KANATA Founded in Winter 2009 and Launches Vol. 1 in Spring 2009

Beginnings

The idea for KANATA arose during a seminar class at McGill University. In many ways, the students of this seminar class are responsible for the creation of KANATA.

The strong interest demonstrated by these students and the need to find a way to share and dicsuss the knowledge gained in academic settings more broadly and beyond the “bubble” of academia led to conversations between persons of interest (at McGill and beyond) and the two co-founders of KANATA, Pamela Fillion and Catherine Duclos (right to left in the bottom row of the photo above which was taken at the Aditawazi Nisoditadiwin: Empowerment Through Knowledge Conference at Carleton University).

Out of these many conversations and some research on the state of Native Studies in Canada, emerged the idea to create a peer-reviewed Journal which would reach out and bring together a community of students and persons interested in the sharing of ideas and knowledge pertaining to topics related to and affecting Native Peoples of North America and Indigenous Peoples across the world. Although the fields of Native Studies and Indigenous Studies have in some respects different focus areas, in many respects they overlap and intersect. The Journal was conceived with this understanding.

This Journal as well as the advocation for a minor program in Native Studies at McGill became the primary focus of the foundational beginnings of KANATA.

Thus, KANATA, the Indigenous Studies Community of McGill, exists today due to the hard work of its founding members, founding editorial board, and the support from faculty and scholars as well as a variety of organisations.

For making the creation of KANATA possible, the community would like to thank:

Influential Members of the Anthropology Seminar: Catherine Duclos, Pamela Fillion, Charles Mostoller, Christine Porterfield, Katie Vicks, Sara Cohen-Fournier, Corinne Jones, Sean Lynch, Laura Turley, Sylvia Chomko, Joel Pedneault, and more.

Faculty, Scholarly, and Administrative Support: Niigenwedom J. Sinclair, John Galaty, Donna Lee-Smith, Ronald Niezen, Michael Doxtater, Michael Loft, Luke Moreau, Marianne Stenbaek, Kathryn Muller, Waneek Horn-Miller, Lynn Fletcher, Norman Gull, Ebba Olofson, Linda Jacobs Starkey, Ian Rae, Lisa Stevenson, and Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier.

Organisational Support: The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, The First Peoples’ House, Borderless World Volunteers (McGill Chapter), McGill University Joint Senate Board Subcommittee on First Peoples’ Equity (JSBSC-FPE), the Anthropology Students Association, the Dean of Arts Development Fund, and Principal Everett’s Fund.

KANATA in the News: The McGill Daily

First Nations minor program proposed: Student initiative may bring McGill up to Speed

By Scott Baker

Published: 4/6/09

Link: http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/19002

KANATA Launches its First Volume

On April 8th, 2009 KANATA celebrated it’s first publication at Thompson House on McGill Campus. This launch was made possible by our partners: The Dean of Arts Development Fund, the First Peoples’ House, Society for Equity & Diversity Education Office, The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, and Borderless World Volunteers.

The launch featured performances by Molly Sweeny, Chandra Melting Tallow and Banana and the Flying Colours. Notably, the launch featured spoken word artist Moe Clark. Here is some more information on this artist:

Moe Clark

“Métis sound artist Moe Clark fuses her unique understanding of performance narrative with traditions of circle singing and spoken word. With a background in voice, spoken word, and visual arts, she creates a lyrical style, steeped in ritual and poetic exploration. Her poetic songs resonate with the power to heal, to celebrate spirit and to connect with authentic purpose. After her debut album release “Circle of She: Story & Song” (April ’08) Moe toured extensively across Canada and recently made her debut performances in Europe and South America […] Continued collaborations include working with youth and adults on storytelling and writing workshops, performing with Ian Ferrier and his experimental group Pharmakon, and continuing to develop visual design work for festivals and other artists. Moe believes in the power of transformation and the continuum of the oral tradition through active involvement in communities, both locally and internationally.” –myspace.com/moeclarkspokenword

The Journal: Volume 1 Fall 2009

Editors: Corinne Jones, Catherine Duclos, Pamela Fillion, Christine Porterfield, Katie Vicks, Sean Lynch, and Anne Whitehead

Content Contributors: Sylvia Chomko, Laura Turley, Mat Lyle, Maria Forti, Paumalū Cassidau, Joël Pedneault, Niigonwedom James Sinclair, The First Peoples’ House, Corinne Jones, Catherine Duclos, Pamela Fillion, Christine Porterfield, Katie Vicks, and Sean Lynch

Design Editor: Charles Mostoller

E-Version:KANATA Vol.1 Winter 2009