St. Lawrence College unveils Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space on the Kingston campus

St. Lawrence College (SLC) is pleased to announce the unveiling of a Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space on its Kingston campus on Monday, August 28.  SLC is the first post-secondary institution in Ontario to commit to creating Legacy Spaces through this program, and the first in the hometown of the late Gord Downie.  

Legacy Spaces welcome people to come together to talk about making positive changes in education, by learning, hearing, and telling their stories. The space on the Kingston campus is adjacent to the quilt that was installed earlier this year and was created by Molly Hartin, an expert quilt maker and retired educator from Snow Road Station. Molly has created the quilt in the image of the Seven Grandfather Teachings.  

Plans are underway for Legacy Spaces to be created on the Brockville and Cornwall SLC campuses and each will be different, containing cultural items and teachings related to the area’s residential schools. The finished spaces will be three unique and alternate learning areas for our students, employees, and campus guests to learn from and in, according to Glenn Vollebregt, SLC President and CEO. 

“This is an exciting day for SLC as we move forward on our commitment to Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being (IWKB), honouring history, and contributing to a positive future for Indigenous learners and communities,” Vollebregt said. “The opening of this first Legacy Space will foster a culture of belonging for Indigenous students and employees who have been underrepresented, providing opportunities to connect with their own history and culture. For non-Indigenous employees and students, the spaces will create opportunities for growth through personal learning journeys and professional development.” 

"It is through shared stories that brought us here and it will be through shared stories of resilience in a space where painful truths of history converge with the hope of a better future that we will illuminate the path to positive and sustainable change in education,” said Shannon Hall, Education Developer/Education Consultant of IWKB, and co-chair of the Indigenous Education Council at SLC. “In these spaces, SLC commits to providing an opportunity to create a shared path to learn, re-learn, listen, share, reconcile, and heal that honors every child's journey and the lessons of our shared history." 

Sarah Midanik, President and CEO of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund shared the following sentiments: “We are thrilled to have St. Lawrence College join the Legacy Spaces program with three Spaces – one in each of their campuses in Kingston, Brockville, and Cornwall. Not only is this exciting because these campuses are also part of the Legacy Schools program, but their space in Kingston will be the very first in Gord’s [Downie’s] hometown of Kingston, Ontario!” 

Media information: 

Media are invited to the unveiling event: 
Monday, August 28, 1 pm, SLC main entrance foyer 
Remarks begin at 1 pm  
RSVP to communications@sl.on.ca 
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