BU receives ceremonial eagle staff; Chrests tapped for honorary diplomas

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This article was published 18/05/2023 (1215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BU receives ceremonial eagle staff

A new eagle staff received by Brandon University will allow the school to add Indigenous elements to future celebrations.

On Wednesday, the university announced it had received a handmade ceremonial staff created by William Mousseau, an Anishanaabek artisan from Ebb and Flow First Nation and former visual art student at BU.

It was handed over in a ceremony earlier this spring, during which elder and knowledge keeper Barb Blind and attendees smudged the staff ahead of a feast.

The wooden staff, made from a young tamarack tree, is five feet tall. A release issued by the university said tamarack was traditionally used to build teepees on the Prairies.

While a curve at the top makes it look like a shepherd’s crook, Mousseau said it’s actually a traditional Indigenous design. A traditional medicine wheel is painted onto a two-sided leather shield in the centre of the curve.

The wood of the staff is wrapped in deer leather at the bottom and river otter fur along most of its length.

On top are five bald eagle feathers, each one representing one of the university’s faculties. The feathers are white, which means they’re from older birds and represent knowledge and community.

Behind the feathers is a medicine bag filled with tobacco, sage, cedar and sweetgrass. On the side of the staff are 10 banners of horse hair placed as a nod to the region’s history of plains horsemen.

Attached to the staff is a banner showing the university’s logo made from beads by Christine Tokohopie, who helps run the “beading babes” workshop at the BU Indigenous Peoples’ Centre.

“Everything is made by hand, even the letters,” Mousseau said in the release. “It took a lot of long, hard and careful work, and in the end so much that just fell into place.”

On May 29, Mousseau will be on campus to share information about the creation and significance of the staff as part of a session at the BU Teachings House from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Going forward, the staff will be given a place of honour at events like convocation. This year, it will be carried during the earliest part of the procession by the university’s chancellor.

A notable Brandon couple will be acknowledged for their community service at Assiniboine Community College’s graduation ceremony next month.

Chrests tapped for honorary diplomas

Former Brandon mayor Rick Chrest, who retired after eight years in the role last October, and his spouse, CKX Noon Hour television anchor Karen Chrest, will each receive honourary diplomas from Assiniboine Community College at the institution’s June 16 graduation ceremony.

Rick Chrest also served as city councillor for 11 years, and as general manager for the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

Karen Chrest has performed extensive fundraising work, including for Murray House, a housing facility for out-of-town patients who are receiving care at the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre or Brandon hospital. She is also a recipient of the District 64 Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award.

The Chrest family has been in Brandon since 1912. They ran a dry-cleaning business in the past and currently own Leon’s Furniture.

“The Chrests’ dedication to the City of Brandon and their efforts to make the community an incredible place for people to call home has been remarkable for years,” ACC president Mark Frison said in a media release.

“These two have been a dynamic team bettering our community for decades. They have been integral in supporting worthwhile causes that help move the city forward, and I have no doubt we will see continued contributions to the community going forward. We are honoured to present them with this well-deserved recognition.”

Also in the release, the Chrests spoke of what the honour means to them.

“To be recognized as someone who may have played a part in supporting and celebrating this wonderful community is very humbling and moving, and to receive this from the exceptional institution that is our Assiniboine Community College is a true honour,” Karen Chrest said.

“Having both Rick and I receive honorary diplomas is quite amazing, and while the recognition is unexpected, it is a good feeling to think that we can all make a difference in our communities in many different ways.”

Thief steals lamb meat

Police are looking for more information about a break and enter to a garage in the area of Ashgrove Boulevard on Tuesday night.

Someone entered the garage through an unlocked door during the night, police say, and stole items that included a wheelbarrow and frozen lamb meat.

Police ask anyone with information about the break and enter to contact Brandon Police Service headquarters at 204-729-2345.

Breach of peace

Police broke up an altercation between two men in the 000 block of Ninth Street on Tuesday afternoon but arrested one of the participants.

Around 3:40 p.m. police were waved down to the area where they found two men. After being given several opportunities to leave, one of the men, who was highly intoxicated, refused. The 45-year-old was held at the police station until sober.

» The Brandon Sun