Halton District School Board names new school ‘Oodenawi’

By Rick Garrick

OAKVILLE – Oodenawi — an Anishinaabemowin word which means community — was a recent unanimous choice for the name of one of two new Halton District School Board schools near Toronto.

“We believe the names chosen reflect the history, culture and geography of the area,” says Kelly Amos, chair of the Board of Trustees for the Halton District School Board. “We know Oodenawi Public School and Boyne Public School will be great learning communities for our students.”

The Oodenawi (O den ow we) Public School is located in the Oakville area at 385 Sixteen Mile Drive, which is in the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit. Construction began in late 2014 on the $15.6 million, two-story 82,000 square-foot elementary school, which is scheduled to open in September with about 800 students.

“It’s good — it’s got an Ojibwe name and I think it’s a positive step forward for the city in recognizing our traditional territory and our traditional lands,” says Mississaugas of the New Credit Chief Bryan LaForme. “We are constantly trying to build up our relationships with other communities in our traditional lands, so this is a great opportunity for that city to continue to build on those relationships.”

LaForme says there have been a number of discussions about holding arts and crafts and traditional regalia sessions with the school board in the future.

“The opportunity is ripe for those kinds of things now because there is a lot of interest in that especially in that area: Peel County and Oakville and the City of Mississauga,” LaForme says. “There is all kinds of interest there to build those relationships with us. It’s been long overdue but I think it is a great opportunity for us to continue to build on those relationships.”

The Anishinabemowin name was chosen on March 25 through the school board’s guidelines, which focus on collecting ideas from suggestion boxes located in neighbourhood schools, public libraries and online, reviewing the suggestions and shortlisting names for trustee consideration.

“From that public process they were able to boil it down to four names,” says Nick Bertrand, the school board’s instructional program leader for equity and inclusive curriculum. “What was interesting about it is that of the four names, two of them were Ojibwe names: Oodenawi … and Maamwaye, which essentially means all of us and all things are included.”

Mississaugas of the New Credit Elder Peter Schuler delivered a presentation on how First Nation school names can help break down barriers and fight racism during the name-selection process at the school board’s March 25 meeting.

“If you take the first part of that word Oodenawi, Ooden, that is your heart,” Schuler says. “And when you take that word together, you have community. Schools are the heart of our community; schools are where people’s minds are shaped. If we want to fight racism, if we want to make a better country, we have to start with our schools.”

Oodenawi Public School principal John Pennyfather says the Anishinabemowin name provides “a lot of opportunities” for students to learn about First Nations heritage in the region.

“We’re planning some visits soon (with Mississaugas of the New Credit) and seeing how we can get involved and do some things together,” Pennyfather says. “What is really nice about the whole naming process was that it was unanimous on the part of the trustees and it was also the preferred name that came through from the community. Everybody is behind it, so it’s going to be great.”