Wendake, May 9, 2019 – Following two articles by reporter Isabelle Hachey of La Presse Plus published this week, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) is concerned about an increasing number of people who claim to be “indigenous”, fraudulently pretending to be a member of a First Nation and on this basis, introduce themselves as merchants, through various platforms, of indigenous products and services to the detriment of persons duly recognized by our Nations.
First and foremost, the AFNQL wishes to emphasize that the establishment of services that allow cultural security, a healing process or the exercise of a spirituality for First Nations people is not questioned. These support services are part of the spectrum of conditions that can promote individual and collective well-being of our communities and they are desired and necessary, and many individuals within our Nations are recognized to offer these kinds of support mechanisms.
“In a context where cultural appropriation raises legitimate concerns that are met by firm positions on the part of First Nations and recognized Indigenous groups around the world, nothing is more dishonest than misleading the public in such a blatant way by taking on false representation. Self-proclaimed “spiritual guide” or “shaman” without any affiliation to either of our First Nations is a scam, and this is totally disrespectful to any person who put their trust in these individuals. How far will they go? Exploiting the vulnerability of our members is unacceptable in every respect, but some do so freely, and even sometimes with the formal support of Governments which makes them accomplices of such a travesty”, said the Chief of the AFNQL Ghislain Picard.
The AFNQL intends to propose to the chiefs who sit at its table the establishment of a listing of persons duly recognized by their Nations for the purposes of services which derive their source from the authentic indigenous traditional, cultural or spiritual specificity.
The AFNQL also intends to call upon prison authorities to make sure background checks to verify the authenticity of the indigenous affiliation of certain inmates be more rigorous.
About the AFNQL
The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador is the political organization regrouping 43 Chiefs of the First Nations in Quebec and Labrador. Follow us on Twitter @APNQL.
Calgary, AB – May 9, 2019 – Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) is pleased to announce that Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer of CN is the new Co-Chair of CCAB’sSupply Change initiative.
Mr. Finn succeeds Mark Little, CEO of Suncor, who served as the first Co-Chair when the initiative launched last May. The announcement was made at the Aboriginal Economic Development Conference (AEDC) being held today at the Westin in Calgary.
Supply Change is CCAB’s Aboriginal Procurement initiative that aims to create long-term sustainable opportunities for Aboriginal businesses and a meaningful advance of Indigenous participation in the economy.
“Our Supply Change initiative is undergoing unprecedented growth and much of that success is a result of Mark Little’s commitment and leadership,” says JP Gladu, President and CEO of CCAB. “We are honoured to have Sean Finn step into the Co-Chair role. Sean’s extensive knowledge, vision and passion for driving Aboriginal business growth makes him an ideal Co-Chair.”
Over the past year the number of Aboriginal Procurement Champions grew by 75% to 51 Champions. Procurement Champions are leading Canadian companies that commit themselves to increasing procurement opportunities for Aboriginal-owned businesses and pledge to motivate companies within their networks to join the movement.
Supply Change also includes Canada’s largest directory of Certified Aboriginal Businesses (CABs), which are independently certified as at least 51% Aboriginal owned and operated. In the past year, the directory grew by 97% and today there are 276 CAB companies listed.
Sean brings extensive experience in legal, government, regulatory and industry relations to his new role.
Supply Change includes a digital Aboriginal Procurement Marketplace through which corporations and small and medium enterprises (SME’s) with procurement opportunities can easily connect on-line with qualified Aboriginal companies.
Participation in CCAB’s Supply Change initiative is open to all corporations and SMEs with the potential to include Aboriginal-owned companies in their supplier networks.
Fifty-one corporations have joined Supply Change as Aboriginal Procurement Champions. They include: Black & McDonald, BMO, The Bouchier Group, Bruce Power, Cameco, Cascade Projects, CIBC, City of Toronto Civeo,Clough Enercore, CN, Compass Group, Cortex, ES Fox Limited, Express Scripts, Fisher Powerline Construction, Fluor, Forest Products Association of Canada, Fort McKay First Nation, Fort McKay Group of Companies,General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada, Hydro One, Imperial Oil, Industry Training Authority, Infield Solutions, LiUNA, Metrolinx, Nutrien, Ontario Power Generation, ORIGIN, Procon, RBC, Resolute Forest Products,SaskPower, Simon Fraser University, Sodexo, Stantec, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants Inc. Suncor, Syncrude, The State Group Inc., Tolko, Tuccaro, Union Gas, University of Saskatchewan, Venshore Mechanical, and VIP Powerline
About CCAB
CCAB is committed to the full participation of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s economy. A national, non-partisan association, CCAB offers knowledge, resources and programs to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal owned companies that foster economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples and businesses across Canada.
In 2010, former prime minister Stephen Harper publicly reversed his government’s opposition to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In a formal “statement of support,” the Harper government said that it had listened to Indigenous leaders in Canada and “learned from the experience of other countries” and was now “confident” that Canada could move ahead with implementation of the Declaration “in a manner that is consistent with our Constitution and legal framework.”
So why wouldn’t Conservative Members of Parliament and Senators support legislation intended to finally move ahead with the work of implementing the Declaration in Canada?
Bill C-262 is the private member’s bill introduced by NDP MP Romeo Saganash. Passage of C-262 would create a legal framework requiring the federal government to work collaboratively with Indigenous peoples on the measures needed to bring Canadian law and policy into line with the minimum global standards set out in the Declaration.
Critically, passage of the Bill C-262 would not suddenly change the legal status of the Declaration in Canada. Courts would continue to use the Declaration in the interpretation of Canada, just as they are already doing. However, passage of C-262 would establish an ongoing process of federal implementation that could not be easily abandoned by future governments.
The Bill enjoys widespread support. Out of 71 witnesses who appeared before a Parliamentary Committee examining the Bill last year, only one opposed adoption of C-262.
Yet, when it came to a vote in the House of Commons, Conservative MPs refused to join the other parties in supporting the Bill. Video widely circulated online even showed Conservative MPs giving each other a high five after they voted against the Bill.
Now the Bill is before the Senate where its fate will be decided. The Bill is being sponsored in the Senate by independent Senator Murray Sinclair. The support of the former Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a powerful symbol that the Bill is an opportunity to advance reconciliation in Canada. Unfortunately, however, the limited time remaining to adopt C-262 before the current session ends means that even a small minority opposing the Bill could threaten its passage into law.
A number of Conservative Senators have already gone on the record opposing the Bill. Their main concern seems to be that the UN Declaration could have far-reaching and unpredictable impacts in Canada. Some have already used procedural tactics to attempt to stall debate over the Bill.
These Senators seem to forget that the Declaration is not new – that it was developed over a period of more than twenty years and adopted by the United Nations more than a decade ago. They also seem to forget that a Conservative government studied the Declaration and came to the conclusion that it could and should support its implementation. And they are clearly ignoring the fact that the very purpose of the Bill is to ensure ongoing dialogue between government and Indigenous peoples over how the Declaration will be interpreted and applied in the future.
With an election looming, we are at a point where every issue on Parliament is seen as an opportunity to score points over political opponents. The cause of reconciliation, however, must not be dragged down by partisan politics.
Bill C-262 is something that every federal party could and should support. In doing so, they have an opportunity to send a clear message to the public about the importance they place on reconciliation.
Dr. Abel Bosum is Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and Alex Neve is Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.
(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs today, speaking directly to the urgency of passing federal legislation on First Nations child welfare in this session of Parliament.
“Bill C-92 is focused on the safety, security and future of First Nations children in Canada, and it’s crucial this legislation pass before the end of June,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde to members of the Standing Committee today. “The impact of the status quo child welfare system is felt every day in our families and communities. There is no greater gift from the Creator than our children. They deserve to grow up valued and connected to their families, cultures and nations.”
National Chief Bellegarde proposed specific areas to strengthen the bill together with Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Director of Indian Residential School Centre for History andDialogue, Professor, Allard Law School, University of British Columbia. Areas identified for strengthening include references to adequate funding, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, best interests of the child and Jordan’s Principle.
“No single legislative instrument will be enough on its own, but with First Nations jurisdiction paramount, we have a solid base for the change we need to see for our children and families,” said National Chief Bellegarde. “Federal legislation sets a national framework and is a good first step to complement existing self-government agreements and while work at the regional and local levels continues. Bill C-92 recognizes and affirms the right to raise and take care of our children according to our own practices and values and to carry our languages and cultures forward from this generation to the next.”
An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, Bill C-92 was introduced in the House of Commons in February. It was developed with direction from AFN Chiefs-in-Assembly and input by the AFN legislative working group which is comprised of technicians and experts from across the country drawing on years of advocacy and direction.
This legislation affirms First Nations jurisdiction and creates space for First Nations laws and practices regarding their families. It respects rights in the context of implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is the minimum international standard for the survival and dignity of Indigenous peoples. It sets out key principles that will prevent children from being removed from their homes unnecessarily, promotes children staying in their communities and nations and ensures the best interests of the child principle is understood and applied with a First Nations lens for our children and families.
The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
Kenora, ON — In an effort to raise awareness about the diabetes epidemic sweeping across Treaty #3 territory, Grand Council Treaty #3 produced a dynamic new video to encourage viewers to live a healthy life and better understand the chronic disease.
The video, titled Diabetes in Our Nation was created with funding from Indigenous Services Canada through the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative, and features people from Treaty #3 First Nations. The video was shot over a number of months this past winter and features insight and advice about the disease from a variety of different perspectives.
The four-minute video, which is posted to the Grand Council Treaty #3 website and to social media will also be shared with each of the Treaty #3 First Nations and regional health organizations. The video introduces individuals from Treaty #3 who share their personal stories living with diabetes. The video includes links to the full extended interviews for viewers who want to hear the whole story.
“This is an important service video that needs to be shared across our territories. Diabetes has affected someone we know in our First Nations,” said Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh, Grand Chief of Grand Council Treaty #3 who appears in the video. “The prevalence of diabetes in our territories alone is more than twice as high compared to the overall Ontario average. This is a serious matter and we need to continue to fight this epidemic that is devastating our communities and our families.”
Participants in the video share their personal journeys living with the chronic disease and encourage others to see their health care provider to get their blood sugar levels tested. Regular physical activity and healthy eating are highlighted as ways to avoid getting Type 2 diabetes and also important in the control of the disease for those who are living with diabetes.
The personal stories encourage viewers to take steps to be healthy and to understand that diabetes, although a disease to be avoided where possible can be managed through health lifestyle choices.
Because of the prevalence of diabetes among Grand Council Treaty #3 First Nations, Grand Council Treaty #3 wanted to create a video that featured people and stories from their region to better reach the population with a health message in a more personal way. To view the video please visit www.gct3.ca
SUMMARY: Haida Elders create “Great Work” over two decades to preserve and revitalize their language; Vancouver Island University recognizes Elders’ contributions with honorary degrees on Monday, June 3, 2019.
VIU MEDIA RELEASE: Monday, April 29, 2019
NANAIMO, BC: When a culture loses its language, an irreparable connection to the essence of a people is gone. One way to kill a Nation is to kill their language. The architects of the Canadian Indian Residential School System understood this, which is why they forcibly forbade their young charges from speaking their own language. The result of losing this linguistic diversity is a tragic loss to Canada of the wisdom, complexity and true understanding contained in the richness of Indigenous languages and cultures.
However, a dedicated and passionate group of Haida Elders, a generation who lived through residential schools, have spent the last 21 years ensuring this is not the case for the Haida people. In 1998, they created the Skidegate Haida Immersion Program (SHIP), designed to preserve and revitalize HlGaagilda Xaayda Kil, the Skidegate dialect of the Haida language.
Since SHIP began, despite illness and other challenges, the Elders have gathered five days a week, 10 months a year to remember and to record their previously oral language for this and future generations.
Vancouver Island University (VIU) is honoured to recognize their remarkable work with Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees to all nine Elders. Their names are Gaayinguuhlas (Roy Jones), Yang K’aalas (Grace Jones), Ildagwaay (Bea Harley), Taalgyaa’adad (Betty Richardson), Jiixa (Gladys Vandal) Sing.giduu (Laura Jormanainen), SGaanajaadsk’yaagaxiigangs (Kathleen Hans), Niis Waan (Harvey Williams) and GwaaGanad (Diane Brown). Together, they comprise the Skidegate Haida Language Authority. They will receive their awards during VIU’s afternoon convocation ceremony on Monday, June 3 starting at 2:30 pm.
With an average age of 84, these “language professors” represent about half of all fluent HlGaagilda Xaayda Kil speakers. Their contribution is an avalanche of language preservation including translating and producing more than 200 CD-ROMs; developing an app with 2,000 words and 500 phrases available to anyone with an Internet connection; writing “The Glossary” which contains more than 26,000 Haida words; translation of 14 Haida Readers; creating a variety of educational resources including 130 lesson plans and 80 children’s books; and much more. With justice in their souls, they support the Haida title case, including a Haida Place Names Mapping Project with more than 2,200 Haida place names. All this, in addition to the lives they touch daily, as Elders, giving because they can, through teaching and role modelling.
SHIP played an important role in the making of an award-winning, feature-length movie filmed in the Haida language: SGaawaay K’uuna – The Edge of the Knife.
“This nomination for nine Haida Elders receiving Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees has its genesis in the VIU Faculty of Education,” said Les Malbon, VIU Sport, Health and Physical Education Professor. “The faculty humbly pays respect and tribute to the Elders’ engagement and ways of being, knowing and understanding. Faculty members recognize that they can learn at a deep and transformative level from these living libraries and pass this learning on to their students. These nine Haida Elder wisdom keepers are completing the Great Work (magnus opus) of their lives. They have brought forth a body of work from the core of their being that captures the richness of language and culture and showcased it to the world. The Great Work is resurgent, regenerative, transformative and is a gift for all future generations.”
“It is fitting that SHIP be recognized by VIU during the United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages,” said VIU Chancellor Louise Mandell. “This year we seek healing, from the violent disruption and interruption of language transmission and recovery of humanity’s linguistic heritage. Indigenous languages are disappearing around the world at unprecedented rates, with Canada one of the worst examples. We are overwhelmed with admiration and inspiration, and celebrate SHIP’s love and lasting legacy.”
Short biographies of each SHIP Elder:
Ildagwaay (Beatrice Harley) is the eldest woman and clan mother of the K’aadas Ga KiiGawaay, also known as the Raven-Wolf clan of T’aanuu. She was born on November 17, 1928 in Skidegate to Louise and George Price. She eloped with husband, Kenneth Harley, a sailor in the merchant navy, to Prince Rupert so her husband could immigrate and they married on February 7, 1949. They have two daughters – Barbara and Margaret. She has been with SHIP since the beginning. She taught at the Haida Heritage Centre and the Skidegate Health Centre and now mentors students. She is a fluent speaker and teacher of Xaayda Kil.
Taalgyaa’adad (Betty Richardson) was born to Rosalind and Fred Russ on May 11, 1935 in Skidegate. She and her family lived with her paternal grandmother until she was 13. Her grandmother spoke fluent Xaayda Kil. Her mother attended residential school for eight years. Taalgyaa’adad married Miles Richardson, Chief Cheexial (a hereditary Chief of the Haida Nation) in 1954. They have six children and 13 grandchildren. She is an Eagle from the Ts’aahl clan. She owned and operated her own travel agency from 1978- 1995. She started teaching at SHIP in 2000. She is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker and now teaches four-and five-year-olds in the nursery school.
Jiixa (Gladys Vandal) is from the Eagle Clan of Skidegate, Gidins Naa’yuuaans XaaydaGaay (Big House People). Her parents were Kathleen Young Hans and Isaac Hans. She is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker and has taught at SHIP for 21 years. She has great passion for Haida language and culture and is currently mentoring a few students.
SGaanajaadsk’yaagaxiigangs (Kathleen Clara Hans) goes by the nickname Golie and was born July 13, 1933 at her mother’s house in Skidegate. Her clan is Skidegate Gidins, known as the Naa’yuuaans XaaydaGaay (Big House People). She is an Eagle and her clan’s crests are the two-headed raven, ‘waasGuu (sea wolf monster), killer whale, grizzly, sculpin, halibut, and ts’aamus (supernatural, transforming, living log). She recalls her mother telling her they come from the killer whale. She worked as a Haida Watchman in Hotsprings for 25 years, protecting the village sites during the summer. She has taught Xaayda Kil for 38 years and has been with SHIP since the beginning.
Niis Waan (Harvey Williams) was born on May 13, 1932 in Skidegate to Fred and Eva Williams. He belongs to the Gaagyals KiiGawaay, also known as the Skedans clan, and given the name Niis Waan by Susan Williams, his maternal nanaay (grandmother). His maternal chinaay (grandfather) was John Williams. He is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker and has taught at SHIP since the beginning. He would like more conversation in Haida lessons, believes immersion is the most effective way to learn and encourages students not to get discouraged over mistakes.
Sing.giduu (Laura Jormanainen) is a member of the Skedans clan and was born January 28, 1936 in Skidegate. She is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker who has been teaching at Sk’aadGa Naay Elementary School since 1992 and has been with SHIP for 10 years. She has three grandsons, one great granddaughter and one great grandson. She also has two brothers, one sister and two daughters.
GwaaGanad (Diane Brown) is an educator, healer and nanaay (grandmother). She is a language and knowledge holder of the Ts’aahl Eagle clan of the Haida Nation. GwaaGanad has lived her whole life on the land and waters of Haida Gwaii gathering food, and learning and practicing Haida medicine. She is the youngest first language speaker of Xaayda Kil and served her Elders and community as the first Community Health Representative in Skidegate from 1970-1998. She has dedicated her life to protecting her people, culture and the Earth. In 1985, along with many other Haida people, she was arrested for blocking logging on Lyell Island. The area is now protected as the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. Since 1986, GwaaGanad has been a member of the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth. She is a founding member of SHIP and has founded many groups in the protection and growth of the Haida culture. She is a retired professor at the University of Northern British Columbia. She has two children and four grandchildren. She continues to live in Skidegate with her soulmate, Ganxwad Dullskin Brown where they gather food, spend time with grandchildren and speak and teach Haida.
Yang K’aalas (Grace Velma Jones) was born in Skidegate on January 6, 1929. She is what was referred to as a silent speaker – as a child she spoke Xaayda Kil even though it was forbidden at school. Joining SHIP allowed Yang K’aalas to use her knowledge of the Haida language to contribute to the preservation of her language and culture. She married Gaayinguuhlas (Roy Jones), who is also a SHIP Elder, on December 1, 1948 and the two just celebrated 70 years of marriage. They have spent much of their lives together traveling and as they travel they develop Xaayda Kil words and phrases that have not previously existed for what they see and experience. Yang K’aalas is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker and teacher. At 90 years of age, she still lives at home and visits Gaayinguuhlas in the hospital. Together, they have two adopted children, five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. One of their children is Cheexial Taaiixou (Chief Roy S Jones Jr.).
Gaayinguuhlas (Roy Charles Jones) was born in Lagoon Bay, Haida Gwaii on August 3, 1924. He grew up in Haida Gwaii and fished with his father starting at the age of 12. He spent his life as a commercial fisherman. Although he only possessed a Grade 6 education, he was very successful in the fishing industry. While he worked as a fisherman, he took every opportunity to teach Xaayda Kil and used the language with other Haida fishermen to protect good fishing areas. In 1970, he and his wife, Yang K’aalas, began a fishery that continues today. He cultivated great relationships up and down the west coast with many fishing families and spent years volunteering for basketball games at home and away, including the All Native Basketball Tournament in Prince Rupert, BC. Gaayinguuhlas is a fluent Xaayda Kil speaker and taught whenever he could. He became involved with SHIP to preserve and revitalize the language. In October, 2018, he suffered a stroke and heart attack. He is now in hospital, but even from his bed continues his work with students.
Photo Caption: The nine Haida Elders who make up SHIP, as well as program coordinator Kevin Borserio (back row, left). Photo Credit: Skidegate Haida Immersion Program.
IQALUIT, Nunavut (April 26, 2019) – The Honorable Nellie T. Kusugak, Commissioner of Nunavut, today announced the recipients of the 2018 Nunavut Commissioner’s Arts Award. Award recipients Susan Avinngaq of Igloolik and Jaco Ishulutaq of Pangnirtung will each receive a cash prize of $5,000 and a certificate from the Commissioner.
“It is such an honor to recognize Mrs. Avinngaq and Mr. Ishulutaq for their outstanding contribution to Nunavut’s visual arts”, said Commissioner Kusugak.
Long time master carver/sculptor, Jaco Ishulutaq, is a well-established carver who is a great ambassador for Inuit Art culture. Mr. Ishulutaq has attended many exhibitions to showcase his work across the country. Having started carving at the age of 16, Jaco has done tremendous work and many young aspiring artists look up to him as a role model. Mr. Ishulutaq takes great pride in the arts; he regularly mentors and encourages many others to carry on the tradition to ensure that Inuit Art remains alive for many years to come.
Inuit storyteller, performer/actress, author/illustrator and costume designer, Susan Avinngaq is a passionate visual artist who continues to share the Inuit tradition. In over 25 years, Mrs. Avinngaq has played various key roles in many productions and has shared her extensive knowledge of Inuit cultural practices, traditions, stories and music. Mrs. Avinngaq puts much of her energy into preserving and protecting the Inuit culture, tradition and heritage and she does so through many forms of art.
The Nunavut Commissioner’s Arts Award was created by the former Commissioner Ann Meekidjuk Hanson to honour the artistic achievement of established Nunavut artists. Nominations are reviewed by a selection committee, whose members have an in-depth knowledge of arts and culture in Nunavut. Nominees are judged on their artistic achievements and the quality and impact of their work
Vancouver,
BC – Two internationally revered leaders in North America’s art and
design community will be recognized for their inimitable
contributions to the fields of contemporary art and transition design by Emily
Carr University this spring. Contemporary Canadian artist of Coast Salish and
Okanagan descent and ECU alum Lawrence
Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun and Head of the School of Design at
Carnegie Mellon University Terry Irwin will
be awarded with Honorary Doctorates at ECU’s convocation ceremony on May 4, 2019 at
1pm. In addition, Vancouver Island artist/activist and ECU alum Marianne Nicolson will receive ECU’s
Emily Award, which honours outstanding achievements by university alumni.
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun
“It is our great honour and privilege at Emily Carr University to
publicly recognize the immense contributions to the fields of contemporary art
and design made by these three individuals as dynamic artists, innovative
designers, and compelling advocates,” says Gillian Siddall, ECU’s President and
Vice-Chancellor. “As provocative leaders in their respective fields, Lawrence
Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun, Terry Irwin, and Marianne Nicolson embody the
spirit and purpose of Emily Carr University — making a bold and lasting
impact on creative practice and cultural engagement, thereby inspiring and
informing the facilitation of future thought leaders and change makers.”
Lauded for artistic works that are at once challenging, political,
confrontational, and playful, Lawrence
Paul YuxweluptunLets’lo:tseltun will
be presented with an Honorary Doctor of Letters for his artistic creations,
activism, and unique and persistent voice for change. A painter, sculptor, virtual reality and
performance artist, Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltunhas spent the past three decades exploring issues of colonization,
politics, and the environment.
He graduated from Emily Carr University in 1983 with an honours
degree in painting and uses surrealism, formline, ovoid forms and neon-bright
colours to compel viewers to examine issues through a different lens.
Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun’swork
has been displayed in many international group and solo exhibitions, including
the National Gallery of Canada. In 2016, Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology
presented Unceded Territories, a
hugely successful retrospective exhibition spanning his
expansive 30-year art career.
A highly accomplished designer, professor, and faculty head at
Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, artistic innovator Terry Irwin will be presented with an
Honorary Doctor of Letters for her considerable and influential contributions
to the field of design education. With a design background in corporate
identity and branding, Irwin has been teaching at the university level since
1986, with faculty positions at numerous esteemed design institutions in the
United States and Scotland. In 1992, she became a partner and creative director
with international design firm MetaDesign, one of the leading design firms in the
world. Toward the end of her time at MetaDesign, she began to see links between
the things she was designing and many of the larger problems in the world,
which prompted her to shift her career trajectory entirely, in 2001.
Undertaking a Master’s Degree in Holistic Science at Schumacher College,
an international centre for ecological studies, her approach to thinking about
and teaching design fundamentally shifted, leading to her current position at
Carnegie Mellon, where she led a three-and-a-half-year process with faculty to
place design for society and the environment at the heart of all curricula. She
is now on the leading edge of Transition Design, an exciting and impactful new
area of design study, practice and research that argues for societal transition
toward more sustainable futures, calling upon the need for openness,
mindfulness and collaboration in design.
A 1996 Emily Carr University graduate and member of the
Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations, Vancouver Island-based artist and advocate Marianne Nicolson will be presented
with the Emily Award, an annual honour to acknowledge outstanding achievements
by distinguished university alumni. An internationally exhibited artist and
outspoken advocate for Indigenous land rights, Nicolson explores traditional
Northwest Coast artistic expressions through contemporary media. Her
multi-disciplinary practice encompasses photography, painting, carving, video,
installation, writing and speaking.
Exhibited in the 17th Biennale of Sydney, Australia,
Vancouver Art Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian in New York,
Nuit Blanche in Toronto, and many others, many of Nicolson’s works are
monumental in size and scope. Her public artworks are currently on display
around the world, in the Vancouver International Airport, the Canadian Embassy
in Amman, Jordan and the Canadian Embassy in Paris, France.
In celebration of ECU’s 2019
graduating students, members of the public are invited to experience The Show at Emily Carr at ECU (520 E 1st
Ave), on from May 4-19, 2019
from 10am to 8pm on weekdays and
from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and
Sundays. The Show features artworks by more than 300 graduating Design,
Visual Arts and Media Arts students, and installations will be exhibited
throughout the entirety of ECU’s campus, offering unprecedented access to the
building’s interior spaces. Free to the public, the art show features several
ancillary events, including:
Opening
Night Party
Friday, May 3 from 5pm to 10pm
Premiere
Screening of Graduate Films
Sunday, May 5
2pm to 5:30pm — Film + Screen Arts graduates
7pm to 10pm — 2D + Experimental Animation and 3D Computer
Animation graduates
Best of
Animation + Film/Video Showcase + Reception
Wednesday, May 8 from 6pm to 9pm
For a full listing of all ECU events and artists, visit ecuad.ca
About Emily
Carr University of Art and Design (ecuad.ca)
Emily Carr University of Art + Design is a world leader in
education and research. Encouraging experimentation at the intersections of
art, design, media and technology, Emily Carr merges studio practice, research
and critical theory in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.
Founded in Vancouver in 1925 and situated on traditional, unceded Coast Salish
territory, the university has nearly 2,000 students enrolled in graduate and
undergraduate programs, and thousands more taking workshops, certificate
programs and individual courses. Their faculty and alumni are internationally
recognized as award-winning creators and thought leaders who have significant impact
on both the cultural sector and the economy.
(Snuneymuxw Territory: Nanaimo, BC – April 23, 2019) – A gathering of First Nations leaders from across British Columbia will be meeting in Richmond for two intensive days of deliberation on the development of a strategy to transform the relationship of First Nations peoples with the criminal justice system. The Forum is being held at the Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport at 3099 Corvette Way, in Richmond, BC, in Musqueam Territory.
Hosted by the First Nations Justice Council, with support from the government of British Columbia, the event on April 24 and 25 aims to develop concrete guidance from First Nations leaders about how to address urgent issues regarding the justice system including over representation of First Nations peoples incarcerated, access to justice, and systemic racism.
“The crisis of over representation and associated challenges across the criminal justice system are long-standing and long-recognized. We have an urgent mandate and imperative to act. The political will and understanding of the necessity to achieve transformative shifts is shared and urgent. In recent years, Canadians have increasingly witnessed how broken the relationship is between Indigenous peoples and the criminal justice system from sharp moments like the Colten Boushie trial and verdict and the ever-growing incarceration of Indigenous peoples in Canadian jails, which now stands at 28% of the prison population overall. The BC government has committed to co-develop a strategy to make real change, and this forum is central to moving that strategy forward,” said Doug White, Chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council.
The two-day Forum will include a review of the history of the relationship between First Nations peoples and the justice system, and intensive dialogue on issues related to policing, corrections, the court system, restorative justice, access to justice, and prosecutorial and sentencing practices. A major focus will be placed on the role of self-determination and self-government and the roles for First Nations laws, governments, and jurisdictions in transforming the criminal justice system.
The keynote presentation – ‘From Denial to Recognition: the Challenges of Indigenous Justice in Canada” – will be delivered on Apr. 24th at 1:00pm by both the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, QC, MP the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville and Hon. Jane Philpott, PC, MP the Member of Parliament for Markham-Stouffville. Hon. Wilson-Raybould recently served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada, and was the first Indigenous person to hold that position. Hon. Jane Philpott has been Minister of Health, Minister of Indigenous Services, and most recently, President of the Treasury Board. Ms. Wilson-Raybould and Dr. Philpott will both be honoured for her historic and on-going work and leadership on behalf of Indigenous peoples and all Canadians.
Opening remarks for the Justice Forum will be delivered between 9:30am and 10:15am on Apr. 24th by Regional Chief Terry Teegee of the BC Assembly of First Nations, Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit, Boyd Peters of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Hon. David Eby, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia, Hon. Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia, and Doug White, Chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council.
Wendake, April 17, 2019 – In the context of the 18th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (April 22−May 3, 2019), the AFNQL will hold a side event in support of using the appropriate UN mechanisms to receive Indigenous women’s discrimination complaints, particularly those who have experienced police abuses in Val-d’Or.
The AFNQL had expressed its intention to use international forums at the hearings of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Women Girls and the Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Québec (“Viens Commission”).
The Chief of the AFNQL, Ghislain Picard, will accompany the delegation to New York, composed of the Grand Chief Verna Polson of the Algonquin Anishnabeg Nation Tribal Council, Chief Adrienne Jérôme of Lac Simon First Nation, Ms. Sharon Hunter, from Long Point First Nation, Ms. Viviane Michel, President of Quebec Native Women and AFNQL Attorney Wina Sioui.
The objective of the side event is to expose the injustices that Indigenous women experience in the Quebec justice system and to expose the situation before the international community
