Latest news with #FriendshipCentre
CTV News
14 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Indigenous sculpture finds final resting place at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park
A controversial 26-foot sculpture of an Indigenous man made out of white pine was laid to rest Thursday morning during a special ceremony. A 26-foot carving of an Indigenous man made from white pine was laid to rest Thursday morning during a special ceremony at the Canadian Ecology Centre just outside of Mattawa, Ont. The sculpture, called 'Nibissing,' disappeared for seven years in storage and was returned to the land Thursday, where it will be used as a teaching lesson. Sculpture 4 It was first erected in September 1988 as part of a series of more than 70 carvings called the 'Trail of the Whispering Giants' created by Florida artist Peter 'Wolf' Toth. (Supplied) The sculpture was prominently displayed on the North Bay landscape for three decades. 'It's important that we not be seen as people of the past. We're still here,' said Maurice Switzer, a board member for the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre. It was first erected in September 1988 as part of a series of more than 70 carvings called the 'Trail of the Whispering Giants' created by Florida artist Peter 'Wolf' Toth. He carved one statue for each U.S. state before creating the sculpture that would stand in North Bay. 'The purpose of my work is … that it honours people facing injustice,' Toth told CTV News from his studio near Edgewater, Fla. Sculpture 3 It was first erected in September 1988 as part of a series of more than 70 carvings called the 'Trail of the Whispering Giants' created by Florida artist Peter 'Wolf' Toth. (File image) North Bay was the first Canadian location to receive a sculpture after Toth was invited to visit the city in the 1980s. The city approached the Rotary Club of Nipissing to sponsor it. For decades, it stood at the corner of Seymour Street and the Highway 11/17 bypass beside the former home of the Dionne Quintuplets. 'It brought a lot of people to the North Bay in terms of seeing it because it was the first statue outside of the States,' said Tony Limina, the former president of the Rotary Club. When the Dionne home was moved to its Oak Street location in 2018 by the Lake Nipissing waterfront, the sculpture was hauled away and put into storage. Over time, it started to crack and was deemed not suitable for relocation. Sculpture 2 A 26-foot carving of an Indigenous man made from white pine was laid to rest Thursday morning during a special ceremony at the Canadian Ecology Centre just outside of Mattawa, Ont. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) Switzer said while it was made with the best intentions, it's not culturally appropriate in modern society. Good intention 'It's not considered appropriate that any peoples, whether they're black, white, yellow or red, to be mascots or stereotypes or caricatures,' he said. 'But that doesn't diminish the original good intention that the Rotarians had. We're very much present. Many people don't know that, for example, in the City of North Bay, there are 7,000 urban Indigenous residents, including myself.' When Bill Steer, founder and general manager of the ecology centre, learned that the statue was in storage, he wanted to preserve it and find a new home for it. He worked with Limina and Switzer among other Indigenous representatives to find it a new home, but in a way that would respect Indigenous culture and tradition. Sculpture 1 The sculpture, called 'Nibissing,' disappeared for seven years in storage and was returned to the land Thursday, where it will be used as a teaching lesson. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) So, a small ceremony was held Thursday afternoon to welcome the sculpture to the Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, where it will be laid on the ground and it can be used as an educational tool -- before nature eventually takes its course. Return to Mother Earth Much like retired totem poles on the west coast, eventually after time, the sculpture will deteriorate and go back into the Earth. 'Understanding the current culture that we're in and the current situation, it's a great opportunity in terms of how to bring it back to Mother Earth in a respectful way,' Limina said. Steer said thousands of students and adults will be able to come by and see the sculpture and learn about its journey. 'Murray Sinclair once said 'Education got us into this mess and education will get us out of this mess,'' he said. 'I think this is an educational opportunity … It's part of the many calls to action and the Truth and Reconciliation." Toth said he is happy with the outcome. He's hoping people who visit the sculpture will reflect on injustice Indigenous people have faced over the years. 'These statues are made to honour the First Nations in Canada,' he added.
Hamilton Spectator
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
St. Marys Friendship Centre highlights opportunities for intergenerational connection this Seniors Month
As the St. Marys Friendship Centre gears up for its next intergenerational program, a concert featuring children's entertainer Erick Traplin at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) June 6, St. Marys senior services manager Jenny Mikita reflected on why fostering connections between generations can be so positive. The upcoming concert, scheduled on a PA Day for local schools and set to begin at 9:30 a.m., is yet another event planned in partnership by the Friendship Centre and St. Marys' EarlyON Centre aimed at fostering connections between seniors and young children. 'It's a free event. We're encouraging our population to come – bring your grandkids – and EarlyON is encouraging their families to come, so we hope to have a good turnout for that,' Mikita said. ' … That intergenerational piece just brings joy to people.' The idea behind hosting events for seniors and young children came about naturally thanks, in part, to the myriad groups and programs hosted for a diverse range of ages within the walls of the PRC. While the Friendship Centre caters mostly to older adults, the EarlyON Centre offers free, high-quality programming for children from birth to six years old and their families. In many cases, there is overlap in both the time slots and spaces used for the programming offered by both centres. 'EarlyON actually has a Baby Time program; it's held on Thursday mornings. We run all different programs in all different spaces at all different times, but at that particular time in our main hall, drop-in coffee area, we're running a program called ROMEO – Retired Outstanding Men Enjoying Ourselves,' Mikita said. 'It's just really a coffee time. The purpose of ROMEO is really to draw older men out of their homes because sometimes there needs to be genders for specific programming for specific groups, so that's a group of retired individuals. Some of them are farmers, some of them are professionals; they get together and they enjoy coffee and social. They're supposed to come for fitness and then stick around and have coffee, but they come for coffee first and then have fitness. ' … So, during that time, about a year ago, EarlyON started bringing their families – their caregivers with their young ones, and young is usually under the age of 18 months – over to the main hall. In the main hall at the time, it was the ROMEO group and then other people having coffee, and they'd just literally come over, socialize and connect. And we've seen wonderful connections; like long-term-relationship connections between some of the EarlyON families and some of coffee friends here.' A few of those relationships were so strong, when one of the EarlyON families moved away, they kept in touch with their new friends from the Friendship Centre. And after a programming change briefly ended the visits by EarlyON families, the ROMEO members told Friendship Centre staff they missed their weekly connections with the babies and their families. 'Babies make you feel good when they're not crying, right?' Mikita said. 'We have heard, 'I don't see my grandkids as much as I'd like to.' It's nice to have interactions like that. Providing an outlet for grandparents and grandchildren or caregivers and young ones or different age groups to interact with one another is educational and heartwarming for both the young and the older.' Mikita says the Friendship Centre and EarlyON Centre partners every chance they get to organize programs that have mutual benefit for both young ones and seniors. Beyond the concert on June 6, the centres are in the early stages of planning a grandparents' day in the fall and staff hopes to continue planning similar intergenerational events once or twice a year going forward. For more information about the Friendship Centre and all the wonderful programs and services it offers for seniors, visit . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
11-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Ann's Eye: Honouring Red Dress Day at Killarney Lake
The Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton organized a memorial walk at Killarney Lake for Red Dress Day, a national day of remembrance and awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
CBC
14-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
This former Dartmouth office building will soon be affordable housing
Social Sharing A vacant building that used to house federal government offices will soon be an affordable home for more than 60 people. The federal government announced Thursday it has completed the sale of the Marine House building in downtown Dartmouth, N.S., to the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society. The building will be renovated to create at least 61 apartments for urban Indigenous people. According to Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society executive director Pamela Glode-Desrochers, the goal is for all of the units to cost only 30 per cent of the renter's income. "The need is huge," Glode-Desrochers said Friday. "It's big for everybody, to be honest ... truly affordable housing, it's disappearing very quickly." Glode-Desrochers said the renovated building will house a mix of tenants, from seniors to students, and will provide all the programs available through the Friendship Centre, including health, educational and employment support. The 61,000-square-foot Marine House building on Portland Street was formerly home to offices of the Canadian Coast Guard and then the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but has been unoccupied for years. The seven-storey office building was built in 1984. It is considered in critical condition, according to a directory of federal property. Glode-Desrochers said her organization took out a $2.4-million mortgage with the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation to buy the building, in consultation with the Assembly of Mi'kmaw Chiefs. The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society is working with Castone Construction and East Port Properties. The estimated cost of renovations is $20 million. How to turn office buildings into housing 11 months ago Duration 3:48 The federal government is planning to free up underused office buildings so they can be converted into housing, but could that really help address the housing crisis? We break down where it's been done before and the challenges these conversions pose. Glode-Desrochers said tearing down the building would be a last resort. "I think it can be fixed," she said. "The government had done some major repairs to it already. So, we'll work with what's there and fix what we need to and make it safe and truly affordable." She said the Nova Scotia government will provide some of the funding required for renovations, and the society is also hoping to receive support from Halifax Regional Municipality. Glode-Desrochers said she hopes a construction plan will be in place by September. The goal is to be ready for residents by mid-2027. "It's a huge relief to know, while it's not immediate impact, that we will have impact within the next two years that could make a huge difference in somebody's household income," she said.
