Sudbury college unveils 'Heart of Fire' Pavilion to ignite Indigenous connections
'It's a place away from home for the Indigenous people. You could call that place home.'
Indigenous students, staff and faculty at Collège Boréal in Sudbury now have a new space to come together.
The college opened the Shkode "Heart of Fire" Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The pavilion serves as a central hub for the college's First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Educational Centre, which raises awareness of Indigenous history through workshops, fosters partnerships with community organizations and collaborates on applied research initiatives.
The 2,000-square-foot space includes workspaces, two meeting rooms and a circle for smudging ceremonies and traditional events. A large glass case displays artwork honouring Métis leader Louis Riel, alongside a mural by Indigenous artist Jessica Somers.
Outside, a 32-foot canoe, built using traditional techniques, stands as a tribute to Indigenous craftsmanship. The centre also features an Indigenous medicinal garden showcasing plants used in sacred rituals, such as sage.
Construction of the pavilion cost nearly $1.3 million. Collège Boréal president Daniel Giroux described the facility as a gathering place for students, faculty, staff and the broader community.
"It's a learning centre, a community space for Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit peoples," he said. "It's really a centre for everyone."
Giroux emphasized that the pavilion reflects the college's commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.
"The consultation process probably took us almost a year and a half, two years, but the actual construction has been almost a year now. But it was a lot of planning. So we want to make sure we get it right," he said.
The college's elder in residence Richard Meilleur says he has been advocating for the pavilion for a decade.
"This was a French college for Franco-Ontario only. So when we started introducing the Indigenous peoples [it wasn't] really the focus for the college," said Meilleur.
Local Indigenous artist and educator Will Morin attributed the extended timeline to several factors, including the pandemic.
"It's the persistence of the staff…. It takes a long time for non-Indigenous governments and institutions and industries to realize that we're on Indigenous land and there needs to be different ways of doing things that they're not ready to do. So that takes time," Moring said.
Despite the delays, Meilleur is pleased with the pavilion's opening, explaining that the pavilion is "the fire that's burning inside everybody's hearts."
"Because of everything that happened to Indigenous people, they don't really know where they come from. They were taken away… They can come here and learn where they come from, what's their tradition," he said.
"It's a place away from home for the Indigenous people. You could call that place home," said Meilleur, pointing to the Shkode "Heart of Fire" Pavilion.
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