Keynotes - Challenging Narratives: The Gentle Art of Reclaiming Indigenous Story
Speaker
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Eden Robinson
Haisla/Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson’s collection of short stories, Traplines, won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1998. Monkey Beach, her first novel, was shortlisted for both The Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction in 2000 and won the BC Book Prize’s Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her novel Son of a Trickster was shortlisted for The Giller Prize. Trickster Drift, its sequel, won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. The final book in the Trickster series, Return of the Trickster, was published 2021.
The current seismic shift in Indigenous Literature began with the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June 2015 and with the blockbuster success of Cherie Dimaline’s 2017 The Marrow Thieves. While very few of the TRC’s Calls to Actions have been implemented, the way it shifted Canadian sentiment positively towards Indigenous stories has resulted in an explosion of Indigenous writers being published that only accelerated with the financial and critical success of Indigenous novels, poetry, and non-fiction. This talk will provide a quick overview of Canadian Indigenous literature and a list of resources for those interested in exploring Indigenous Story further.
Sessions
Room Bell Centre
Sullivan Heights Secondary School
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Keynotes - MMIWG2S+ Panel
Speakers
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Allison Hotti
Allison Hotti, Indigenous Helping Teacher and member of the Dunne-za and Dene nations will be moderating the panel.
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Attijup Wilp Haiwaas / Christine Wilson
My ancestral traditional Gitxsan name is Attijup which means “The cub that wanders off and returns a warrior”, I am from Wilp Haiwaas which translates to House of Haiwaas, P’deek Laxseel; the Canadian government recognizes me as 5320085501, that is my status card number that has been assigned to me at birth; my English name for Canadian government purpose, is Christine Wilson. I am Gitxsan born and raised in Anspayawxx, land reserved for Indians which is 1 of 6, land reserved for Indians of Gitxsan Nation. I have been in my field for 23 years and I have gone full circle – I have worked with children, youth, adults and elders who are off-reserve, I have purposely chosen in my career, to work with Urban Indigenous people not only for connection but to empower them with choices, to teach, to guide, to support and to find their voices. Currently, I am the Director of Advocacy for Indigenous Women and I work for Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, a grass roots non-profit society that has played an integral part of urban Indigenous women by creating a safe space, providing culturally sensitive and humility services and to empower them with projects where their personal stories of resilience, courage and strength can be shared thru Red Woman Rising which was a submission into the 2019 MMIWG National Inquiry. 113 indigenous women and 15 non-indigenous women contributed in the creation of 200 recommendations as well as sharing their personal stories in every chapter of Red Women Rising. Red Women Rising and MMIWG2S+ Calls ot Justice are front and center of the work that I do and I strongly believe that the positions that I occupied prior, not only led me to but strengthened me for this position I walk in both traditional and western world; I choose not to share credentials as that is a colonial tool and a patriarch system, I am grateful to work for a non-profit that is feminist and anti-oppressive, inclusive and believes in equality and equity of the women who they serve.
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Vicki Haynes
Vicki Haynes works with the Dream Canoe program, which is the result of a partnership between Kílala Lelum, Saa-Ust, Indian Residential School Survivor Society, and Dudes Club Society. Dream Canoe supports the wellness of Indigenous community members in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver by exploring opportunities for community members to access canoeing and associated cultural and ceremonial programming. Vicki is also an instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
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Jennifer Lamont
Jennifer Lamont is a Metis Artist and recent graduate from KPU's Wilson School of Design. She designed a Red Dress that earned her a second place in this year's Our Social Fabric, Upcycled Design Competition. This year's theme was "Awareness" and Lamont says, “I wanted to give awareness to Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women as this is a topic that doesn't get enough attention, especially in the media."
Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit in Canada are disproportionately affected by violence and are over-represented in the overall incidence of women that are murdered and go missing. This crisis is a result of the legacy of colonialism and the ongoing racism experienced by Indigenous Peoples compounded by gender-based discrimination.
The three speakers on this panel were selected to raise awareness and bring our teachers a variety of perspectives and insights into this serious issue.
Check out our teacher weebly for ways to prepare for May 5th https://aboriginalresourcesforteachers.weebly.com/
Target Audience
K-12
Sessions
Included in your registration