Recently the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace held their annual Peace Meal at our school. A special guest speaker also joined our guests. That speaker was Naomi Jacko, an Inner City High School alumni. She inspired students with a presentation that shared her own journey from "Sitting in Circle" at Inner City High School to, years later, "Meeting the World" at the World Social Forum in Cotonou, Benin, Africa this past summer. Her participation in that global event part was sponsored by The Gandhi Foundation, and on Monday, October 5, we welcomed board members, Reva Joshee, Simone Shirvell and Netta Phillet to celebrate the trip that was made possible with their support.
Naomi brought the gift of the red kokum scarf bracelet for each student at an accl school assembly. The scarf bracelets are a symbol of intercultural understanding and reconciliation that she has wrapped around hundreds of people from around the world on the conference.
Naomi connected her efforts to decolonize spaces in Edmonton and in Canada with a powerful memory from her time at WSF when someone wanted to record her sharing a story about injustices disproportionately faced by Indigenous people in Canada.
"I'm used to Indigenous knowledge being treated like it's something that needs to be explained or defended. Something you think is ordinary because you grew up with it might be something another person has never had the opportunity to learn".
Our students left inspired by her journey and with a challenge: What is YOUR piece of the world and what are we going to do with our HOPE?
Our thanks to the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace for the visit and their continued support of our programming.
Naomi Jacko is a community advocate, and a language revitalization specialist at Bent Arrow. You can hear speak about her roots and focus at Bent Arrow in the podcast below.
Click to Listen