Indigenous traditions such as beadwork and cooking with ingredients harvested by community members are helping shape reconciliation on Prince Edward Island.

Throughout September, beadwork instructor Morgan Varis led drop-in workshops at UPEI’s Mawi’omi Centre, guiding participants in making small orange shirt pins to wear on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The workshops brought together Indigenous students, staff, and community members, showing how reconciliation on Prince Edward Island includes passing down traditions and creating supportive spaces on campus.

Varis says beadwork is both a cultural practice and a personal journey, as it has helped deepen her connection to her ancestors from Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. She explains that beadwork brings pieces together in a way that shows knowledge is shared beyond words, and it is even more meaningful when done in community. Workshops like these help Indigenous students reconnect with traditions that were often disrupted due to the trauma of residential schools.

Cree chef Ray Bear is also using cooking to share culture. At a recent Fall Flavours event in Rocky Point, he prepared dishes with ingredients harvested by Abegweit First Nation members, such as eel, striped bass, and lobster. Bear says his cooking is guided by respect for the land and the belief that “what grows together goes together,” pairing foods like salmon with maple syrup, blueberries, or sumac. He combines traditional Indigenous knowledge with modern cooking techniques, following the Mi’kmaw concept of “two-eyed seeing,” which blends Indigenous and Western ways of understanding.

UPEI’s Mawi’omi Centre continues to create safe spaces for Indigenous students to connect and practice their culture. The Indigenous Student Society is also planning cultural events such as moccasin-making and film screenings to build awareness, acceptance, and a sense of belonging for Indigenous students.

Source: Thinh Nguyen, CBC