Meet the Teams
Orange You Ready brings together teams of up to 10 students, staff, faculty, and/or administrators. Some teams are made up of colleagues from a single department or unit who signed up together and others are created from people who signed up individually. Either way, participants get to know each other while they work on the (re)conciliation challenges together, and help build community and awareness on campus too.
tsék̓wscen̓ qwetséts
Our team name is tsék̓wscen̓ qwetséts, which means “Light Beginning” in the Secwepemc language. We chose Secwepemc because it’s the family language of one of our teammates. The name is also a fun play on words inspired by the Canadian Light Source, where our team works.
According to FirstVoices, Light Beginning — a nod to Light Source — is tsék̓wscen̓ qwetséts (pronounced chaps kwit wit chetch). You can scan the QR codes below to hear the pronunciation from Elder Mona Jules.
Maachi Kashkihtow
Our team name, Maachi Kashkihtow, comes from the Heritage Michif language. We chose Heritage Michif because Jade, one of our group members, is Métis and this is her language. It also resonated with our group more broadly, as some members have been learning Northern Michif phrases and felt a meaningful connection through Michif. Maachi Kashkihtow translates to “learn,” with maachi meaning “begin” and kashkihtow meaning “able.”
Our group is a wonderful blend of team members from the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, along with members of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences. When we first met to begin building our relationships and choosing a team name, we were immediately drawn to the idea of learning. As educators and staff who support educators, learning is central to everything we do.
On a personal level, we recognized that we are also learning together. Many of us are new to the USask community and to each other. As we embark on this OYR journey, we are excited to learn alongside one another, as well as from the community and the land around us. Maarsii!
kahkiyaw kiwahkomakaniwak
Our team name is kahkiyaw kiwahkomakaniwak, which means “all our relations”. This name indicates our wish for connectedness with the world we live in, the lands, waters, skies, and animals. Relations is also what we strive for in our practice of psychology and health studies in our department at our university and the communities we live and work in. We chose néhiyawéwin (Cree) because it is one of the languages spoken in and around Saskatoon.
We are primarily connected through our work in the Department of Psychology and Health Studies where we strive to learn how to share our worlds in safe ways with another.