Congratulations to the Legacy Schools Poster Contest Winners!

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Early in May, we challenged our Legacy Schools students to design posters that answer the question “What does it mean to be an Indigenous Ally?” They definitely rose to the occasion! We loved all of the posters that were submitted, and it was certainly difficult to select the winners from elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Winners will receive a prize pack from DWF and appear in our Legacy Schools calendar for 2020-2021.

Our elementary school winner, from École James Nisbet Community School, was Liam! Congratulations, Liam!

Our middle school winner, from Lillian Berg Public School, was Darius! Congratulations!

Finally, our high school winner! From St. Pius X High School, congratulations to Pippa!

We want to give a few special shout outs to some of the other participants. Firstly, we award Ms. Bhathal-Paz at École James Nisbet Community School, Seven Oaks School Division as her class had the highest number of students participate in the contest! We will be providing this amazing teacher with a copy of Canadian Geographic’s Indigenous Atlas for her outstanding commitment. Here are some of the great posters that came from their school:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close behind them was St. Pius X High School, Ignace Public School, Waterford Public School, and École Confédération. We appreciate the participation and enthusiasm of your students! Here are some of our amazing submissions from these schools:

 

We love to see the creativity of Legacy School students! We received a ton of submissions from students, and they clearly put a lot of time and effort into their work! Here are some of our favourite posters:

 

Congratulations to all of our winners! We were so pleased with your submissions. Many of these will be displayed in our new Legacy School calendar for 2020-2021. Keep an eye out for information about your prize pack, and be sure to follow us on social media, where we will be posting your beautiful posters! A big thank you to these three students, as well as all of the students who participated in this year’s contest. Also, thank you to the teachers who helped their students coordinate their submissions! We couldn’t have done it without you, and we are already excited to see what next year’s contest will bring. Miigwech, and have a great summer!

DWF 2019-2020 Annual Report

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Our 2019-2020 Annual Report has been released, filled with information on our programs, what we’ve achieved in our second year, and much more! View it here.

DWF Legacy Schools Poster Contest is Now Open!

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Show us what you can do Legacy School students – even from home! We are calling on all Legacy School students to create a poster that answers the question

“What does it mean to be an Indigenous Ally?”

 

Winning selections will appear on our social media channels and in our Legacy School calendar  for 2020-2021 – a great addition to any student portfolio! Winners will also receive an amazing prize pack from the  Gord Downie  &  Chanie Wenjack  Fund (prizes will be mailed out when health recommendations allow).   

Winners of the 2019 Legacy Schools Poster Contest

Participation is open to all students currently enrolled at a registered Legacy School. If you don’t see your school on our map you can still enter! Just let your teacher know about our Legacy Schools program and once they register we’ll send them a free toolkit in the fall.

Submission: Submissions should be high-quality artwork 8.5″x11″ at 300 DPI resolution (photos/scans or original artwork are acceptable). Please submit PDF files digitally to legacyschools@downiewenjack.ca. 

Deadline: Friday, June 19, 2020

Winners Announced:  June 24, 2020. Students from elementary, middle, and secondary schools will be judged separately.

Educators – feel free to share the poster with your students to let them know about the contest!

“Being an ally is about disrupting oppressive spaces by educating others on the realities and histories of marginalized people.”

– Indigenous Ally Toolkit by the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network  

Here are some great resources to help you define what it means to be an Indigenous Ally;

Treaty 7 Indigenous Ally Toolkit by the Calgary Foundation

Indigenous Ally Toolkit by the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network

Build Together: Indigenous Peoples of the Building Trades – Indigenous Allyship by Canada’s Building Trades Unions

Indigenous Allyship: An Overview by the Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, Wilfred Laurier University

Indigenous Allyship Toolkit by Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Indigenous Health Network

How To Be An Ally To Indigenous People by the Indigenous Perspectives Society

“Being An Ally” from Pulling Together: A Guide For Curriculum Developers

In Solidarity by Living Hyphen

Dear Qallunaat (White People) by Sandra Inutiq, CBC News

Indigenous Canada – MOOC provided by the University of Alberta

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Chippewa students raise money for Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund

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My North Bay Now – Art was on display, dancers dazzled, and short films were shown at Chippewa Secondary School Tuesday evening…read more.

Celebrating Gord Downie’s Birthday with Acoustic Hip from Starpainters

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A Journal of Musical Things – Gord Downie would’ve celebrated his 56th birthday on February 6.

As has become tradition, Buffalo’s Strictly Hip is throwing a party to benefit the Gord Downie & Wenjack Fund, inviting along some friends to help keep Downie’s spirit alive and to answer his call to Do Something in the name of reconciliation…read more.

Thunder Bay elementary school unveils mural as ‘one small piece in larger mosaic’ of reconciliation

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CBC – A mural unveiled at an elementary school in Thunder Bay on Wednesday represents one small step on the path to reconciliation, said Eric Fredrickson, the principal of Westmount Public School in the northwestern Ontario city…read more.

Mike Downie visiting U of R to talk Secret Path, importance of reconciliation

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Regina Leader-Post – Seven years ago Mike and Gord Downie’s knowledge of Canada’s residential school system was close to nothing…read more.

Maverick School holds a Walk for Wenjack to promote reconciliation

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Prarie Post – Students and staff from Maverick High School held a reconciliation walk in downtown Swift Current on Oct. 23 to raise awareness about Chanie Wenjack and the legacy of residential schools…read more.

Waterford walks for Wenjack

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Simcor Reformer – Students at Waterford Public School participated in the school’s first Walk for Wenjack event.

Grades 3 through 8 attended an assembly Monday to learn about the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 at the age of 12 when he escaped a residential school…read more.

Mike Downie says Secret Path Live was ‘powerful’ and he’d ‘love to do it again’

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Red Deer Advocate – A brother of the late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie says a weekend benefit concert performance of his “Secret Path” album was a “powerful” show and he isn’t ruling out making it an annual event, possibly in different cities…read more.