Edith Monture's 'tenacity, determination' brings honour to Brantford school named after WW I nurse
CBC
For staff and students of Edith Monture Elementary in Brantford, Ont., every single day it's "an honour" to walk into a school that bears the name of such "an inspiring leader."
Monture was the first First Nations woman to become a registered nurse in Canada. She was also a Mohawk veteran — after completing her nursing education in the U.S., she volunteered with the American Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
She then served her community of Six Nations of the Grand River for more than 40 years as a community nurse and midwife. Monture died in 1996.
The school was renamed after Monture earlier this year, making Tuesday the first Indigenous Veteran's Day the school marked since the change.
"Edith Monture Elementary School … is honoured every single day that every single one of the Grand Erie students who go to that school walk in and feel that symbol of Edith and Edith's strength," JoAnna Roberto, director of education for the Grand Erie District School Board, told CBC Hamilton Tuesday.
"I think at the school level, in particular, the principal and staff and students have been champions and will continue to unpack her work and everything that, you know, Edith stood for... She was an inspiring leader."
Roberto said Monture was recognized in school announcements Tuesday and most classes had some kind of activity connected to Indigenous Veteran's Day. The school also has several activities planned to mark Remembrance Day on Friday.
The former Ryerson Heights Elementary School officially changed its name in September after, Roberto says, there were around 250 names submitted for consideration. Roberto says the school is now a symbol of Monture's work for generations to come.
Given the amount of work raising awareness around Monture's legacy already this year, Roberto said classes focused on a few other things. These included:
Roberto says renaming the school also brought the community together.
"The name is not only a symbol of the commitment to Indigenous learning," she said. "It's also really closely connected to our work in the district around belonging and really supporting learning and engagement and mental health and well-being."
In June, when the plan to rename the school was first announced, Monture's grandson, John Moses, told CBC Indigenous that he was grateful to know his grandmother's legacy would live on.
"My grandmother was inspirational to a number of other Six Nations band members in the health-care system," said Moses.
Meanwhile, Terri Monture, granddaughter of Edith, spoke on behalf of the family at the renaming ceremony in late September.
