A ribbon ceremony occurred to officially open the centre. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Accomplishment

Northlands College officially opens Elie Fleury Cultural Centre

Feb 21, 2020 | 5:35 PM

Honoured and humbled are the words Elie Fleury used to describe the feeling of having a space at Northlands College dedicated to him and his years of service in education.

“I never dreamt in my life that anything like that would ever happen. It’s a great honour,” he said. “I’m thankful to the board, to Guy Penney, to Ron Ratte and to the managers of the various programs for doing this. What happened today, what transpired, I will never forget.”

A special ceremony was held Friday to mark the official opening of the Elie Fleury Cultural Centre located at the Canoe Campus in La Ronge. Several dignitaries were in attendance including Saskatchewan Lt-Gov. Russell Mirasty, Northlands CEO Guy Penney, Metis Nation – Saskatchewan Minister of Education Earl Cook, La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich and more.

The centre is located in a small building outside of the campus and Fleury noted it will be used for cultural activities and practices, as well as for discussions with visiting elders. Fleury has been the Elder-in-Residence at Northlands for three years and he’s hopeful the new space will service its purpose.

“I retired 10 years ago, and I was retired for two years and I thought to myself retirement is supposed to be a time when you do things that you like doing,” he said. “I like working with students, particular in Indigenous education. It’s been great, I have enjoyed it and I will continue until the Creator says I can’t do it anymore.”

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During his speech, Penney spoke about the impact Fleury had on northern Saskatchewan during his 60-year career in education. Fifty of those years were spent exclusively in the North and Fleury has served as a teacher, superintendent and director.

The space is filled with Indigenous items and materials. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Penney also mentioned dedicating the centre to Fleury is part of Northlands’ commitment to reconciliation. He said three reconciliation flags were placed at campuses last October throughout northern Saskatchewan and the centre is another step in that commitment.

“The Elie Fleury Cultural Centre will represent what its namesake has represented for decades in northern Saskatchewan – commitment to education, culture and language,” Penney said. “Being a lifelong educator, Elie has touched the lives of many students and continues to do so by imparting wisdom and guidance with an emphasis on culture to students at Northlands College.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno