Carlton Indigenous Day has become a celebrated event at Carlton Comprehensive High School.
Each year the school holds a design contest for students to create a shirt design for the event.
Grade 12 student Isabella Peters was this year’s winner.
“It was very rewarding considering I do a lot of things with art,” Peters said. “That was definitely something that I was glad to have under my belt and in my portfolio. It was very rewarding. I felt very proud, especially considering my family, I’m Indigenous and so are a lot of the people around me, so it’s very nice to do something like that.”
Peters said the design incorporates two different symbols for respect. It features a bison in the Seven Sacred teachings, with the Cree word for respect written underneath.
“I thought (it) was appropriate because I am Cree,” Peters said. “I felt that made sense to put in there.”
The message of respect ties into the size of the school and how people can learn about themselves and each other.
“Respect is something definitely that I think is very important, especially in such a big school where you might have people who don’t know much about the culture and other people who really know a lot about the culture,” Peters said.
“It’s nice to just incorporate it little bits at a time, even just something little like a t-shirt design. Even that says something.”
Peters said using the bison and the Cree word for respect ties into the entire lesson of what Carlton Indigenous Day is all about.
“It all kind of plays together,” she said. “It all works in unison, (to be) able to send that message while also incorporating it around the school through Indigenous Day and other things like t-shirt design,” she said. “(It’s) just basic little things of representing the culture that I feel school needs at times.”
Peters said that Carlton Indigenous Day is an important part of Truth and Reconciliation. She said that having different speakers and activities helps students learn about the culture.
“I think it’s really important,” she said. “Having that Indigenous Day at Carlton definitely plays a role with the Truth and Reconciliation, especially with the different activities that the students are able to do.”
She said that parts like jigging demonstrations and other activities help introduce people to other cultures. Another example of Truth and Reconciliation in the school, according to Peters, is having a Cree class available. All of these things help people to learn parts of Indigenous culture.
Peters said she has learned to speak some Cree and that the language is hard to pick up.
“I’d like to learn, especially since my family’s Cree and I have it on my shirt,” she said. “I know that much. I just know little words and phrases that I can use at home and here and there. But even then, having just a small Cree program here, I think that’s also very important, especially on Indigenous Day.”
“If you have that Cree class, you can learn also new things about the culture, but through Cree. You learn Cree words and more about the culture so it’s like a win-win,” Peters said.
Peters was happy to be the winner of the annual contest.
“I’m very grateful to have been able to do the design and be able to win the contest and having my design on a shirt is completely enough,” she said.
Carlton Indigenous Day is on Monday, Oct. 6 with the Grand Entry at CPAC beginning at 9:15 a.m.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
