Tree of Peace takes root at St. Lawrence College

Submitted by the Indigenous Services Team 

A newly planted Tree of Peace at St. Lawrence College’s Brockville campus will serve as a living space for reflection, learning, dialogue, and reconciliation, creating new opportunities for students and the broader College community to engage with Indigenous teachings and ways of knowing and being. 

The tree was planted on October 20, 2026, during the 10th anniversary of The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund’s Secret Path Week. The ceremony drew inspiration from the Haudenosaunee Great Tree of Peace and its teachings of unity, respect, cooperation, and shared responsibility. 

During the ceremony, participants were invited to reflect on present-day barriers that divide communities, including racism, prejudice, hatred, greed, and exclusion. They wrote a contemporary “weapon of war” on a wooden splint and placed it beneath the tree before planting, symbolically committing to peace. 

The initiative was inspired by SLC alumnus and retiree Keith Hare who helped establish the campus’s Alumni Family Tree project. Hare was introduced to the Haudenosaunee principle of the Good Mind, which encourages awareness of thoughts, words, and actions in support of peace and well-being by Shannon Hall, SLC Education Developer/Curriculum Consultant. 

The Tree of Peace brings that legacy into the College’s learning environment. Faculty will be encouraged to incorporate the tree and its teachings into curriculum and classroom activities, giving students opportunities to learn through reflection, storytelling, dialogue and experiential learning. 

More than a commemorative symbol, the tree represents SLC’s commitment to creating spaces where Indigenous knowledge and perspectives can contribute to learning and understanding. As it takes root and grows, it will serve as a reminder that reconciliation is an ongoing journey requiring care, respect, relationship-building and action. As the message of the planting ceremony captured: “Together, we will plant more than a tree.”