Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre celebrates 30 years (fwd)

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Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre celebrates 30 years

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, staff at the Ojibway and Cree
Cultural Centre want to remind the public of their presence and the
services they have to offer the community and surrounding areas.

By Heather Duhn
Monday November 28, 2005
http://www.timminstimes.com/story.php?id=198882

Staff at the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre are pleased to be
celebrating 30 years of existence in the community. They offer a wide
variety of resources and encourage members of the community to stop in
and see what they have to offer.

[inset Photo by Heather Duhn. Timmins Times — In celebration of its 30th
anniversary, staff at the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre want to
remind the public of their presence and the services they have to offer
the community and surrounding areas.]

OCCC is a non-profit organization that was established in 1975 under the
direction of Grand Council #9, now known as the Nishnawbe Aski Nation
(NAN). The OCCC started as a cultural education program, one of the
many programs of NAN. Its role and function was to address the
cultural, traditional and language issues and concerns of the
communities within Nishnawbe Aski area.

The OCCC currently operates out of Timmins with a head office in
Mattagami First Nation. It provides programs and services for 49 First
Nation communities with the Nishnawbe Aski area. The focus of the OCCC
programs and services are to retain, maintain, and preserve the
culture, tradition and languages of the Aboriginal people of these
communities.

“Our aims and objectives at the centre are to encourage and be
supportive of NAN communities in their efforts towards
self-determination, and to promote and encourage the establishment of
library and information services in the communities of Nishnawbe Aski
Nation,” said executive director Diane Riopel. “We are also here to
develop culturally relevant educational and language materials. We work
with the Aboriginal communities and schools on educational and cultural
matters and are available to make presentations to schools in order to
heighten cultural awareness.”

Riopel said she would also like to encourage members of the public to
visit the centre and see what they have to offer.

The OCCC also promotes and assists in cultural events and activities
that will help instill and maintain the customs, knowledge, skills,
values and arts of the NAN people. They work to keep in close harmony
with other organizations whose aims and objectives are similar to that
of the OCCC, and involve Elders and youth in meeting the objectives of
the OCCC.
Key components of the OCCC include its world-renowned library resource
centre, educational program and language program.

The resource centre is a Native-oriented library with a unique
collection of materials focusing on the Aboriginal people of NAN and
North America. Approximately 6,500 titles are available for loan to NAN
members, organizations, and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members of the
community.
“The resource centre is one of the major accomplishments of the OCCC,”
said Riopel. “It is widely used throughout its catchment area as well
as other parts of the province and other provinces of Canada. The OCCC
has even received requests from the United States and European
countries as well. Under the OCCC’s mandate, it is the resource
centre’s responsibility to ensure that every community has access to
every source of information and knowledge as it pertains to their
personal and community growth and development. Therefore, as a program
of the Cultural Centre, the resource centre works toward the goals of
ensuring ready access to sources of information and knowledge by
providing for the collection and research of library acquisitions as
they relate to the interest, relevancy and need of the communities and
is people.”

Library hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The educational aspect of the centre offers assistance in the
development and production of resource materials for the schools within
the NAN area. In addition, this program provides advocacy and
information on matters of educational concern and importance. The
objectives of the education program are to provide assistance to the
NAN schools, upon request, in the planning and development of school
programs, curriculum and professional development. It also helps to
promote cross-cultural awareness in mainstream education programs and
institutions through presentations, workshops, and conferences.

The language program encourages the use of the Aboriginal languages
(Cree, Oji-Cree, and Ojibway) spoken within the NAN. The language
program believes that the spirit, culture, history and philosophy of a
people is past on and preserved from generation to generation through
language. Without the language, a culture can not survive. It is for
this reason it is imperative that the knowledge of our Elders be
regained and retained.
Again, they encourage members of the community to visit the centre and
see what they have to offer.