Explore your creative side and discover a First Nations traditional craft: the Dreamcatcher. The workshop will be led by Marie-Celine Charron from the Naskapis First Nation of Kawawachikamach.
Spaces are limited. Click here to reserve your spot!
Ellen Gabriel will explore the legacy of colonization and how the past continues to affect the present day to day lives of Indigenous peoples in Canada. In 2010 Canada endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. How has this affected the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada? Gabriel will address this question, citing issues such as land rights, the Indian Residential school system and violence against Aboriginal women.
Ellen Gabriel was well-known to the public when she was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanehsatà:ke to be their spokesperson during the 1990 "Oka" Crisis; to protect the Pines from the expansion of a 9 hole golf course in "Oka".
For the past 22 years she has been a human rights advocate for the collective and individual rights of Indigenous peoples and has worked diligently to sensitize the public, academics, policing authorities and politicians on the history, culture and identity of Indigenous peoples.She has made numerous public presentations on Indigenous rights and history, including presentations to Parliamentary committees and the National Assembly on legislative amendments affecting the rights of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
She has been active at the international level participating at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues, negotiations on the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biodiversity and most recently, at the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Ms. Gabriel has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University where she graduated in May 1990. She worked as an Illustrator/Curriculum developer for Tsi Ronteriwanónha ne Kanien'kéka/ Kanehsatà:ke Resource Center in Kanehsatà:ke and also worked as an Art Teacher for the Mohawk Immersion School for grades 1-6. Ellen has also worked on videos illustrating legends of the Iroquois people and the local community stories. She is presently an active board member of Kontinón:sta'ts – Mohawk Language Custodians and First Peoples Human Rights Coalition.
President Clément Chartier of the Métis National Council will present an historical overview of the emergence of the Métis people/Nation of the Northwest. President Chartier will explore the contemporary struggles for the recognition of Métis Nation rights and continued existence as a people, and some of the challenges faced by the Métis. President Chartier will also highlight recent successes of the Métis Nation, such as the recognition of the Aboriginal rights of the Métis in the Constitution Act 1982.
Clément Chartier QC, is President of the Métis National Council. Chartier received his law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1978, was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1980 and received the Queen's Counsel designation in 2004. During his political career, Chartier has held a number of executive positions in Indigenous political bodies, including: Native Youth Association of Canada Executive Director, 1973; Association of Métis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan (AMNSIS) Vice-President, 1982–85; Métis National Council (MNC) Chairperson, 1983 and 1984/85; MNC Ambassador on International Issues, 1993–96; MNC President, 2003 to present; World Council of Indigenous Peoples President, 1984–87, Vice-President, 1993–97; and Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) President, 1998–2003.