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17| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,A pril 5,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITYWATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA local news local sports local happenings A community artproject startedby the Kitche-ner-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, called Neighbours, is hop- ing to foster a better un- derstanding of the past and the future of Canada by building bridges be- tween First Nations peo- ples and newcomers. Lucia Harrison, direc- tor of the centre, said peo- ple who are new to Canada don't understand the long history of the country that extends past the 150 years of Confederation. It's hasn't been a citizenship requirement to learn that long complex history of settlers and First Nations people and more of those stories need to be told. "I do really believe it's important for newcomers to understand the Indige- nous issues in Canada," said Harris. "I also thought it was important for both groups to share their shared history." "Syrians are losing their land, and other peo- ple have been pushed out of their lands, so there have been some shared experiences. "The coming to Canada story is a posi- tive ending for those new- comers whereas for Indig- enous folks its kind of the opposite." The community arts project is creating a space where newcomers and First Nations people can get to know one another by creating their own quilt squares to tell their story. The goal is to share those stories with each other and with the wider com- munity. Those squares will create a community quilt that will contribute to the ongoing journey toward reconciliation in Canada and bring in new voices, including those that are often marginalized. The hope is that it creates a beautiful blanket that holds shared and profound collective meaning for all those involved. The project is the brain- child of artist and play- wright Heather Majaury. She has explored some of that complicated history of newcomers and Indige- nous people in her own work at MT Space Theatre, and wanted to reach out to a broader community to create more understand- ing. "We're encouraging the communication that has likely never happened in Canadian history, because when you look at it Cana- da hasn't really included Indigenous people in its history," said Majaury. "It certainly hasn't included them in their education system." Majaury is of mixed heritage herself who grew up in the traditional home territory of the Algonquin Nation near Ottawa. She is part of a nation that never signed a treaty with Cana- da, and she descends from Algonquin people that were never registered under Canada's Indian Act. She is also the daugh- ter of a settler to Canada and knows the complex history that created. She said recommenda- tion 93 from the Truth and Reconciliation committee said that history should be part of the newcomer kit when people immigrate to Canada and should be part of the knowledge they need to become Canadian citizens. "When the citizenship test is given this wasn't included," said Majaury. "The dominant Canadian narrative is a settler/ colonial narrative so new- comers coming to Canada whether it was in 1867 or 2018 are interpolated into that dominant narrative." "With that in mind how can we generate conversa- tion so people can build empathy and understand- ing between experiences, while also honouring the actual history of Canada and the peace and friend- ship treaties that predated Confederation." They held four sessions before hosting a couple more last week. She said those collected stories are going to be woven togeth- er, and in addition to the community quilt, will also form the basis of a theatri- cal project she's planning for MT Space. When com- pleted the quilt will go on display at Schneider Haus Museum and be part of a wider community con- versation. "We've conceptualized two different blankets that are in the spirit of the Two Row Wampum, so it em- braces the idea of two ships travelling down the river together while looking after and stew- arding the land, but not interfering with each oth- er's governance and those sorts of things," said Ma- jaury. "It's based on the first treaty created be- tween Haudenosaunee people and the Dutch, and while it wasn't honoured obviously, it still is a pri- mary symbol." "This project can have use thinking about those things, and the history of Canada if it were more inclusive." For more information about the project email neighbours.imagine.na- tion@gmail.com. (Left) Members of the First Nations and newcomers communities where invited to create quilt square as part of a project called Neighbours. (Right) People were asked to draw on their own experiences. New quilt project hopes to foster understanding BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca Photo courtesy of K-W Multicultural Centre ARTS FOCUS Visit waterloochronicle.cafor more coverage