Indigenous Research Showcase Week brings the TRC Calls to Action to life
Posted: September 21, 2018 6:00 a.m.
Dr. Allyson Stevenson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples and Global Social Justice, launches Indigenous Research Showcase Week with a presentation about how her journey as an academic has impacted her identity as a Métis person. U of R Photography
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The University of Regina’s annual Indigenous Research Showcase Week is a celebration of diversity, innovation, and connections to community.
The week-long event is also another way in which the University is acting on the Calls to Action laid out in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Final Report – helping to make concrete changes in society, redressing the legacy of residential schools and advancing the process of Canadian reconciliation.
Dr. David Malloy, Vice-President (Research), says the event is an opportunity to showcase the high quality work being done by faculty, staff, and students.
“Indigenous research reaches across every discipline and is integral to the University of Regina’s research enterprise,” says Malloy. “Indigenous Research Showcase Week helps us to shine a light on how vital this work is – with researchers and community partners working alongside one another to make positive differences in people’s lives and in their communities.”
Free and open to the public, Indigenous Research Showcase Week starts on Sunday, September 23 with a Pipe Ceremony, a soup and bannock lunch, followed by a keynote address by Dr. Allyson Stevenson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples and Global Social Justice.
Stevenson says this focus on Indigenous research helps to illustrate to Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities that the work and the people doing the work are valued and important.
“One of the key messages is that Indigenous peoples and topics no are longer marginal to either society or to the University, but rather a fundamental part of the institution and its mandate,” says
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Dr. James Daschuk poses in front |
Stevenson, whose keynote address will reflect on how her journey as an academic impacted her identity as a Métis person.
Running daily from September 23 to September 28, presentations and activities will cover a variety of topics, from how to research, write, and publish in the era of decolonization and Indigenous resurgence, to a panel discussion about the colonization of food and its impact on Indigenous peoples' lives and wellbeing.
On Wednesday, September 26, Dr. A. Blair Stonechild, Indigenous Studies professor at the First Nations University of Canada, will deliver a keynote presentation entitled, Spirituality as Foundational to Indigenous Research.
Stonechild says his talk will delve into how spirituality, traditionally an essential source of knowledge, continues to be important to Indigenous research.
Dr. James Daschuk, associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, will round out the week with a presentation entitled, Dude, where's my statue? History, Identity and the Politics of Commemoration in a Post TRC Canada.
Daschuk will talk about the current debate over the commemoration of historic figures, such as John A. Macdonald, in the context of the growing acknowledgment of past injustices in light of the TRC report.
For a full listing of events, please visit https://www.uregina.ca/research/indigenous-research-day.html.