Explore Indigenous spaces on the Durham College campus

Durham College (DC) is committed to providing a warm and welcoming environment for Indigenous students and employees and providing space for meaningful conversations and reflection to take meaningful steps towards reconciliation.

Providing these spaces for Indigenous students – and making them visible for all to see – is paramount, according to Sherry Miller, Indigenous Student Success Coordinator.

“Growing up in Toronto, there was no representation or signs of Indigenous life anywhere,” she said. With landmarks like the Medicine Wheel and the Weeping Willow tree, as well as the beautiful Indigenous art displayed throughout the First Peoples Indigenous Centre (FPIC), she’s proud that’s not the case at DC.

“For Native people, being in a space and seeing those symbols is huge. It’s proof that you belong here, that you live here.”

Here are three places at our Oshawa campus where you can pause for reflection and learning.

Suswaaning Endaajig – First Peoples Indigenous Centre
The doors of the First Peoples Indigenous Centre (FPIC) are open to all at DC, and the space can accommodate a number of uses. It’s located in the Centre for Collaborative Education (CFCE), Room 141, and students are free to stop in for a respite from campus life, grab some coffee or a snack, and enjoy a quiet spot to study. They can also utilize the Elder’s Room to reflect or perform a smudging, a sacred ceremony in which traditional medicines like sage, cedar and sweetgrass are burned to purify body, mind, heart and Spirit.

A number of resources are available to help Indigenous students learn more about their culture and communities. The FPIC team - Dr. Kayla Murphy, Director of Indigenous Initiatives; Kiana Cress, Indigenous Communities Outreach Coordinator; and Sherry Miller, Indigenous Student Success Coordinator – is always happy to connect with students, share their wisdom and provide guidance, or just have a friendly chat.

Naanaagide’endamowin Courtyard
The courtyard next to the CFCE is a great place to enjoy fresh air and sunshine, but it’s also an Indigenous learning space gifted an Anishinaabemowin name, Naanaagide’endamowin (The Art of Thinking), by Elder, Dr. Shirley Williams. Observant visitors will find six QR codes to scan, which will take them directly to information about Land Acknowledgements, the Indigenous Histories Modules, 13 Moons, Sacred Medicines, upcoming events, and the Weeping Willow at the centre of the courtyard.

The tree was planted in 2021 in memory of the Indigenous children who did not make it home from residential schools. A willow was chosen for its ability to bend without breaking, a trait also found in the resilient Indigenous communities of Canada.

Medicine Wheel
The Oshawa bus loop is home to a Medicine Wheel rock garden. Installed in 2014, it is fittingly located on the bus loop island, where it can serve as a spot for quiet reflection in the middle of our bustling campus.

Used as a teaching and learning tool in Indigenous cultures, the Medicine Wheel represents the interconnectedness that exists in ourselves and the world around us. The wheel’s four quadrants - spiritual, physical, mental and emotional – promote balance in one’s life and living in harmony with all creation.