1 REMARKS BY CHANCELLOR FAVEL ON
HIS INSTALLATION AS 14TH CHANCELLOR
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
DELIVERED IN SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN
OCTOBER 26, 2013
2 Thank you to Elder Larry Oakes for prayers, and to
FSIN Chief Bellegarde and Minister Norris for their kind
words.
I acknowledge the Elders present today, President
Busch-Vishniac and Secretary Beth Williamson; and my
children Sarah, Joshua, Noah, Basile and Micah. I also
acknowledge mothers Lucy Favel and Jean Oakes, and
my brothers and sisters who are here today.
It is also a double celebration in my family as my
niece Trista Pewapsconias graduates from the College
of Commerce today with her M.B.A.
I accept the office of the 14th Chancellor of the
University of Saskatchewan as a great honour to my
family and to First Nations peoples of Saskatchewan
and Canada.
3 I undertake to you who are here today as witnesses
to my oath, that I will represent the University of
Saskatchewan with great pride and enthusiasm
wherever I travel in my life.
Education in my family and within my community of
First Nations has always been the greatest priority.
From the times when the treaties were first signed with
the British Crown, our peoples identified the need to
equip our children with a good education as the highest
priority, and the means to self-sufficiency and survival.
Sadly, there have been many dark nights in the
story of First Nations peoples and Canada, and
amongst the darkest is the repugnant history of the
residential school system, and the scars that racism
4 and colonialism inflicted and continue to inflict upon our
peoples.
I personally am not a survivor of the residential
school system, although many whom I love as friends
and family endured the pain of being removed from
their homes and parents as young children. I was,
however, faced with other indignities in the rural
education system and experienced racism which left
their own invisible scars.
However, despite the cold and bitterness which our
people faced, our parents and Chiefs had the shocking
audacity that better days lay ahead. My mother insisted
we endure and become tough, to believe that no one of
a different skin colour was smarter or more advanced.
Different meant just different, not better, and that the
5 keys to success were to pray for support, work hard and
be kind to others.
Our Chiefs also worked hard to improve our quality
of education. They dreamed that our people could
become doctors, lawyers, and leaders in society. They
dreamed that education was key to retaining our pride
and strengthening our dignity.
Therefore, as I accept this great honour, I am
mindful of those great leaders and loved ones who are
not with us today to witness the passing of this dark
night of my people, and to welcome to soft light of a
new morning.
Amongst my people, there is a saying, “The Honour
of One is the Honour of All.”
6 In accepting this honour and responsibility, I do so
on behalf of my people and share this honour with my
people.
I also bear witness to those who I believe are here
with us today, invisible to our mortal eyes, but no less
here in spirit than you or I… individuals who worked
hard for Indian education and for advancement of their
peoples.
I honour my fathers Chief Henry Favel and Gordon
Oakes; Chiefs Irvin Starblanket, Chief Richard
Poorman, Chief Roy Bird, Chief David Ahenakew. In
addition, I acknowledge my grandfather Chief Thomas
Favel who was also a school teacher.
In accepting this appointment of great honour, I am
mindful of the wonderful human beings who have
7 served as Chancellor, some of whom are joining me on
stage today. Please join me in extending our continued
gratitude to Chancellors Emeritae Vera Pezer and
Peggy McKercher and Chancellor Emeritus Tom
Molloy.
I am also pleased to welcome Chancellor Ralph
Young from the University of Alberta and Chancellor
Jim Tomkins from the University of Regina. Thank you
for attending this special day.
Much press recognition was made of the fact that I
am the first Aboriginal Chancellor of a major Canadian
university, a fact of which I am both humbled and
honoured. In my former professional life, I was in fact a
Chief, and am descended from a family of Chiefs. This
is a legacy of which I am also proud.
8 However, I am not the first Chief to serve as
Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan. Our 7th
Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan was also
an Indian Chief, his name was “Chief Standing Buffalo”
although you might know him better as the Right
Honourable John Diefenbaker, former Prime Minister of
Canada.
He was honoured by our people for extending the
right to vote to First Nations peoples.
The University of Saskatchewan remains proud of
the many accomplishments of Chancellor Diefenbaker’s
life, and one in particular resonates with me to my core
today, the introduction of the Canadian Bill of Rights.
This legislation was designed to recognize the
dignity of all Canadians, and to outlaw discrimination in
9 federal legislation on the basis of race or creed. Prime
Minister Diefenbaker rose in the House of Commons on
June 30, 1960, to introduce this legislation with this
statement:
“The hallmark of freedom is a recognition of the
sacred personality of man, and its acceptance
decries discrimination on the basis of race, or creed
or colour.
Canadians have a message to give to the world.
We are composed of many racial groups, each of
which must realize that only by mutual respect, only
by the denial of antagonism or prejudice based on
race or creed can breaches in unity be avoided in
our country.”
10 This legislation was the precursor to what ultimately
became the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and
Freedoms. Another U of S Alumnus who joins us on
stage today, and a great Canadian, former Premier Roy
Romanow helped craft this later constitutional
document in his role as Attorney General of
Saskatchewan.
I believe the vision of my predecessor Chancellor
John Diefenbaker was to ensure that Canada grew into
a country founded on the underlying principles of
tolerance, fairness and justice. A society which makes
possible for all to succeed and live a life of meaning. I
believe these values represent what is best about the
University of Saskatchewan, and I am excited to live
11 these values with the university community in the
coming years.
In closing I would like to share a First Nations
legend with you which I heard many years ago;
An old Grandfather (Mooshoom) said to his
grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend
who had done him an injustice,
“Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a
great hate for those that have taken so much, with
no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you
down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like
taking poison and wishing your enemy would die.
I have struggled with these feelings many times.”
He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside
me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in
12 harmony with all around him, and does not take
offense when no offense was intended.
He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the
right way.
But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest
thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights
everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot
think because his anger and hate are so great. It is
helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.
Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two
wolves inside me, for both of them try to
dominate my spirit.”
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes
and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?”
The Grandfather quietly said, “The one I feed.”
13 I believe that this legend is instructive to us all, and
to our country. Let us turn our back on the dark spirits of
racism, hatred and intolerance, and meet it at every
struggle with love and hope. We have matured as a
nation, a province and a university. The tolerance which
exists today for differences in race, religion, gender and
sexual orientation is profound. It is a guide for a future
which is built on a foundation of that with which we hold
in common and cherish, rather than a foundation
based on maintaining separate-ness.
I believe the University of Saskatchewan has again
shown leadership and has appealed to the better
angels in our hearts and mind. Let us heed this
message.
Thank you