2000 Harmony Award Recipient
William Commanda is an eighty-seven year old traditional Algonquin Elder from Maniwaki, Quebec who is internationally known for his work in promoting interracial and multicultural harmony, justice and respect for the earth.
Elder Commanda is the great grandson of Pakinawatik, the hereditary Algonquin chief who led his people to settle in their traditional hunting and trapping grounds in the Ottawa River area in the mid-1880s. Elder Commanda himself is the Keeper of three Wampum Belts of historic importance, including the Seven Fires Prophecy Wampum Belt dating back to the 1400s. The Prophecy describes the evolution of life of Aboriginal people in North America since the arrival settlers and identifies the present time as being the time of the Seventh Fire.
Elder Commanda was Chief of the Kitigan Zibi Reserve for nineteen years. He is a guide, trapper, woodsman, craftsman, and a birchbark canoe maker. Essential to all of Elder Commanda’s teachings is the concept of equality, harmony and respect for Mother Earth for all life forms and people of all racial and cultural backgrounds. His spiritual beliefs are linked to concern and responsibility for the plight of Mother Earth and the need to rebalance priorities, needs, values and responsibilities. He stresses that it is essential for us to learn to work through our differences and come together in love, peace, reconciliation and unity.
In February 1998, Elder Commanda hosted “Elders Without Borders”, a gathering of Indigenous Elders from across the Americas. The aim of this gathering was to connect the spiritual voices of traditional wisdom keepers. He was awarded the Wolf Award, the Corona Borealis (Northern Crown) in November 1999.
Over the last four years, he has organized an annual spiritual gathering at the Kitigan Zibi Reserve. More than a thousand people from Canada, the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Holland, Spain and France attended. The participation of people from Spain in 1999 was significant for Elder Commanda because it signified the beginning of the process of reconciliation with the descendants of Christopher Columbus.
In May 2000, Elder Commanda hosted an international millennium Peace Gathering, “A Circle of All Nations”, at the Nepean Point in Ottawa. The gathering addressed themes of indigenous wisdom and respect for Mother Earth, racial harmony, just society and visions of peace. The vision of “A Circle of All Nations” is integral to the work and outreach of Elder Commanda. This vision is reflected in his work for the United Nations, the Sunbow Foundation, the 1995 Walk for Mother Earth, along with spiritual gatherings he organized at his home at the Kitigan Zibi reserve.
Elder Commanda brought a message of unity, love, forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation to numerous meetings and conferences – including his meeting with Nelson Mandela in 1998 at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument in Ottawa to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Harmony Awards of Distinction
Every year, the Harmony Movement receives numerous nominations for the Harmony Award. The award recognizes an individual or organization who has displayed an exemplary track record in promoting harmony and diversity in the community and in tearing down barriers to social equality.
Nominations for the Harmony Award come from across Canada. Last year, Darren Lund and the S.T.O.P. (Students and Teachers Oppose Prejudice) program he founded at James Thurber Comprehensive High School in Red Deer, Alberta were given the Award of Distinction. They were nominated by a teacher from Surrey, B.C. who had never met Darren Lund but was impressed by the achievement and reputation of his S.T.O.P. program. Below are five outstanding nominees for this year’s Harmony Award.
Applewood Heights Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario
Applewood Heights Secondary School’s student population comprises more than eighty different cultural, racial and linguistic backgrounds. Students learn about one another’s culture through classroom curriculum and extracurricular activities. One such student group is the Awareness Club with more than a hundred members who meet to explore their common interest in one another’s religions and beliefs. The Club invites guest speakers from local religious communities to speak to the student body. Spin-offs from this group include the Friday Prayer Group for Islamic Students and the Muslim Student Association.
Applewood Heights Secondary School hosts an annual celebration of diversity and unity through the MOSAIC Week, featuring cultural seminars, foods, customs and ethnic entertainment. All proceeds from MOSAIC go to supporting families in need and students going on to college or university.
City of Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Equity, Ontario
The City of Pickering Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Equity has been actively implementing programs and services that promote community integration and diversity for over thirteen years. The Committee was the first race relations committee formed in the Durham Region.
The Committee published a brochure entitled Harassment Hurts Us All – Working Towards a Harassment Free Community which defines harassment and provides the community with information for seeking help. The Committee conducts annual Race Relations forums which, in the last four years, has worked closely with youth. It also hosted several cultural events in recent years, including Heritage Week 2000 which celebrates Pickering’s cultural diversity.
Durham District School Board Race Relations Office, Durham Region, Ontario
The Durham District School Board has provided anti-racism training over the past seven years to more than 1,000 students in the Durham Region. S.T.A.R. (Students Together Against Racism) comprises six specific training programs: Central S.T.A.R., Kids for Change, S.T.A.R. Reunion and Workshop, Junior S.T.A.R., French Language Junior S.T.A.R. and Senior S.T.A.R. Leadership Certification in Anti-Racism.
Participants at S.T.A.R. program receive training throughout their elementary and secondary school years and gain knowledge and skills to be leaders within their school and community. In promoting social harmony, the S.T.A.R. program has been recognized by the Baha’i community and by the Learning Consortium. These programs have been shared with educators in South Africa and with Cole Harbour High School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia after the occurrence of racial conflicts.
June Veecock, Toronto, Ontario
June Veecock is currently the Director of Human Rights and Anti-Racism Initiative at the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) and the President of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Ontario Chapter. She has been an active trade unionist for more than twenty years.
Ms. Veecock is responsible for anti-racism and equity programs at the OFL. She provides advice on all policy matters pertaining to human rights and the workplace. Ms. Veecock also works with all OFL affiliates by assisting them in the development of anti-racism and human rights policies and training materials for their members. As an active member of the Toronto chapter of the Congress of Black Women of Canada, Ms. Veecock worked with nurses to challenge racism in health care institutions.
Young People’s Press, North Bay, Ontario
Young People’s Press (YPP) is a non-profit national news service for youth. It began in 1995 to provide youth with a forum to speak for themselves and to join public debate. YPP is committed to promoting multiculturalism and diversity issues. According to YPP, “multiculturalism involves opening our hearts and our minds to other cultural traditions.” YPP has published Equality Today!, a secondary school curriculum guide discussing race relations and racism issues. It performs outreach work to ensure that the youth involved represent the cultural, racial and socio-economic diversity in their communities.
Articles from YPP have been published by more than 220 daily, weekly and monthly newspapers. YPP content is available weekly to the 350 U.S. newspapers and 50 Web sites that comprise the Scripps Howard News Service. YPP also publishes an electronic magazine (e-zines) pertaining to race relations on the Internet.
