E’Maawizidijig hosts celebration to honour first female Chief
By Marina Plain
AAMJIWNAANG – For the fourth year, the E’Maawizidijig “Culture and Heritage club” of Aamjiwnaang hosted a feast and celebration to honor its first female Chief on Feb.24. The approximately 100 people in attendance had many well wishes from community and former colleagues from the courts, where she retired as Justice of the Peace.
Chief Joanne Rogers is an inspiration for young people as she leads with a philosophy of inclusion, vision and community goals. In part of her speech, her message was “you too can become chief, anything is possible”. As part of the event the Chief received her spirit name “Bineshiiin Ogimma Kwe” or Bird Leader Woman, from Elder Pauline Williams.
The day included a presentation of two Eagle Feathers from Chief Rogers and council with the help of Elder Ted White,to Geraldine Robertson and Errnol Gray. Geraldine Robertson was recently awarded the Order of Canada and is a leader in respect to educating Canadians about Residential Schools. Geraldine is survivor of two schools; Mount Elgin Institute and the Brantford Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School.
Errnol Gray was honored for his forty two years of service on the Aamjiwnaang Band Council, he has numerous portfolios throughout the years. Errnol is the most senior council member and is knowledgeable about the petro chemical industry; he has the institutional knowledge as he retired from his chosen profession as a pipefitter in the Chemical Valley which surrounds Aamjiwnaang.
The Heritage Club hopes to continue such events in the future. The mission of the club is to plan events that will rekindle our identity, language, and way of life – while striving to sustain its cultural resources. Club events have sparked programs and services to incorporate both new and old traditions such as pow wow dancing, beading etc., into their programming. The clubs’ guest speaker in April for the community is Liz Akiwenzie, she will be offering teachings for the community.