KSA Indigenous Reps Hope to “Revive Your Spirit” in Late November

A lot of post-secondary students feel overworked. This can seriously affect their overall academic performance and, more importantly, their mind and body.

To address this, the Kwantlen Student Association’s Indigenous Students Representative, Sarah Strachan, along with former Indigenous Rep. Samantha Davis, are hosting a series of events from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23 entitled “Revive Your Spirit Week.” The festivities will be strategically taking place right before final exams to give students the opportunity to take care of themselves during a particularly stressful period.

“When Samantha brought this up we thought it was a really great idea,” says Strachan. “Especially since it’s the week before final exams are starting.”

There will be a workshop on the first day from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, during which Davis will show participants how to press their own bath bombs. A mini drum decorating workshop will take place on Nov. 21 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, and on Nov. 22, students will learn how to make their own essential oil rollers from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Finally, on Nov. 23 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, there will be smoke signals followed by a hangout where the KSA will do their first authorized smudging session.

“I don’t know if it’s been done before,” says Strachan, regarding the smudging on campus.

The need for self-care is particularly relevant to Indigenous students, which factored into the planning of this event. As the Facebook event for Revive Your Spirit Week states, “Indigenous peoples statistically have shorter life spans than non-Indigenous peoples. One of the causes of this is the unfortunate event of suicide.”

Because of this, the events taking place as part of Revive Your Spirit Week are intended to encourage students—Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike—to pay attention to their physical and mental wellbeing.

Throughout the events, snacks will be provided by the KSA in the Aboriginal Gathering Place on the Surrey campus.

“Honestly, I’m just excited about the whole thing,” says Strachan, adding that the KSA hopes to continue engaging students with these types of events in the future.

For students itching to get involved beyond Revive Your Spirit Week, there will be a cedar bracelet making workshop on Nov. 26 and a lunch coming up on Dec. 4 to mark the triumphant end of the semester.

To find out more, check out the Revive Your Spirit Week page on Facebook or follow the KPU Aboriginal Gathering Place on Facebook to keep up to date on upcoming events.