Whose Truth? What Reconciliation? Learning to Share Turtle Island
Fall Lecture Series
Tuesdays September 26-October 24, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Grace United Church, Cook & Grove St., Barrie
This series, coordinated by Dave Collacutt, will be presented by Indigenous leaders and experts. We hope that these sessions will add to our knowledge and understanding of some of the most critical issues our country is facing and help lead to improved relationships and healing.
September 26, 2017: Setting the Scene
Presenter: Gertie Beaucage
What is the Indigenous world view? What was life like on Turtle Island before the arrival of the first Europeans? What challenges were created? We will learn about the ways of living, spirituality, and the clan systems of the nations around the Great Lakes as well as the succession of Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinabek nations in this area.
See Biography: Gertie Beaucage
October 3, 2017: The Clash of Cultures
Presenters: Gee Garrow and Peter Garrow
Peter and Gee Garrow, father and son, will describe the years of challenges arising from the clash of differing world views following the arrival of Europeans. Whose truth best describes the impact of those years on community, family and way of life? The two will also comment on the efforts taken to achieve reconciliation and discuss whether or not reconciliation is possible.
See Biography: Gee Garrow and Peter Garrow
October 10, 2017: Ongoing Colonization
Presenter: Maya Chacaby
Maya Chacaby will bring to life through personal story an accurate, thorough and foundational understanding of colonization and historic trauma as a shared Indigenous and non-Indigenous meta-narrative. The focus will be on a shared experience of learning together and relationship-building, bringing to life the impacts of colonialism, residential schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She will help us understand the reality of colonialism, the Indian Act and residential schools, and their impacts on individuals, families and communities.
See Biography: Maya Chacaby
October 17, 2017: Moving Towards Reconnection
Presenters: Dr Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux and Tareyn Johnson
Cynthia Wesley Esquimaux and daughter Tareyn Johnson, members of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation will share this presentation. What are the impacts of colonialism, the Indian Act, and residential schools on Indigenous communities in our area and further afield? What does reconciliation imply? What is hidden/unconscious colonialism? What does indigenization mean?
See Biography: Dr Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux and Tareyn Johnson
October 24, 2017: Reconciliation is . . . Unsettling
Presenter: Dr. Jonathan Dewar
Jonathan Dewar will help us understand– on the basis of what we have learned over time, and specifically over the last four weeks– what needs to be reconciled. What might reconciliation mean for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples and communities and for Canadians? He will ask us to acknowledge that if reconciliation seems easy, we probably aren’t doing it right. He will help us realize that Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples must work together to put reconciliation into action. And he will help us to identify for ourselves some practical steps toward reconciliation and beyond.
See Biography: Dr. Jonathan Dewar
Venue: Grace United Church
Venue Website: http://www.graceucc.ca/
Address:
350 Grove St. E, Barrie, Ontario, Canada