An annual speaker series dedicated to global Indigenous rights launches next Monday October 17 at the First Nations House of Learning. This inaugural lecture is free and open to the public and will be delivered by Chief Wilton Littlechild, Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and distinguished lawyer, political leader, and Indigenous rights advocate. The Global Indigenous Rights Lecture will take place annually at UBC-Vancouver and is offered in partnership with CBC and the Laurier Institution. It is jointly hosted by the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the First Nations House of Learning with involvement from other academic partners.
We spoke to Daniel Justice, Chair of the First Nations and Indigenous Studies program, about how the series aims to shine a light on the work of Indigenous leaders and generate meaningful discussions about relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Prof. Daniel Justice is Chair of First Nations and Indigenous Studies program.
How and why did the Global Indigenous Rights lecture series come about?
In First Nations and Indigenous Studies we had been interested in thinking of different options for bringing greater attention to the important, proactive work of Indigenous peoples here and globally to strengthen their communities and fight for justice in the protection of their lands, cultures, and communities. Often the privileged voices are still non-Indigenous, and we wanted to change that, to focus specifically on what Indigenous people are doing to support their own priorities. Around that time Farid Rohani of the Laurier Institution came to us with an offer of a lecture series on Indigenous issues as human rights; he had great success in partnering with CBC on other lectures and thought that UBC was an ideal place to take on another high-profile annual lecture. We also had a donor, John Bell, who has a long history of supporting Indigenous initiatives on campus, and who has long been interested in supporting work responding to reconciliation and the improvement of conditions in Indigenous communities.
But we didn’t want to just talk about these issues without also talking about Indigenous peoples’ own ideas and work about the best ways to undertake positive change; we wanted to create something that opens up important conversations about Indigenous peoples’ efforts and innovative initiatives, both in Canada and around the world. The First Nations House of Learning has always been a great partner in helping to host major events and speakers, and the staff there have been invaluable, especially Dr. Linc Kesler, who’s been so important to helping increase the visibility of these issues at UBC and throughout the region. Lots of conversations later, it seemed like a perfect combination of commitments to ensure that we have an annual forum to highlight a dynamic Indigenous speaker who is making a real difference in the world for their people.
Why was Chief Wilton Littlechild selected as the inaugural speaker and what topic will he be speaking on?
Chief Littlechild was always our top choice to set the foundation for this talk. He has worked tirelessly to advance the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada and globally for more than three decades. He was a member of the very first Indigenous delegation to the United Nations in 1977 and played an important role, along with many other Indigenous activists and advocates from around the world, in the drafting and negotiation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. His various roles have included the UN Human Rights Council, North American Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and member and chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He also played a role in the inclusion of treaty rights in the 1982 Canadian Constitution. He brings together an ideal combination of Canada-specific expertise and deep and sustained understandings of global Indigenous rights concerns.
What do you hope this lecture series will achieve?
Our hope is that this lecture will contribute to a number of initiatives at UBC-Vancouver that bring diverse communities together to talk in deep, meaningful ways about some of the most important issues of our time: namely, the history, contemporary realities, and future possibilities of relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. It will also be an opportunity for local and, through the partnership with the CBC, international audiences to learn more about the transformative work of Indigenous leaders and their communities. We want these speakers to be provocative, compelling, challenging—we want them to ask the hard questions that really make us think and, hopefully, change in ways that make better futures possible.
The Global Indigenous Rights Lecture is free and open to the public. Register online.
Date and Time: Mon, 17 October, 2016 · 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: Sty-Wet-Tan-Hall, First Nations Longhouse· 1985 West Mall · Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2
