Virtual Lectures via Zoom Webinar

Virtual Lecture Series – Understanding Current Indigenous Issues

January 12, 2023: What’s in a creation story?

Cynthia will discuss the value of Indigenous stories and knowing your own creation story. Indigenous creation stories have informed the survival and resiliency of Indigenous peoples and are still taught and regarded as foundational instructions for living by elders and knowledge keepers.

January 19, 2023: What does Indigenous prophesy tell us?

Looking at what Indigenous peoples were and are saying about past, present and future conditions and the possibilities for illuminating today’s fight against climate change. Tribal groups across Turtle Island have been trying to tell the western world what was coming and what to do. What is your response to these messages?

January 26, 2023: The story of treaty in Canada

There is a complete foundation of knowledge, experience and history that has formed the relationship between Indigenous and government leaders, agreements and outcomes. The treaties of Canada are living documents that have not been fulfilled. They are the promise of our ancestors and perhaps a pathway back to the land for all humanity.

February 2, 2023: Legislation and following the trail of critical reports

How have federal legislation, cumulative white papers and government reports worked together to dismiss Indigenous claims, demand assimilation, manifest racism against Indigenous peoples and support the trajectory of colonialism in Canada? A discussion of some of the critical reports and legislation that have framed the relationship to date.

Where do we go from here and what do the 10 principles and the 94 calls to action bring to this critical discussion?

February 9, 2023: Seven teachings and seven generations

What are the seven grandfather teachings and how are they used to teach and inform indigenizing and decolonizing processes? What is the story of seven generations back, seven generations forward, and igniting the eighth fire?

February 16, 2023: What is historic and intergenerational trauma?

There have been significant impacts from historic and intergenerational trauma, with the results showing up in child welfare, MMIW, intractable poverty, many insecurities, and ongoing discrimination in education, health and justice. What do these impacts look like today? What have the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and Cindy Blackstock placed on the table?

February 23, 2023: Land claims and self-governance

Once we understand the treaty process we have access to the land claims process and why continuing resolution will benefit Canadians. What are land claims, and why do they matter today and into the future? Cynthia will describe some significant and recent land claims settlements and open a discussion on what they mean for Indigenous peoples.

March 2, 2023: Implementing UNDRIP and reconciliation in Canada

We will take apart the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to work out an understanding of where and how this declaration will play a role in the future of Canada. We will look at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and work together to unbundle what reconciliation is, means, and could be if we had access to the full truth, as well as the role it plays in changing the trajectory of human relations.

Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed the first Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada.

Cynthia was inducted as an “Honorary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014 and is Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

She is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding. She sees endless merit in bringing people together from diverse cultures, ages and backgrounds to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives.

Virtual Lecture Series – The Nordic Nations: A History

Tuesdays, January 10 to February 28, 2023 – 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

January 10: Introduction to the Course and the Vikings

An overview of the course, including the diverse landscapes of the various Nordic Nations, the earliest evidence of settlement in the region and the contacts between northern Europe and the Roman Empire.

The beginning of the Viking Age in the 800s, Viking culture in Scandinavia, including shipbuilding, weaponry, religious ritual and the family.

January 17: The Vikings in Europe and North America

The influence of the Vikings on the wider world. The Vikings travelled as far west as Newfoundland, as far east as Russia and as far south as Constantinople and Baghdad. In the north they were raiders and in the south they were traders, but they shaped the course of history everywhere they travelled.

January 24: Christianity, Renaissance and Reformation

Religious change transformed Viking society as first monarchs and then the wider population converted to Christianity. During the Reformation, the Nordic Nations embraced Lutheran Protestantism and allied with Protestant nations in Europe.

January 31: The Golden Age of Sweden

During the 17th century, Sweden emerged as a major European power, controlling much of the Baltic Sea region. King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden introduced key military innovations and his daughter, Queen Christina, became a cultural patron. The Golden Age of Sweden ended with the Great Northern War and the rise of Russia as a major European power during the reign of Peter the Great.

February 7: The Grand Duchy of Finland and Royal Denmark

In the 19th century, the borders shifted in the Nordic Nations. Finland became part of the Russian Empire, Sweden and Norway were ruled by the same monarch and Denmark lost territory to Germany. The Danish royal family was closely connected to other European royal houses and exerted diplomatic influence through its connections with other reigning houses.

February 14: Emigration to North America

The upheaval of the 19th century resulted in waves of emigration to North America and the wider world. Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Finnish emigrants remained interested and engaged in European events shaping the Nordic Nations, including the Norwegian independence movement in the early 20th century.

February 21: Art and Literature, Science and Exploration

From Viking sagas and jewellery-making, the plays of Henrik Ibsen and the paintings of Edvard Munch to modern Nordic architecture and design, Nordic art and literature continue to engage the wider world. For centuries, the Nordic Nations have produced influential mariners, explorers and scientists. The Nobel Prizes have been presented in Sweden and Norway for more than 100 years.

February 28: The Second World War and the Nordic Nations in the Modern World

The modern history of the Nordic Nations from the Second World War to the strengths and challenges of the present day.

Dr. Carolyn Harris is an instructor in history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She is the author of three books: Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada, Queenship and Revolution in Early Modern Europe and Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting. She is the editor of the forthcoming English Consorts: Power, Influence and Dynasty series. She frequently contributes historical and royal commentary to the media.