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Brave Canoe working to revitalize Indigenous culture in Dufferin

April 18, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Brave Canoe, an Indigenous-led not-for-profit, is beginning its journey to revitalizing Indigenous culture within Dufferin County with two upcoming events.  

The new group will be hosting an event to connect with local organizations and businesses on May 2 at 4 p.m. at the Orangeville Food Bank, located at 3 Commerce Rd. 

During the event, The Brave Canoe will be sharing their Two-Eyed Seeing philosophy, and their service offerings to promote cultural revitalization and healing. 

“The response has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” said Sharon Rigby, co-founder of The Brave Canoe. “Our inbox has been flooded with requests and it just seems there is a greater need in Dufferin County than we anticipated.” 

Co-founded by Sharon Rigby and Julie Elsdon-Height, The Brave Canoe officially launched as an organization in February. The foundation of The Brave Canoe is grounded in the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, a term coined by Mi’kmaq Elders which utilizes both Western and Indigenous knowledge. 

The overall goal of The Brave Canoe is to be a leader in Indigenous cultural resurgence and community healing in Dufferin County by fostering a space that promotes Indigenous ways of knowing, teaching and approaches that enhance the cultural fabric of the community. 

Throughout 2024, The Brave Canoe will be offering a range of educational, cultural and wellbeing services to Dufferin County residents, including Indigenous history education, workshops, ceremonies, community educational sessions, community events, and therapeutic healing services.

The Brave Canoe will also be hosting its first community event in early May with a candlelight vigil in recognition of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited Persons (MMIGWG). The candlelight vigil will be rooted in Indigenous Ways including a smudging ceremony, drumming, and silence. 

“We’re looking forward to honouring and representing the day in a way that is very solemn and impactful,” said Rigby. “To be able to take the missing and murdered and make it something that we recognize together as a community, woven from many different threads but finding we connect together in the fabric of community, I feel will be very honouring.” 

The MMIWG candlelight vigil will be held on May 5 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Town Hall in Orangeville

To learn more about The Brave Canoe visit their website at www.thebravecanoe.ca. The local not-for-profit can be contacted by emailing thebravecanoe@gmail.ca


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