This space is to connect the students in the Aboriginal Studies Program at the University of Ottawa as well as all others interested in the issues surrounding Indigenous peoples / Cet espace vise à rassembler les étudiants du programme d'études autochtones de l'Université d'Ottawa ainsi que quiconque intéressé par les questions entourant les peuples autochtones
"L'éveil au Cercle" - "Awakening to the Circle"
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
News Release:
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada to appeal Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Decision to dismiss discrimination claim for First Nations Children on a legal loophole.
OTTAWA, March 14 /CNW/ - The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada is deeply concerned with the ruling today from Shirish Chotalia, Chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, to dismiss the complaint filed by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations in 2007 alleging that the Federal Government is racially discriminating against First Nations children by providing less child welfare benefit on reserve. Chair Chotalia dismissed the case on a preliminary motion brought by the Federal Government even though the Federal Government had tried, and failed, to get the case dismissed on similar grounds in Federal Court on two previous occasions. Chair Shirish Chotalia did not address the overwhelming evidence of the inequity and harm experienced by First Nations children on reserves even though she was in possession of numerous reports confirming the problems such as the Auditor General of Canada (2008), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (2009) and internal documents from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Instead, Chair Shirish Chotalia dismissed the case on a legal technicality suggesting that the Federal Government can provide a different, and inequitable, level of service to First Nations children so long as the Provinces/Territories provide the service to all other children. In issuing this ruling, Chair Shirish Chotalia, in effect legalized racial discrimination against vulnerable children on reserve by the Federal Government.
The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada will immediately appeal Chair Shirish Chotalia's decision to Federal Court. This case is being followed by over 7200 Canadians and organizations making it the most formally watched court case in Canadian history. Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, says that "the Government of Canada should not be immune from human rights laws and obligations to First Nations children because of a legal technicality and we will take all necessary measures to ensure that this case is decided in a public forum on the full set of facts - the children deserve nothing less." The appeal will be filed in Federal Court in the next 30 days.
Read the ruling: http://bit.ly/i531IB
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IPSMO's note: If you have not yet signed up as witnesses on the "I Am a Witness" website http://www.fncfcs.com/fnwitness, please do and join over 7200 Canadians and organizations to follow the most formally watched court case in Canadian history.
Thank you.
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In Solidarity,
IPSMO on unceded Algonquin Territory
Passing of Aboriginal Historian Olive Patricia Dickason
Georges Sioui, Coordinator Program of Aboriginal Studies
La communauté autochtone pleure le départ de ce monde d'une grande femmes métisses, l'historien Dr. Olive Patricia Dickason. Il est difficile même de commencer à décrire l'importance du legs intellectuel de cette grande penseure. Cette perte est très lourde puisque Olive Dickason, par son oeuvre et per l'exemple d'une vie courageuse, a marqué chaque membre de notre société canadienne.
Georges Sioui, coordonnateur du programme d'études autochtones
Link: Winnipeg Free Press - Author who detailed the aboriginal contribution to Canada's economy dies at 91
Link: Globe and Mail Obituary - DR. OLIVE PATRICIA DICKASON C.M., PH.D., D.LITT.
Link: Guest Book for Olive Patricia Dickason
SHOE STATEMENT - Vigil for our Missing and Murdered Women
When: Friday, March 18th, 2pm
Where: Parliament Hill
The Aboriginal Law Students Association and the Law Union of Ontario from the University of Ottawa will be joining McGill University student groups to take part in a vigil at Parliament Hill taking place Friday, March 18th at 2pm.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Help for the Kateri Native Ministry of Ottawa
I write to you today asking for your support in helping First Nations, Metis and Inuit people to reconnect with the land. Naategama or Peaceful Waters is a 230 acre property owned by the Archdiocese of Ottawa and entrusted exclusively for the use of Kateri Native Ministry. Located on the Ottawa River near the Quyon Ferry Landing. Under the direction of Kateri Native Ministry, Naategama has been used for Aboriginal youth and Elder retreats, community workshops, and family reunions of Indian Residential School Survivors.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Calling Young Aboriginal Women across Canada ages 16 to 29!
ENTER THE YOUNG ABORIGINAL WOMEN'S CREATIVE ESSAY CONTEST
Do you want to be part of one of the biggest gatherings of women from around the world happening in Ottawa-Gatineau from 3-7 July?
The Aboriginal Women's Leadership Circle for Women’s Worlds 2011 invites you to submit your written, artistic, or otherwise creative submissions to attend Women’s Worlds 2011. We greatly value the participation of young Aboriginal women and would like to hear directly from YOU about why you want to be at this exciting global event by answering "What does Aboriginal women’s leadership mean to you?"
3 grand winners will be awarded an honorarium of $1,500 (one young First Nation woman, one young Inuit woman, one young Métis woman) plus the opportunity to present their essay at the Women’s Worlds 2011 congress
7 winners will be awarded an honorarium of $1000
WHO SHOULD SUBMIT?
Young Aboriginal Women (trans, Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming inclusive), First Nations, Métis, Inuit, status, and non-status identified from 16-29
Deadline: 25 March 2011
Notification of acceptance: 4 April 2011
SEE ATTACHED FOR CONTEST GUIDELINES AND MORE INFORMATION.
Contact: youngaboriginal@womensworlds.ca
womensworlds.ca
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
3e Colloque étudiant du FERA
Résistance et reconstruction : les peuples autochtones au passé et au présent
Université d’Ottawa, 9 mars 2011
Desmarais 3105, 9h-16h
Horaire et information:
http://www.sciencessociales.uottawa.ca/fera/fra/index.asp
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3rd FASR Graduate Conference
Resistance and Rebuilding: Exploring Indigenous Challenges Past and Present
University of Ottawa, march 9, 2011,
Desmarais 3105, 9am-4pm
Schedule and information:
http://www.sciencessociales.uottawa.ca/fera/eng/index.asp
Renowned Canadian Architect Douglas Cardinal Awards Collection to Carleton University
Douglas Cardinal, an internationally-renowned architect, has bestowed his entire collection from 1984 onwards of drawings, plans, files, 3D models and other information to Carleton University.
“I chose Carleton because of its outstanding school of architecture, its commitment to the arts and humanities and particularly the exemplary professional and dedicated staff serving the Archives Department, especially Patti Harper and Lloyd Keane,” says Cardinal. “I am assured the collection will be properly preserved and my body of work will be able to be utilized by future generations of architects.”
Cardinal, who is an officer of the Order of Canada, is famous for his commitment to excellence and unique creative vision. He is renowned for developing a classic, organic approach to architecture and was designated a world master of contemporary architecture by the International Academy of Architecture.
“This collection will not only be valuable to the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism but also Aboriginal studies, commerce, public history, political science and heritage conservation at Carleton,” says Patti Harper, a department head of the archives and research collections at MacOdrum Library, where the collection is now housed. “When Douglas Cardinal’s office called to ask us if we were interested in his collection, we didn’t hesitate. Coming on the heels of the Jacob Siskind collection, we are absolutely delighted that he also chose to give this fabulous gift to Carleton.”
Says Stephen Fai, a professor of architecture: “His undulating forms and voluptuous spaces are immediately recognizable. Equally important to the history of architecture is the role he played in the development and application of digital technologies for the practice of architecture. With Carleton’s new PhD that focuses on the culture of practice in architecture, beginning in the fall of 2011, the acquisition of this collection couldn’t be more timely.”
Cardinal is also known for imbuing humanity into his work. “I have found that by placing the needs of the human being before the systems that modern man has created, we can ensure that the man is indeed served by these systems rather than becoming a slave to them. Through several projects undertaken by my firm and myself, I have demonstrated my dedication for working with people and improving the human condition.”
“This acquisition is a watershed for Carleton and for the history and theory of architecture in particular,” notes Peter Coffman, assistant professor, School for Studies in Art and Culture. “Douglas Cardinal’s work is not only beautiful – it is also connected to some of the most compelling social and political themes of our day. This is a hugely exciting field for research, and this collection will put us at the centre of that research for generations to come.”
The collection includes valuable assets such as plans for the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D. C.), the First Nation University (Saskatchewan) and Oneida Casino Children’s and Elders Center (Verona, New York).
Other projects that Cardinal has worked on in his career include the Edmonton Space Science Centre which has since been renovated and rebranded as the Telus World of Science, the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre, the Provincial Building in Ponoka, Alberta, the Grande Prairie Regional College, St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer, Alberta, and Oujé-Bougoumou village, Oujé-Bougomou, Quebec, which won the UN award as UNESCO’s Best Sustainable Community in 1998 and was featured as the “Village of the Future” in Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany.
In1999, Cardinal was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the highest architectural honour presented to an individual in Canada, In 2009, he received a Gold Medal of the Union of Architects of Russia, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the design and building of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
The Cardinal collection pre-1984 is housed at the University of Calgary. Once the Carleton collection has been arranged and described it is hoped that the two collections can be linked virtually.