MEDIA INDIGENA and U of M Native Studies partner up to promote Indigenous speaker series

To make the most of their time at university, students must go beyond the mere reading and writing of papers. They need to carefully construct arguments, to refine positions and politics, and ultimately, to stand up for what they believe in.

Fortunately for scholars at the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba (aka #UMNATV), opportunities for such interactions are in abundance. Located in the heart of North America — where the first post-Confederation treaties were signed, where Louis Riel staged the Red River Resistance, and where some of the best Indigenous writers, leaders, and thinkers continue to emerge — the Winnipeg-based #UMNATV hosts not only leaders in the field of Native Studies, but cutting edge research into Indigenous cultures, politics, and histories. The fact it offers one of the few graduate programs for Indigenous Studies in Canada is only further evidence of its innovation in this field.

Creating outstanding scholarship on the historical and contemporary position of Indigenous peoples in this part of the world, #UMNATV students are empowered to think creatively and critically while becoming intellectual and community leaders. They gain skills in research, qualitative interviewing and fieldwork, and exposure to community and cultural teachers, emerging out of the program to make deep, lasting impacts throughout Turtle Island in an array of professions.

As part of our dedication to bringing you Indigenous voices and perspectives, MEDIA INDIGENA is pleased to announce a new partnership with #UMNATV and their nationally renowned Colloquium series. Featuring the best the Indigenous community has to offer, speakers in this series have included thinkers like Ovide Mercredi and Kim Anderson, writers like Joseph Boyden and Katherena Vermette, and community leaders like Justice Murray Sinclair and Leslie Spillett. And so, for the next six weeks, we’ll share the responses of #UMNATV’s graduate students, as they provocatively engage and explore some of the hotter issues these visiting thinkers will bring with them to the U of M.

This cohort of students will contribute, critique, and engage their visitors: in the process, they’ll be joining in the work of articulating a future for Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations in Canada. Their colleagues will respond to them in class assignments and we hope you do too, so we can all stand up, speak, and dialogue together during one of the most important times in our collective future.

This year’s theme for the series is Debwewin — “speaking truth” — and features a total of over two dozen speakers, taking place every Wednesday at 11:30-12:30 at Migizii Agamik, the Aboriginal Student Centre at the University of Manitoba. The public is always welcome at these events (arrive early to guarantee a seat at what are always packed houses).

Check out this year’s lineup, then check back in regularly at our site for the latest student discussion, where we hope you too will continue the conversation.