March 4, 2019

Wilfrid Laurier University invites the community to experience its annual week-long series of events celebrating the contributions of Indigenous knowledge to education. Indigenous Education Week will take place from March 4 to 8 on Laurier’s Waterloo and Brantford campuses.

“Indigenous Education Week is an opportunity to build understanding and deepen relationships while learning from Indigenous elders and teachers,” said Jean Becker, Laurier’s senior advisor of Indigenous Initiatives. “We invite everyone to come out and enjoy the week with us.”

For information about Indigenous Education Week activities, contact Melissa Ireland, manager of Indigenous student services, at mireland@wlu.ca.

Waterloo

Lucinda House Lunch and Learn: Discovering Our Past and Exploring Our Future

Indigenous Initiatives will kick off Indigenous Education Week with a presentation about the Waterloo campus Indigenous Student Centre’s upcoming move from 187 Albert St. to Lucinda House. The event will explore Lucinda House’s past and future with presentations by Andre Furlong from the Laurier Archives and architect Matthew Hickey from Two Row Architect.

• Date: Monday, March 4
• Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
• Location: Senate and Board Chamber (brown bag lunch) 

Indigenous Print Making with Rezonance

Laurier will be joined by Rezonance, an Indigenous-owned and operated printmaking company that puts identity, culture, language and tradition at its core. The Out of Sound Rezonance Program aims to bridge the gap between culture, art and entrepreneurial skills through the medium of screen printing. Rezonance will conduct a live demonstration of the printmaking process with Indigenous-designed art.

• Date: Monday, March 4
• Time: 1 p.m.
• Location: Veritas Café

Soup and Bannock

Soup and bannock will be served at the Waterloo campus Indigenous Students Centre. Co-hosted by Laurier’s Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management department, the event is open to members of the Laurier community and the general public.

• Date: Tuesday, March 5
• Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
• Location: Indigenous Student Centre, 187 Albert St.

Loom Beading with Nikki Shawana

Nikki Shawana, an Anishinaabe artist and owner of the Birch Canoe, will offer a loom-beading workshop in partnership with the Faculty of Arts and Department of Mathematics. Participants will explore patterns, numeration, measurement and geometry as they create a design for a beaded loom bracelet.

• Date: Tuesday, March 5
• Time: 2 to 5 p.m.
• Location: Library Maker Space
• Registration required 

Sarain Fox and Future History

Sarain Fox is an Anishinaabe activist, dancer, choreographer and sought-after stylist. She is the host of Rise on VICELAND, an eight-episode series profiling Indigenous activists engaged in resistance. She is also the host of Future History on APTN, which celebrates the reclamation and revitalization of Indigenous knowledge to create a deeper understanding of our shared history.

Screening of Future History and Q&A

• Date: Wednesday, March 6
• Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
• Location: Indigenous Student Centre, 187 Albert St.

Sarain Fox Lecture

• Date: Wednesday, March 6
• Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Location: Bricker Academic Building, BA201

Métis Dot Art Workshop with Ariel Gougeon

Ariel Gougeon, victim services coordinator with the Métis Nation of Ontario, will facilitate a workshop on Métis dot art, a contemporary art form inspired by the traditional beadwork of the Métis people.

• Date: Thursday, March 7
• Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Library Maker Space 
• Registration required

Barry Ace Lecture, Coalesce and Gallery Reception

Ottawa-based Barry Ace is a member of M’Chigeeng First Nation (Manitoulin Island). Drawing inspiration from traditional Anishinaabeg (Odawa) culture, traditional knowledge, found objects and cultural research, Ace creates objects and imagery with traditional forms and motifs. The Coalesce exhibition runs from Feb. 25 until April 5 in the Robert Langen Art Gallery.

Public lecture

• Date: Thursday, March 7
• Time: 7 p.m.
• Location: Paul Martin Centre, gallery reception to follow at Robert Langen Art Gallery

Webinar: Celebrating Indigenous Education Week: The Role of Allies in Canada's Reconciliation

Erin Hodson, Laurier’s Indigenous curriculum specialist, will share thoughts about the role of non-Indigenous Canadians in the process of reconciliation. Presented in partnership with Development and Alumni Relations.

• Date: Friday, March 8
• Time: Noon to 1 p.m.
• Location: Online via webinar 

Lee Maracle on Violence Against Women, the Land and Consent

The Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Office of Dispute Resolution and Sexual Violence Support and the Women and Gender Studies program will host Lee Maracle, a prolific Indigenous writer, expert on Indigenous culture and history and influential Indigenous voice. Maracle will speak about violence against women, the land and consent.

• Date: Friday, March 8
• Time: 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Senate and Board Chamber

Brantford

Ohero:kon - Under the Husk screening and lecture

Ohero:kon - Under the Husk is a documentary that follows two Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) girls on their challenging journey to becoming women. Kaienkwinehtha and Kasennakohe are childhood friends from traditional families living in the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border. Filmmaker Katsitsionni Fox will speak following the screening.

• Date: Monday, March 4
• Time: 7 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.
• Location: Carnegie Building, CB206

Lecture

Jamie Jacobs, a Haudenosaunee historian from the Turtle Clan of Seneca Nation, will speak about Indigenous-settler relations during the American Revolution.

• Date: Thursday, March 7
• Time: 7 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.
• Location: Carnegie Building, CB 206

Lecture

Trish Longboat from the Wolf Clan of Cayuga Nation, part of Six Nations, will speak about the victimization of Indigenous people.

• Date: Friday, March 8
• Time: 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Location: Carnegie Building, CB206