Indigenous Day of Learning, Nov. 29, to feature Kathy Absolon and Georges Sioui

Nov. 19, 2019

All are invited to the Indigenous Day of Learning, co-presented by Laurier’s Cold Regions Research Centre and Centre for Indigegogy, on Friday, Nov. 29, on Laurier's Waterloo campus.

The Indigenous Day of Learning will feature discussions about research methods, history and Indigenous ways of thinking. All events take place on Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

The morning session will feature a presentation by acclaimed Huron-Wendat scholar Georges Sioui, who will discuss circular and matricentric thinking; the essential thread of Canadian history, the concept of Americity and the Four America, and Indigenous roots of modern democracy. 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 launching his new book, Eatenonha: Native Roots of Modern Democracy, at Laurier on Nov. 28.

The afternoon session will feature an Indigenist research workshop by Anishinaabe scholar Associate Professor Kathy Absolon, who will introduce participants to an Indigenous lens and methodology to research. She will discuss conducting research with or about Indigenous peoples and introduce learners to a holistic research paradigm. Absolon is director of Laurier’s Centre for Indigegogy, which offers professional development workshops including the Indigenous Research Series, Decolonizing Education and Indigenous Peoples Certificate in Indigegogy.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29, in Laurier’s Paul Martin Centre. It is free and open to the public, and may be of interest to researchers from a variety of institutions interested in working with or near Indigenous communities in Canada or around the world. For more information, contact William Quinton, director of the Cold Regions Research Centre, at wquinton@wlu.ca.