Star Blanket

The video above

• gives a bit of history and knowledge of what the Star Blanket means in Indigenous culture and to Indigenous communities.
• describes the traditional and cultural teachings of the Star Blanket.
• displays individuals learning how to make a Star Blanket while exploring the significance it holds towards Indigenous communities.

Information retrieved from Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson University Community Consultation Summary Report (January 26, 2018): https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/aboriginal-news/aboriginal-report-web.pdf

“In 2010, Ryerson’s Aboriginal Education Council conducted research on Egerton Ryerson’s role in what became the residential school system. Once the statement was finalized, the Council hosted a healing ceremony and in 2013 gifted Ryerson with a Star Blanket, currently displayed in the lobby of Jorgenson Hall, which marked a positive move forward in the relationship between Ryerson and the Indigenous community of Toronto.” (pg. 4)

Sloan, W. (2018, March 22). Joanne Dallaire: Never Wavering from her Truth. Toronto Metropolitan University: https://www.torontomu.ca/news-events/news/2018/03/joanne-dallaire-never-wavering-from-her-truth/

• Toronto Metropolitan University (then named Ryerson University) was given the star blanket as a gift in 2010 upon the launch of the Indigenous Education Council, commemorating a new era for the university and Indigenous relations.
• Star blankets represent a gesture of peace and goodwill.
• During the ceremony, Ryerson’s President (Mohamaed Lachemi) and Provost and Vice-President (Michael Banarrock) were wrapped in the blanket.
• Joanne Dallaire, Ryerson University/TMU Elder from Shadow Hawk Woman of the Wolf Clan, a Cree Omushkeego with ancestry from Attawapiskat, Ontario stated: “to be wrapped in a star blanket-people who aren’t from Indigenous communities might not grasp the tremendous importance of what that means”; “that’s something that is very rarely done, and it’s not done easily – there has been a lot of work done. So it’s big that Ryerson is making this commitment.”
• On January 26, 2018, after almost two years of community consultations, TMU hosted a celebration to release the community consultation summary report: Truth and Reconciliation at TMU: Building a Foundation for Generations to Come.
• During the ceremony, Toronto Metropolitan University President (Mohamed Lachemi) and former Provost and Vice-President (Michael Benarroch) were wrapped in the blanket. This act symbolized the responsibility of the TMU leaders to respond to the report, while also representing a gesture of peace and goodwill.