Category: Blog (Page 3 of 4)

SEDE’s 2012-2013 “Rethinking Community” Calendar Project Needs Submissions!

Call for submissions!

The McGill Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office is now accepting submissions from McGill researchers, community groups and artists for the 2012-13 SEDE Calendar.

This year’s calendar will feature research by faculty and students at McGill, paired with community-building efforts of groups and organizations at McGill and beyond. In keeping with SEDE calendar projects over the past five years, the calendar will be illustrated with artwork from emerging and established McGill-affiliated artists.

The SEDE calendar is one way in which the McGill community celebrates and values social equity and diversity and contributes towards the development of strong collegial bonds and mutual respect among its members. This will mark the fifth year the SEDE calendar is published and distributed on the McGill campus, and they look forward to hearing from all those interested in being a part of the SEDE calendar in 2012-13.

Wondering if you’re eligible? How to send in art work? Visit http://www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/2012-2013/ for more information or email Jorge Espinosa at jorge.espinosa@mcgill.ca

Deadline for submissions in 27th January 2012

Dr. Kirmeyer to Give Interactive Lecture on Indigenous Peoples and Mental Health

An Invitation from the Aboriginal Health Interest Research Group at McGill:

Not busy on JANUARY 17th at 6PM!? Interested in Aboriginal health, psychiatry, anthropology, sociology or even education?! Come to Thompson House room 406!!!

This will definitely be an interesting talk by expert Dr. Laurence Kirmayer, co-author of Healing Traditions and McGill professor and director of the division of social and transcultural psychiatry! Dr. Kirmayer is well-established  and extremely knowledgeable in the areas of aboriginal mental health, mental health care for immigrants and refugees, cultural resilience and many more! In addition, he founded and directs the annual summer program in social and cultural psychiatry at McGill as well as national network for aboriginal mental health research.

Feel free to check out his page at the following link:
http://www.mcgill.ca/trauma-globalhealth/people/canada/kirmayer/

Dr. Kirmayer will be giving an interactive presentation on the topics covered in his book including an overview of the mental health of Indigenous peoples; origins and representations  of social suffering, transformations of identity and community, and traditional healing and mental health services. Cross-cutting themes will include: the impact of colonialism, sedentarization and forced assimilation, the importance of land for indigenous identity and an ecocentric self; notions of space and place as part of the cultural matrix of identity and experience; and processes of healing and spirituality as sources of resilience.

If any of the above topics sounds like something you would want to know more about or you would just like to engage in discussions concerning these issues, feel free to come by! This presentation might be especially useful and interesting for you if you are planning on spending anytime in an aboriginal community throughout your medical training!

Everyone is welcome! The more the merrier!

Please RSVP to ahig.mcgill@gmail.com, so we know how many people to bring snacks for! Yes, SNACKS WILL BE SERVED!

Here is a little excerpt from the back cover of the book (available at the McGill Library!):
“Aboriginal peoples in Canada have diverse cultures but share common social and political challenges that have contributed to their experiences of health and illness. This collection addresses the origins of mental health and social problems and the emergence of culturally responsive approaches to services and health promotion. Healing Traditions is not a handbook of practice but a resource for thinking critically about current issues in the mental health of
indigenous peoples. “

The Wampum Chronicles at The McCord Museum!

On Wednesday January 11th at 6pm Darren Bonaparte brings his stories and passion to a free presentation at the McCord Museum (690 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC).

This will be an incredibly interesting living history presentation.

Free. Open to the public. Seating limited, get there early.

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Grâce aux chroniques du Wampum de Darren Bonaparte, venez découvrir l’histoire de la première nation Mohawk; une histoire véridique, passionnante et toujours vivante.

Gratuit et ouvert à tous, cet événement sera donné en anglais seulement.

Presented by McGill’s Aboriginal Sustainability Project

This gorgeous poster was designed by Walter Scott.

McGill Community Comes Together for an Attawapiskat Benefit Concert

The Aboriginal Sustainability Project invites all to attend and donate funds for the Red Cross relief effort for Attawapiskat. This event is taking place on Monday December 5th from 6-9pm in the SSMU Ballroom.

More details from the Aboriginal Sustainability Project’s facebook event page: 

Raising awareness of the housing issues that First Nations communities face, and to provide supplies for a community in need.The event is dedicated to Aboriginal people who share their stories, through song, music, poetry and storytelling

We have four wonderful performers:

• DJ Mad Eskimo, http://www.myspace.com/madeskimo
• Joey Shaw, http://www.myspace.com/hiphopisastateofmind
• Demiel Pepin, http://www.myspace.com/demielpepinmusic
• Cod Sent Flute, http://www.purevolume.com/codsentflute

Sharing their stories :

• Michael Loft, Mohawk, McGill Professor
• Trudy Blumstein, Advisor of Indigenous Access McGill
• Elma Moses, Cree, McGill PhD Candidate
• Mary Shem, Cree, McGill Student
• Natasha Latter, Cree from Montreal Lake Cree Nation

MORE TO COME!!

Donate What You Can, Suggested Donation $5.00
100% of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross.

There are ways that you can help if you are unable to attend the concert. Until Friday, December 9th, the First Peoples’ House and SEDE will be accepting monetary donations.

Please feel free to collect donations from friends, family, and work colleagues.
The First Peoples’ House is located at 3505 rue Peel, and SEDE at 3610 Mctavish, Suite 12,
Office Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm.

KANATA’s Indigenous Studies Peer-to-Peer Conference

On November 24th and 25th, KANATA- McGill’s Indigenous Studies Community will be hosting a unique event for the McGill student body: a student-led indigenous studies conference where students teach and learn from their fellow peers. This conference will include panel discussions, academic presentations, a film screening and other opportunities to learn about indigenous studies resources at McGill.

By providing a space for students to share their knowledge and learning experiences, this conference will allow peers to come together to gain broader perspectives and greater understanding of indigenous realities. This conference will demonstrate how forms of academic and indigenous knowledge can be empowering and enriching for both indigenous and non-indigenous learners involved. By fostering discussion and exploration at McGill, KANATA aims to indigenize academic and scholarly discussion across disciplines.

***Send us an email at mcgillnativestudiesjournal@gmail.com to RSVP your attendance at our conference ASAP and you will receive a coupon for free bannock and tea during the conference***

Tentative Schedule

THURSDAY

Opening Ceremony & Indigenous Studies Panel
9:00AM, Thomson House, 3650 McTavish, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2

  • Invited Panelists (Professors Michael Loft and Gregory Brass; Pamela Fillion co-founder of KANATA; and Dan Pujdak from the Assembly of First Nations) discuss role of indigenous studies at McGill and other universities in the country

Communal Lunch
11:45AM, First People’s House, 3505 rue Peel Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • Lunch will be provided for community members and conference participants free of charge

Presentation Session 1: Ways of Knowing
1:30PM, Room 302, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “Switching to First Person: Moving beyond the Liberal Rights Discourse in Aboriginal Rights Activism” by Aimee Louw (Concordia University)
  • “A Close Reading of Beth Brant’s ‘Physical Prayers’ in her ‘Writing As Witness: Essay and Talk’: Sex as Ceremony” by Dana Wesley (Queen’s University)
  • “Indigenous Science Education: More than Just Add Indigenous Studies and Stir”
    by Michela Ferugson (Queen’s University)
  • “Rebecca Belmore: High-tech Storytelling and Orality in Aboriginal Art” by Erin Sutherland (Queen’s University)
  • Discussion Period

Presentation Session 2: Sense of Place
4:00PM, Room 302, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “The Effects of the Ontario Mining Code upon Aboriginal Communities” by Sean Phipps (McGill University)
  • “‘A Quiet Settlement:’ A Historical Analysis of the Lake Babine Nation Barricade Treaty of 1906” by Venetia Boehmer-Plotz (McGill University)
  • “Resources Development and Aboriginal Communities: A Case Study of the Blood/Kainai Reserve in Southern Alberta” by Katherine Downey, Sarah Stupar & Fleur Trubert (McGill University)
  • Discussion Period

Supper Break

Film Screening: 3rd World Canada
7:30PM, McConnell 204, 3480 University St., Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7

  • This documentary is set in the backdrop of the aftermath of the suicide of three parents in the Native community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug in northern Ontario. The documentary explores the impact of 3rd world conditions on the children left behind and a community’s courage in looking after them.
  • After this film, there will be a discussion period about topics that were brought up in the film.

FRIDAY

Presentation Session 3: Beyond our Borders
9:00AM, Breakout Room, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “Ethnic Politics in Bolivia: A Sudden Rise on Indigenous Land” by Camilla Gordillo (McGill University)
  • “The Commodification of Culture: Globalization and the Indigenous Maya” by Lauren Walshe Roussel (University of York, England)
  • Discussion Period

Presentation Session 4: Reconciling Reality
10:30AM, Breakout Room, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “Healing and Reconciliation at the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission” by Talia Bronstein (McGill University)
  • “The Value of Aboriginal Women’s Lives” by Megan Bertasson (York University)
  • Discussion Period

Lunch Break

Aboriginal Field Studies Course Panel Discussion
1:00PM, Breakout Room, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • This session will explore McGill’s first Aboriginal Field Studies Course, now in its third year. This course is unique: it’s  interdisciplinary between law, social work, anthropology and medicine. Nearly 30 students spend a week camping by the river together in Kahnawake learning from community members. Past participants will discuss their experiences and share the knowledge they gained through the course. A short film based on the first year will also be screened.

Presentation Session 5: Health & Wellness
2:30PM, Breakout Room, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “Rebirth: Birthing In and Out of the Arctic” by Andrew Childerhose (McGill University)
  • “Understanding Casual Linkages in the Increasing Incidence of HIV among Aboriginal Women in Canada” by Deveney Bazinet (McGill University)
  • Discussion Period

Presentation Session 6: Identity Mediums
4:15PM, Lev Buchman Room, Shatner Building, 3480 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

  • “Image and Memory– Art About Missing and Murdered Women” by Amber Berson (Concordia University)
  • “Kenojuak Ashevak” by Isabel Luce (McGill University)
  • “Iyiyuuh Iskew Iyiimuiiun – Cree Women and Identity” by Mary Shem & Elma Moses (McGill University)
  • “Métis Poetry & Geographies of Resistence” by William Leonard Felepchuck (Université d’Ottawa)
  • Discussion Period

Supper Break

Celebration Evening
7:30PM, Location TBA

  • Community members and Indigenous artists perform through a celebration of the conference’s events
  • Live music by invited performers
  • Treats and eats
  • Open mic time for everyone to participate

The Aboriginal Sustainability Project Presents ‘The Boreal Forest: Our Land, Our Stories, Our Responsibility’

McGill University’s Aboriginal Sustainability Project is proud to announce that we will be hosting ‘The Boreal Forest: Our Land, Our Stories, Our Responsibility’ to celebrate the leadership and commitment of Aboriginal communities in the conservation and sustainable development of the Boreal forest.

The event will take place on Wednesday, November 16  between 7:00pm – 9:00pm located at McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, Room 1/3 1205 Docteur Penfield Avenue.

The event is dedicated to Aboriginal leaders and youth who share their stories from the Boreal Forest, both successes and challenges.  In addition, the event showcases Aboriginal music and culture.

The majority of the evening is dedicated to having Aboriginal Leaders share their personal stories. There will be three wonderful speakers:
• Chief Paul Gull, Cree First Nation of Waswanipi
• Stephen Kakfwi, former Premier of the NWT and former Dene Nation President
• Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, Grand Council of the Crees

Innu artist Kathia Rock from Maliotenam on Quebec’s north-shore will be performing. http://www.socam.net/katiarock.html

Find more about this event on facebook. 

 Aboriginal Sustainability Project’s aim is to enhance the presence of Aboriginal peoples in the McGill and Montreal community through educational and cultural activities. In partnership with First Peoples’ House, SEDE, and Aboriginal Community Outreach Coordinator. Funded by The Sustainability Projects Fund.

Upcoming Events in November (Aside from our Conference!)

Roundtable Discussion with Jonathon Dewar and Dr. Mike DeGagne (Organized by McGill’s Aboriginal Sustainability Project)

What: Join us in a roundtable discussion with Jonathan Dewar and Dr. Mike DeGagné, from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, as we explore the themes focused in the book, Cultivating Canada: Reconciliation through the Lens of Cultural Diversity.

The format will be roundtable discussion followed by Soup and Bannock Lunch at the First Peoples’ House.

When: Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 12:00pm-2:00pm

Where: 3715 Peel St. (The Coach House), Room 200

For more information, please visit the facebook event page

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The Native ART – CULTURE Evenings:

Sharing moments with the aboriginal community of Montreal on every first Thursday of each month!

What: This Thursday, November 3rd, we will count with the presence of Geronimo Inutiq. Geronimo Inutiq has been making independent original electronic music and art under the moniker of Madeskimo since the mid- 1990s. Originating from the arctic in what is called Baffin Island, and having spent a good portion of his life in the urban centers of Montreal and Quebec, he takes his cultural experiences in metropolitan centers and indigenous traditions and blends it together into an original style.

When: Thursday, November 3rd beginning at 9pm

Where: Cafe-bar l’Escalier, 552 St Catherine Est.

For more information, please visit the facebook event page.

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The Indian Residential School Experience in Canada: Limitations and Challenges to Healing (McGill’s Aboriginal Law Students Association)

What: This colloquium aims at exploring some of the limitations and challenges that we face in this process of decolonization drawing on the Indian Residential School experience as the background. We will be joined by: Clement Chartier (President of the Metis National Council), Gerald Taiaiake Alfred (full Professor and founding Director of the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Victoria), and Paulette Regan (Senior Researcher, Historical Memory and Reconciliation Project, for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and a Research Fellow at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia).

When: Thursday, November 10th, 2011: 5-7pm

Where: 3644 Peel Street, Montréal, Qc. Room 312-316

For more information, visit the facebook event page

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The Boreal Forest: Our Land, Our Stories Our Responsibility

What: Come enjoy an evening of Aboriginal leaders sharing their personal stories of living connected with the Boreal forest and a musical performance by aboriginal musician Kathia Rock.

This event is part of an Aboriginal University speaking tour dedicated to celebrating the leadership and commitment of First Nations and Aboriginal communities in the conservation and sustainable development of the Boreal forest.

When: Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 7pm-9pm

Where: McGill University, Stewart Biology Building, Room 1/3
1205 Docteur Penfield Avenue
Montreal, QC

For more information, please visit the facebook event page.

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Indigenous Rights Conference. The Challenge of Respecting Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Comparing Experiences from Africa, Latin America and North America

What: On behalf of Institute for the Study for International Development:

I am pleased to announce the latest International Conference from McGill University’s Institute for the Study for International Development. The conference is intended to start a process for understanding the complexity of Indigenous rights more fully by bringing together indigenous peoples from Africa, Latin America and North America, along with key actors at the national and international levels actively involved in trying to find practical solutions to problems of poverty, exclusion and victimization faced by indigenous peoples everywhere.

When: Thursday & Friday, November 17-18 2011

Where: McGill Faculty Club and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

For more information, please visit the ISID event page.

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Gathering of Nations: Identity, Citizenship and Culture (Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network)

What: It will shed light on the issues linked to Aboriginal identity and citizenship in a solution-oriented reflection that will aim to empower First Nations’ citizenship and identity and First Nations participation in society. This gathering was designed with the vision for a healthy participation and real contribution of Aboriginal women and their families to promote the well-being and future of their communities in the province of Quebec.

When: November 18 and 19

Where: Delta Hotel, Montreal

For more information, visit: http://www.faq-qnw.org/

___________________________________________

Fall Gathering of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network

What: Guest Speaker, Adalbert Pimentel, of the Westmount Ville-Marie Station of the service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will be doing a presentation on safety issues concerning urban Aboriginal people.

When: Wednesday, November 23rd – 8:30am to 4:30pm

Where: TBD

For more information, please contact: reseau.mtl.autochtone@gmail.com.

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