Laurier expert alert: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Sept. 26, 2023
For Immediate Release

WATERLOO — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation takes place Sept. 30. The day honours the survivors of residential schools and the children who never returned home, as well as their families and communities.

Wilfrid Laurier University experts are available to discuss  topics related to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, including Indigenous rights, colonialism, and missing and murdered women and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals. Learn more about how Laurier is marking National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The following list includes Laurier experts who are available to speak at this time but does not represent the full breadth of expertise that exists at the institution. For a more comprehensive inventory of Laurier’s faculty researchers, please consult the Experts at Laurier database.

Alex Latta is an associate professor in the departments of Global Studies and Geography and Environmental Studies, as well as the Director of Laurier’s Cold Regions Research Centre. He is an expert, from a settler Canadian perspective, on how reconciliation connects with Indigenous rights and leadership in relation to climate change, resource development, and Indigenous-led environmental stewardship. Latta is involved in multiple research collaborations in the Northwest Territories and Northern Ontario, with a focus on climate change adaptation, food security, and Indigenous-led conservation. Contact: alatta@wlu.ca

Percy Lezard, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies, is an expert in Indigenous knowledge, Two-Spirit pedagogies, community Indigenous health, missing and murdered women and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, and gender-based violence in 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Lezard is outma sqilxw of the Penticton Indian Band in British Columbia and centres Indigenous knowledge, teaching and research methodologies in their work. They are a survivor of the multi-generational impacts of the residential school system and the Sixties Scoop. Read more about Lezard’s work. Contact: plezard@wlu.ca

Lianne Leddy is an associate professor of History in the Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on Indigenous-settler relations, particularly those framed by gender and environmental issues. Leddy is a member of Serpent River First Nation and recently published a book about the impacts of uranium mining in her home community. She also examines the gendered experiences of colonialism and performance art as an expression of Indigenous feminist thought. Contact: lleddy@wlu.ca

Darren Thomas is Laurier’s associate vice-president: Indigenous Initiatives. The most senior Indigenous leader at Laurier, Thomas provides strategic advice, support and expertise to academic and administrative units across the institution to achieve goals related to Indigeneity. As a researcher, he focuses on Indigenous rights, resource governance and self-determination. Thomas has worked in the educational, health care and child welfare sectors to support efforts to improve services as the sectors work toward reconciliation and Indigenization. Recently, he authored and launched Laurier's Indigenous Strategic Plan. Contact: dthomas@wlu.ca