Indigenist Research Symposium, Dec. 4, to feature talks on land, democracy, intimacy

Nov. 19, 2019

Wilfrid Laurier University's fifth annual Indigenist Research Symposium, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, will bring together top Indigenous scholars for a full-day event open to all, held on Laurier's Waterloo campus. This year’s theme is “On Our Own Terms: The Future of Research in Indigenous Communities.”

The symposium will feature a keynote speech by John Zoe, senior advisor to the Tłı̨chǫ Government, Northwest Territories (NWT), and talks by Geraldine King, a Queen’s University PhD candidate, and Georges Sioui, retired professor of history at the University of Ottawa. The event is organized by Laurier’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives with the support of the Office of Research Services and Cold Regions Research Centre.

“The purpose of the Indigenist Research Symposium is to highlight Indigenous researchers and their work, and to bring issues around research in Indigenous communities to academia,” said Jean Becker, Laurier’s senior advisor of Indigenous initiatives. “This year we are focusing on community control of research, which is not well understood by researchers.”

Zoe, who is Tłı̨chǫ, is a fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America and former chief land claims negotiator for the former Treaty 11 Council of the NWT. His talk is titled “The Story is in the Landscape: To Know More About the Story, We Must Go to the Land.”

King, who is Anishinaabe, is a consultant, writer and full-time lecturer at Carleton University whose research interests include decolonizing gender, sex and sexuality. Her lecture is titled, “Bebeshwendaam Anishinaabeg: Generating Ontologies of Intimacy through an Anishinaabe-Centric Research-Creation Paradigm.”

Sioui was the first Indigenous person to obtain a PhD in history in Canada and was the inaugural coordinator of the Aboriginal Studies Program at the University of Ottawa. He is also the father of Miguel Sioui, a Laurier assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. His talk is titled, “Indigenous Research: Defining the Complementarity of Roles of Insiders and Outsiders.”

The symposium, which will be held at Laurier’s Senate and Board Chamber from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, is free and open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend or interview speakers are asked to contact Corri Daniels at codaniels@wlu.ca.

“I hope people come away feeling more connected to Indigenous people and issues, and knowing more about Indigenous research,” said Becker.

Georges Sioui is also speaking at two other public events the week prior: the launch of his latest book, Eatenonha: Native Roots of Modern Democracy, on Thursday, Nov. 28 and the Indigenous Day of Learning on Friday, Nov. 29.