The weeks leading up to the opening of the Wampum Learning Lodge on Nov. 7, were hectic. After years of planning and consultation, Paula Cornelius-Hedgepeth was excited to welcome members of the Indigenous and Western community to this important hub ─ and she wanted everything to be perfect.
As community relations and space coordinator for the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Cornelius-Hedgepeth was involved in every aspect of developing the space. Playing a key part in a pivotal moment in Western’s history is something the Haudenosaunee woman could not have imagined growing up on Oneida on the Thames First Nation.
High school had been hard. Higher education felt “just out of reach.” Her journey toward her bachelor’s degrees in history and education came later in life, with her beginning her master’s in professional education (Aboriginal Educational Leadership), at Western just as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission started engaging people about the history and legacy of the residential schools system. It was heartening for her to see Candace Brunette-Debassige, now professor in the Faculty of Education, Amanda Myers, director of the Indigenous Student Centre, and others already advocating for a special space for Indigenous students. After she graduated, Cornelius-Hedgepeth came on board, and eventually, creating an Indigenous learning centre “became her baby.”
Today the Wampum Learning Lodge is her “home away from home,” and a work in progress in becoming the same for Indigenous students, staff and faculty.
Paula Cornelius-Hedgepeth (Submitted)
How did it feel to see the Wampum Learning Lodge finally open?
There were so many great moments throughout that opening week. For me, it was the culturally significant events in preparing the space to make sure it opened and that we received people in a good way. Inviting dancers into the space and having the pipe ceremony provided that intentionality to do things in a good way. Having all the elders attend and bringing them together to further our guidance and wisdom in naming the space was amazing. It felt really good to acknowledge their help to get us to that point. From lighting the fire in the morning, to the huge feast at night and ending the day with the fire with the teachings we’ve been taught, meant a lot to me and the team. Even on the final night after the social, when we were cleaning up, we were exhausted but happy.
What does it mean to you personally to have this space on campus?
The amount of pride I have in just being able to help in some small way to contribute to this is space means a lot to me. I just hope I can do the job well. There’s a lot of responsibility when it comes to creating a space like this.
In addition to offering Indigenous students a culturally safe space, what’s the focus of the centre going forward?
We want to remain true to our goals and make sure our students and our communities benefit from this space, through cultural reclamation, revitalization and reconciliation. There are so many things that have been lost or taken from us (through colonization). Our languages are close to being extinct. We have to reclaim our identities through our cultural practices. If this space can help facilitate that, that’s our priority.
In terms of reconciliation, how should non-Indigenous members of the Western community approach this space?
That’s something we are trying to make our way through. We’re asking, “What does reconciliation mean to us as Indigenous Peoples?” This space was created by us for us, and we recognize our responsibility to assist non-Indigenous people in reconciliation. We’re asking people to follow our lead as we work to determine what that looks like in this space. We’ll offer speaker series and learning opportunities for non-Indigenous faculty, staff and students to engage in this space and to learn and unlearn with us.
Endnotes 2022
This story is part of our Endnotes 2022 series which showcases the people behind some of the year’s most compelling Western stories.
