THUNDER BAY -- An advisory committee of the Lakehead District Public School Board wants the board to fly the flag of the Fort William First Nation at all its elementary and secondary schools.
The proposal comes from the Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee.
An elder who sits on the committee made the suggestion. Voting on a motion moved by trustee Marg Arnone, members also agreed to ask that the Fort William First Nation flag be flown at the board office.
Sherri-Lynne Pharand, the superintendent of education, says the idea originated with some young people who approached the elder at a pow wow the board was holding.
"When they began discussing that, they talked about how it would be wonderful if not only could they carry the flag at the pow wow, but also have a visual representation of the traditional territory at the schools they attend," Pharand told tbnewswatch.com in an interview Tuesday.
She said the rationale is that schools are located on the traditional lands of the Robinson-Superior Treaty and the Ojibway people of the Fort William First Nation.
The committee has sent the proposal to the board for consideration, but trustees have not yet discussed the matter.
In 2016, Thunder Bay city council decided to fly the Fort William First Nation flag permanently outside City Hall.
At the flag raising ceremony, Chief Peter Collins said "It really means a lot...this gives us strength in changing the landscape in our communities. Whenever we grow in our community, the city of Thunder Bay grows with us."
Collins added that it was good that youths were part of the ceremony "because they see the impact and how they look at it as a youth, and they change the landscape with the way they think and how they think as they grow older."
