We are honoured to announce that Skawennati will serve as our Indigenous Knowledge Holder for 2019. Kahnawake-born artist Skawennati makes work that addresses history, the future, and change from her perspective both as an urban Mohawk and a cyber punk avatar. She is co-director of Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace at Concordia University. Skawennati's work imagining Indigenous futures and ensuring the existence of Indigenous people in cyberspace.
On September 25th, as part of Indigenous Awareness Weeks 2018, the Indigenous Studies Program hosted four incredible Inuit women in involved in the arts: Heather Igloliorte (ᓯᕈ ᐃᒡᓗᓕᐅᖅᑎ), Niap Saunders (ᓂᐊᑉ ᓴᓐᑐᔅ), Nina Segalowitz (ᓂᓇ ᓯᒐᓗᕕᑦᔅ), and Beatrice Deer (ᐱᐊᑐᐊᔅ ᑎᐅ). After presentations by each of the panelists, a warm and earnest discussion was had with the audience. A recording of the event was made and can be accessed here, there are also pictures of the event available through our Facebook page.
This weekend, Christa Scholtz (Chair, Indigenous Studies Program & Associate Professor of Political Science) wrote a letter to the editor of the Montreal Gazette:
"Original Meaning Isn't Everything"
Re: McGill Redmen should keep their name (Martin Patriquin, Oct 18)
Martin Patriquin suggests McGill University should keep the name of the men's varsity team, the Redmen. He writes that a decision to do otherwise would be "cowardice", an unprincipled abdication to political correctness. I disagree.
McGill University’s Indigenous students can now rely on dedicated financial support, thanks to a partnership with Indspire, an Indigenous national charity that invests in the education of Indigenous peoples.
Two types of financial assistance will be made available via Indspire:
Indigenous Awareness Week has been expanded this year to Indigenous Awareness Weeks, now spanning the last two weeks of September.
“I saw how much good work had been done with IAW, and, as the events started rolling in and we started building partnerships with the different faculties and departments at McGill, I realized how difficult it was going to be to cram everything into one week,” Janelle Kasperski (Equity Educational Advisor in Indigenous Education) told the McGill Reporter.
We are very excited to announce that Gabrielle Iakotennikonhrare Doreen, our faculty lecturer, will be leading McGill first ever landbased education field course this summer.
Molly Swain and Chelsea Vowel landed their spaceship at McGill for a live show of their podcast Métis in Space in February. They are self-described as "unapologetically Indigenous, unabashedly female & unblinkingly nerdy". Their podcast reviews a sci-fi movie or television episode featuring Indigenous people, tropes and themes from a decolonial perspective.
This week the Indigenous studies program made the news in the McGill Daily and the Eastern Door!
The Indigenous Knowledge Holder Series this year was a major success! Ryan McMahon, CEO of Makoons Media and builder of Indian & Cowboy, spent the week at McGill contributing to our community. The Indigenous Knowledge Holder Series is the Indigenous Studies Program's flagship series.
For the Indigenous Knowledge Holder Series, the Indigenous Studies Program invites an Indigenous Knowledge Holder to spend a week at the university to share their scholarship, work, and advocacy. Indigenous Knowledge Holders – whether they be wampum belt holders, storytellers, artists, activists, hereditary leaders, or academics– encompass generations of knowledge embedded within the cultural and epistemological worldview of Indigenous communities that span generations, to enrich the McGill Community.