote reconciliation, it’s phenomenal the impact you can make on a community.”
Cook and his local team organized the workshop through the Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) Youth Reconciliation Initiative. The non-profit leadership program builds capacity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to design programming that sparks dialogue on reconciliation. Through the same initiative, Cook helped put on another event in March, The Drum Has a Heartbeat, in partnership with Sewell and Elder Debbie Eisan.
In May, he took part in CRE’s Indigenous Youth Policy Hackathon, and his team placed first in the national competition. He worked with First Nation, Métis, Inuit and other participants, and their challenge was to create a Canadian government policy for pandemic preparedness in First Nations communities. Their winning policy brief put community consultation at the forefront along with the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing; “which brings Indigenous and settler knowledge together to create a unified way forward that would accommodate both ways of seeing,” says Cook, who also received one of SMU’s 2021 Student Leadership Recognition Awards.
Now in the fourth year of his Arts degree, he’s pursuing a double major in Social Justice & Community Studies and Criminology, with a minor in Psychology.
“Community organizing is something I’m really passionate about,” says Cook. “Social Justice & Community Studies was a program that really caught my attention because of its focus on community engagement, and working within the community to uplift marginalized folks. It has also given me a chance to really continue finding myself, in terms of my own Indigenous identity, in a way that I wasn’t expecting when I first moved here. I’m so happy that it found me, really.”
Learn more about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at www.smu.ca/indigenous-community/nationaldayfortruthandreconciliation/.