Fleming College

A special community celebration at Del Crary Park will welcome new post-secondary students to the Mississauga territory.

The Welcoming Celebration on Saturday, September 26 will be co-hosted by Fleming Aboriginal Student Services, Trent University’s First Peoples House of Learning, and the Trent University Native Association (TUNA). The event is free and all community members are invited and encouraged to attend.

The event begins with a formal welcome to the territory by local Mississauga Elders followed by the annual Pow Wow hosted by TUNA. The Pow Wow will include traditional drummers, dancers, workshops and a community feast, as well as vendors, and a children’s area coordinated by TRACKS – the Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science Initiative. Contemporary local Indigenous musicians will perform on stage at the evening concert.

The Welcoming Celebration is held annually and aims to raise awareness, educate, and promote a community that respects and honours the First Peoples of the territory. It supports new Aboriginal students by introducing them to the local Aboriginal community as well as local agencies and organizations. It also introduces non-Aboriginal people to Aboriginal culture, providing an opportunity to educate the community about the local traditions.

The full schedule is as follows:

– 11:30 a.m. to noon – Student Welcome hosted by Fleming Aboriginal Student Services and Trent First Peoples House of Learning, including a traditional welcome to the territory by Chief Phyllis Williams of Curve Lake First Nation

– Noon – Pow Wow Grand Entry

– Noon to 5:30 p.m. – Annual Trent University Native Association Pow Wow, ‘Honouring our Women’

– 5:30 p.m. – Flags retired

– 5:30 to 6 p.m. – Dinner break and Feast for Elders, Dancers and Drummers sponsored by Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle

– 6 to 9 p.m. – Concert showcasing local contemporary Indigenous musicians

The concert will include Iron Stone, a rock band from Curve Lake First Nation; Angela Semple, a spoken word artist and PhD student at Trent from Ktunaxa First Nation in British Columbia; Sean Conway, a folk and country performer from Curve Lake First Nation; and Sarah DeCarlo, a roots, punk, alt-country musician from Rama.

About Fleming College
Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Arts and Heritage, Business, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, General Arts and Science, Health and Wellness, Justice and Community Development, Skilled Trades and Technology, and Continuing Education. Fleming College has 5,900 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and more than 68,000 alumni.

About Trent University
One of Canada’s top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that’s personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally as for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent’s unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent’s students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent’s Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham delivers a distinct mix of programming in the GTA.

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Media, for more information please contact:
Kate Weersink
Media Relations & Strategic Communications Officer
Trent University
(705) 748-1011 x6180
kate.weersink@trentu.ca

Laura Copeland
Communications Officer
Fleming College
laura.copeland@flemingcollege.ca
705.749.5530 x1370