Traditional Haudenosaunee Social welcomes students back to school

The Indigenous studies department celebrates Haudenosaunee culture and reconnects community at their back to school social

The annual Traditional Haudenosaunee Social is a start of term social that is co-hosted by the Indigenous studies department and Indigenous Student Services. The back to school social event occurred on Sept. 5, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. located in the sport hall of the David Braley Athletic Centre.

Nicole Martin-Enlund, the academic department manager for the Indigenous studies department in the faculty of social science, spoke to the Silhouette about the social. Martin-Enlund, a member of the Mohawk Turtle Clan from Six Nations, has been working in the Indigenous studies department for over a year, formerly working with the Indigenous education council.

“It’s great being able to be a part of the different Indigenous communities on campus,” said Martin-Enlund when asked about their background at McMaster University. “We’re kind of a close knit community, all working together, all working towards common goals and initiatives, one of those being the start of the term social,” said Martin-Enlund.

The Traditional Haudenosaunee Social is a part of the department's introduction to Indigenous studies course, INDIGST 1A03. The social has been incorporated into the course syllabus and schedule and made mandatory for enrolled students to attend. “The reason why we do that is we would like to get our students to know each other. We would like to get the students to know the different Indigenous communities on campus,” said Martin-Enlund. 

Martin-Enlund highlighted that other Indigenous groups such as the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute were present at the social. The Indigenous Health Learning Lodge in the faculty of health sciences and the Indigenous Education Council were also present. This event provided attendees the opportunity to learn more about Indigenous Student Services.

Indigenous Student Services hosts many events throughout the year. “These events are not just for the Indigenous community. They are cultural programming that’s open to all students, staff and faculty,” said Martin-Enlund. “At McMaster there is closed programming for Indigenous students only. But a lot of times for the Indigenous studies department and Indigenous Student Services, we host events that are open to everyone so that we can bring a little bit of that cultural awareness to everyone at McMaster.”

In order to put together this back to school welcome for the McMaster community, planning began a few months in advance. “We actually start planning for the social in July. It is a few months in the works because we bring in Indigenous community partners,” said Martin-Enlund. This year's social featured performances by Cam Hill and his group of singers and others who are invited as guests from the Six Nations community.

Within Haudenosaunee culture, each song has a different meaning. At the social, Cam Hill explained to the audience that each song represents a different story. He first said the name of the song, explained how the song and dance are performed and then explained the story behind each one. This was shortly followed up by a performance of the song and dance.

The event also featured complimentary merchandise from all the various departments present and traditional foods. “It’s important, if you’re having a traditional social that you have traditional foods,” said Martin-Enlund. Some traditional foods provided included sweet grass tea and three sisters soup.

“We’re celebrating the students being back and being together. So that is really what a traditional social is all about. It’s about celebration,” said Martin-Enlund when emphasizing the significance of the event for McMaster students. 

The Indigenous studies department and Indigenous Student Services welcomed all students to their back to school social and encouraged students of all backgrounds to step into the space. “It’s one of the reasons why we have Indigenous studies here at McMaster. As we want to spread educational awareness. And we want people to experience and understand the culture,” said Martin-Enlund.

Indigenous Student Services has many more social events planned throughout the school year. You can visit their Instagram for details about their upcoming events throughout the year.