Potlatches begin with Elders speaking while listeners eat, so the teachings and good feelings can enter with the food. The teachings nourish the soul, spirit, and heart, while the food nourishes the body.
“Plus, if it’s really tasty, you’re quiet,” joked Shawn Atleo, former National Chief of Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and former Chancellor of VIU.
Atleo served as National Chief from 2009-2014 and was named Chancellor of VIU in 2008, becoming the first university chancellor of Aboriginal heritage in BC’s history.
On March 8, Atleo spoke about World Indigenous Connections ...
With Easter hopping closer, and stuffed bunnies and chocolate eggs coating store shelves, it’s the perfect time to reflect on VIU’s own rabbit friends.
VI Abbie, a bunny character who represents VIU on social media platforms as the Lead Student Ambassador for the Engagement Enrolment Office, held an online campaign February 29 to March 4 to educate students on the campus rabbits.
The purpose of the campaign was to create student awareness that bunnies are wild animals and that people endanger them by treating them as pets, said Dakota Den Duyf of VIU’s Office of Enrolment ...
I used to read Gawker. Well, some of Gawker Media, anyway. When I was a little nublet in the videogame world, I read Kotaku. It was the yin to IGN’s yang—the modern blog-style to the contemporary tech journalism. It was fine for what it was, and it served its purpose until I started to care about real journalism. I read Jezebel and its explicit counterpart occasionally in high school. I still read Gizmodo when I come across it. It’s a casual counterpart to Engadget with the occasional story leaks. That seems to be Gawker’s thing, really—leaks.
In October 2012, Gawker Media aided in ...
Mi’k-what? Mi’kmaq is my heritage, or so I believe. Pronounced <mik mak> or with silenced k and q <me mah>, and representing a large native population in the Maritime provinces, specifically my father’s province of New Brunswick and the accompanying Indian Island (yes, that’s a real place).
Shawn Atleo recently returned to VIU’s Nanaimo campus to meet with students and faculty to speak on a variety of issues (story is on page five), inspiring the audience to be proud of their culture and to work hard at safeguarding the language, stories, and the many wisdoms of our ...
By contributor Jeff Sieniewicz
You’re plus-seven at the turn—you never used to be more than plus-three. You send your tee-shot on the par-five 10th screeching into the trees on the right—another fairway missed. You used to be able to reach this green in two. Now you’re lucky to get one in three if you ever find your ball.
Your old game has followed you every shot of the round, with memories of past glory as a stark reminder of how badly you’re playing. Even your good shots aren’t good enough.
As you lug your clubs down the fairway, you glance over your shoulder at the ...
By contributor Reid Eccles
Friday, March 4, signaled the start of the 10-day 2016 Fred Page Cup playoffs, and the Clippers were set to play their first of a possible seven games against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The Clippers came into the playoffs seeded first in the Island Division, which gave them home ice advantage over the fourth-placed Bulldogs.
Though the Clippers had a streak of injuries to end the regular season, their roster was back to a healthy number of players going into the first round. The Clippers won the season series 6-2 outscoring the Bulldogs 34-24 in the ...
As I sit down to write this, a haze remains on my brain that has been there since this morning—this being the result of an evening of sample upon sample at the Crimson Coast Dance Society’s 13th annual Wee-Tipple Party. For those of you unsure of what that means, it’s Nanaimo’s premiere whisky festival. The event takes place in the lobby and banquet hall of the Grand Hotel on Rutherford Rd., and features the wares of a number of different distilleries and breweries, from as far away as Scotland or Japan, to as local as Nanaimo. On top of that, there is a buffet of foods that could keep ...
By contributor Zoe Lauckner
Trigger warning. As you may be able to tell by the title of this article, I’m going to be discussing the S word—suicide—in all of its misconceptions and statistical truths. That being said, do what you gotta do—put this paper down and walk away, take a deep breath, and get grounded, or batten down the hatches of your heart and read on.
For whatever the reason—perhaps it’s fear of contagion, a lack of understanding, or an avoidance of the morose—we don’t like to talk about suicide. It’s just not comfortable.
I’m no expert—I’ve received some training ...
Last week, from March 2 to 5, VIU hosted the Canadian Collegiate Athletes Association’s (CCAA) Badminton Nationals in the gym. With 100 matches played over three days, the student athletes competed for the top spot in men’s and women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, revealed Saturday night.
On March 2, during an awards banquet, VIU’s own Melissa Liew (PACWEST) and Graydon Robb were selected among six others as the 2016 Badminton All Canadians. According to the CCAA website, Liew captured gold in women’s singles at the Pacwest championship last month, setting her on track for the ...
Daffodils and crocuses are colouring the ground, and everything is turning a lush green with the sun coming out regularly again. With the semester more than halfway done, and reading break come and gone, you might still be feeling the urge to relax and unwind. These St. Patty’s drinks just might help—but drink responsibly.
Bagpiper’s Melody
Ingredients
Whisky
Crème de menthe
Ice
Instructions
Fill half of glass with ice cubes.
Pour in the crème de menthe, then add the whisky (Jameson Irish Whisky is a solid choice).
Stir and enjoy ...
By contributor Philip Gordon
When I played role-playing video games as a kid, the characters I would make were all the same—game-appropriate, slightly better-looking versions of me. Video games were a power fantasy in a normal life of feeling ineffectual and useless, and watching my avatar complete grand quests I could never dream of navigating in real life became part of the experience of gaming for me in general. At a certain point, though—probably around the age of 19 or 20—I got tired of looking at white dudes as the protagonists of my video games. My player characters shifted ...
Only three months into the year and there are a surprising number of fantastic releases that span the genres. Here are five of my favourites from January and February that you might want to add to your rotation. With the insane saturation of music out there, I know all too well how easy it can be to get intimidated by the mess and stick to your old favourites. Get out of your comfort zone, and give these a try.
The Life of Pablo by Kanye West
Those of you who were, understandably, waiting on tenterhooks to hear the latest on the things on my “Most Anticipated Things of 2016” will ...
Above: Ivan Coyote does not believe in gender pronouns. Courtesy of arsenalpulp.com
On Thursday, March 10, Ivan Coyote will be visiting VIU for two events hosted by North Island Pride. These events are the first in a series of events on the north island called the North Island Pride Festival.
The first event on Thursday is a writing workshop entitled “Get It Down.” Coyote believes the first step in completing any writing project is getting an imperfect rough first draft out of your head and onto the page. Participants will be encouraged to brainstorm new ideas and breathe new life ...
Above: Mulder in full “honky tonk” mode in season 10, episode 5.
If you’ll recall, back in January I was excited enough about the return of The X-Files to include it on my list of things to watch for this year. Well, the six-episode season has finished and the final verdict is: what the hell was I thinking? There were signs of trouble before the show even started, when it was revealed that Gillian Anderson was offered half of what David Duchovney was paid, despite the two of them being paid equally after three seasons of the show. If this wasn’t a sign of trouble, I don’t know what ...
Above: Milner House seen through the branches in the early spring.
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Looking for a way to give your brain some sweet release in the natural world? Look no further than Milner Gardens, which is an extraordinary combination of ocean, Douglas fir forests, and charming English gardens.
Acquired by the Milner family in 1937 (originally established in 1931), the 28-acre estate has a rich history of being inhabited by British aristocracy and being visited by numerous members of the Royal family, including Princess Diana and the Queen Mum herself in the ...
Above: Movie poster for The Dirties (2013)
This one had come across my desk a number of times, on lists of “movies you must see” and so on and so forth, but something about a movie depicting a school shooting just didn’t strike me as something I was terribly keen to see, especially given the frequency in which we see the tragic event unfold on almost a daily basis in real life. Admittedly, we are stepping back a few years to talk about this movie, but it feels like one that might not have gotten the attention that it deserves. It’s a small, indie film, but one that deserves so much ...
Above: Dr. Sonnet L'Abbe in front of poet John Keats' gravestone on the anniversary of his death. via twitter.
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“My parents did it to me,” says Sonnet L’Abbé, poet and Creative Writing professor, at a faculty reading at VIU. She opens with a story about her name, because she knows it’s the first thing she’ll be asked.
But L’Abbé was not born a poem, and, despite being born in Toronto, she was not necessarily born a Canadian either. She was born to a French-Canadian father, Jason, and a Guyanese-South Asian mother, Janet, both of whom took the ends of their names and put them ...
Above: Ngorongoro skyline. Photo by Janelle Shwazer via VIU Education Abroad Flickr.
Have you ever considered studying Culture in China? How about Business in the Netherlands? What about Design in New Zealand, or Education in Norway? VIU’s Education Abroad program provides opportunities to continue your studies at a university in a different country.
VIU has a list of exchange partners to choose from. These include universities in Australia, China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the US, and the West ...
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
A major take away point in critical thinking is that there are many perspectives in telling a story. This can be applied to better understanding history, relationships, and environmental issues. It’s also becoming even more apparent through the much deliberated issue at Shawnigan Lake, which I covered in issue 10 of the Nav. It helps to find a more educated and balanced point of view to understand and argue from; multiple perspectives are something that every person needs to consider when examining an issue, especially one which has created as much ...
What prompts people to take the time to write online restaurant reviews? I explored Google and TripAdvisor reviews of Nanaimo restaurants, and by my investigation, it’s either a superb dining experience or an awful one. Yes, there are people who report on mediocre calamari in so-so restaurants, but the majority of the detailed, lengthy reviews tend to fall on either end of the spectrum. The “terrible” one-star reviews are my favourite; the authors often employ their finest attempt at dramatic writing, and the results are peculiarly poetic. I chopped up and rearranged the prose of three ...
By contributor Gordon Hak
On March 18, members of the Arts and Humanities faculty at the Cowichan campus, as well as a contingent of staff and students, will travel to the Malaspina Theatre to strut their stuff. The presentation is part of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium, the popular lecture series that for the past six years has highlighted the provocative, intellectually stimulating, and exciting work being done by faculty members at VIU. This presentation is entitled “Stories and Raspberry Pi’s: An Innovational Approach to Experiential Learning” and will highlight the ...
According to a Statistics Canada post-federal election report released February 22, Canadian youth (aged 18-24) hit the ballots in record numbers, which helped increase the overall voter turnout to the highest level in 25 years.
Comparing the 2011 and 2015 elections, the number of Canadians who reported that they voted increased 12 percentage points among people aged 18 to 24, and 11 percentage points among those aged 25 to 34. In 2011, 54.6 per cent of voters aged 18-24 voted in the Federal Election, while 66.9 per cent voted in 2015. For those aged 25-34, 58.7 per cent voted in ...
By contributor Shanon Fenske
Under the alias Robi Lawfull, a Nanaimo man has been administrating his own brand of justice online.
Posing as a young teenager, Lawfull lures adults who are trying to solicit children for sex online into meeting him at a public location, videotapes the encounter, and then shares the encounter through social media.
“I have the most beautiful little girl in the world,” said Lawfull. “That’s a huge motivation.”
Lawfull is a member of Creepcatcher, a small group of Canadians committed to ousting sexual predators through cunning and guile. The ...
By contributor Dane Gibson
Their daughter spoke about her spirit as early as the age of two. At first they didn’t think much of it. “Isn’t that nice,” they said with a knowing smile. But as the daughter grew and gained more words, she became more insistent.
“She said very forcefully and repeatedly that her spirit was a boy,” said the mother, who was participating in a parent and youth panel at the Generation Q Conference held at VIU in early February.
“All we ever wanted was for him to be his authentic self, to be happy,” she said. “He’s fully transitioned now and has no ...
