The University of Regina received a prestigious honour on Monday, an Eagle Staff created by a local Indigenous elder.
An Eagle Staff is considered to be a sacred symbol that is traditionally used for ceremonial purposes, similar to the flag of a nation. The one created for the university includes feathers representing the president and vice president’s offices, as well as each of the university’s faculties.
“It is a tremendous honour for our University to be presented with an Eagle Staff, which is traditionally reserved for a warrior or leader who has earned distinction through service to the community,” said University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Vianne Timmons. “As we continue our efforts toward Indigenization and reconciliation in the coming years, we will do our utmost to live up to this honour and build an inclusive, respectful campus community where we are proud to say and demonstrate that we are all treaty people.”
The university received the staff as a result of their work with the Indigenous community.
“The Eagle Staff is representative of a nation. In our traditional societies when visitors approached an encampment or community the presence of the Eagle Staff meant that the visitors were coming in peace and respect. In contemporary times, the Eagle Staff represents the ideals and values of the owner. It may represent a history. In this case, the Eagle Staff is a powerful symbol of the relationship with the indigenous people of this territory,” said Elder Roy Bison, who created the staff for the university.
The university has a strategic plan that will take them through to 2020 called “peyak aski kikawinaw”, which is Cree for “we are one with mother earth”; it includes an overarching commitment to Indigenization and increasing Indigenous student access.
The university says 13 per cent of the students who enrolled for classes in fall of 2017 are Indigenous.
