As an important step showing its commitment to being a leader in reconciliation, Lethbridge College signed the Buffalo Treaty at a ceremony that kicked off the college’s annual Stone Pipe Days celebration in March, becoming the first Canadian college to sign the treaty.
It is rare to be able to participate in an event so full of history, culture, meaning and consequence. Lethbridge College, as a signatory to the Buffalo Treaty, reaffirmed its commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and took another step forward in its journey of knowing and integrating with the ways of Indigenous people. I was deeply moved to have the honour to participate in such a significant experience. For Indigenous people, the buffalo has been and continues to be a revered and honoured animal that provided food, clothing and shelter.
The close and ongoing relationship with the buffalo is the essence of holistic eco-cultural existence. Education is called the new buffalo, enabling individuals and communities to provide those very necessities for life and living. The buffalo knows no borders, journeying to seek its own place as an integral part of a flourishing and sustainable ecosystem, an inseparable relationship. As with education, it knows no borders, allowing each of us to journey and discover our place in our communities to enable a sustainable future. I encourage each of us to consider the ways we can behave in the spirit of the buffalo, seeking the ways to build relationships that allow for personal growth, knowing that we are part of a larger community, one that we can profoundly influence.
