F E AT U R E
“WORKING TOGETHER” THROUGH EDUCATION Center of Influence to Create a Warm Welcome on Reserve in Alberta, Canada BY CHRISTELLE AGBOKA, WITH REPORTING FROM LYNN MCDOWELL
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n 2002, when Linda Calderbank sought a name for the Adventist Indigenous school relocating to Ponoka, 13 miles from the First Nations Cree reserve in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada, she reached back to her Cree roots. Calderbank, the principal who dedicated more than a decade of her career to the children of Maskwacis and would see the new school become the largest Native school in the North American Division (NAD), had witnessed firsthand the community’s ongoing trauma from the Canadian residential school system.1 As she pondered the impact that the name of the school’s first permanent property would have, Calderbank realized, “It was important that we as a church make [it] known we’re not a threat, and we need to work together.” She consulted a church member for the Cree term meaning “working together.” The answer to her query was pitch-perfect: “Mamawi Atosketan.” Thus, the school became Mamawi Atosketan Native School (MANS). Twenty years later the Alberta Conference decided to open a center of influence—i.e., a building serving as a worship space and community center—with a familiar name. The Mamawi Atosketan Center (MAC) groundbreaking ceremony, held October 20, 2023, united community leaders and members, MANS principals, teachers, and church leaders from the local to division levels to celebrate this milestone in the Alberta Conference’s Indigenous work.
Chief Randy Ermineskin of the Ermineskin Cree Nation Trevor Boller
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ADVENTIST
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