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