Speakers
Eugene Arcand
Elder Eugene Arcand, a Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation in Sask., spent nine years at the St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake and two years at the St. Paul’s Lebret Students Residence, both in Saskatchewan.
First Nation Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Arcand has dedicated much of his time to organizing regional and national events—First Nations sports events, cultural events, tourism events, and events geared to the advancement of First Nations youth.
Over the past few years, through the Indian Residential Schools Survivor Committee at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Governing Circle, he has worked to ensure that both the public and survivor communities are kept informed of the developments and processes associated with the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Eugene was successful because of the support and love of his wife Lorna Arcand, who he has been married to for 50 years, and his family. Together, they raised three children and seven grandchildren.
In preperation for Eugene Arcand's Keynote, Eugene has requested we prepare ourselves by reading:
781: A Story of Sports and Survival in Canadian Residential School
Amanda Gebhard & Team
Amanda Gebhard
Assistant Professor, University of Regina
Amanda Gebhard is a white settler scholar and assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina. She has more than fifteen years’ experience in anti-racism education as a student, researcher, and instructor in education and social work faculties. Dr. Gebhard’s interdisciplinary research investigates racism and educational exclusions, the school/prison nexus and anti-racist pedagogy and practice. She has published widely on racism and whiteness in education in the Canadian prairies.
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Sheelah McLean
Curriculum Developer, San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training, BC Provincial Health Authority
Sheelah McLean is a third-generation white settler who was born and raised on Treaty 6 Territory. Dr. McLean has worked in education for thirty years teaching high school, adult education and graduate and undergraduate courses in anti-racism at the University of Saskatchewan. She is an organizer with the Idle No More network. As a scholar and community organizer, her work has focused on research projects and actions that address inequality, particularly on how white dominance is created and maintained within a white settler society. She is a curriculum developer for San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program.
Verna St. Denis
Professor, University of Saskatchewan
Verna St. Denis is a professor of education and special advisor to the president on anti-racism/anti-oppression at the University of Saskatchewan, where she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in integrated anti-racist education for many years. She is both Cree and Metis and a member of the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation. Dr. St. Denis is a widely sought-after speaker on the topic of racism in education. Her research and scholarship are in anti-racist and Indigenous education, and she has published extensively on these topics.
All proceeds from this book go to the Idle No More movement whose work continues to support Indigenous land defense.
Michael Redhead Champagne
Michael inspires every time he speaks to an audience or brings his pen to the page. An Ininew public speaker, writer, community advocate and on-screen personality, his storytelling connects communities across North America and around the world. Michael’s commitment to action and solutions comes from his experiences growing up in Winnipeg’s North End, his identity as a member of Shamattawa First Nation and his connection to the child welfare system. He aims to walk his talk, revolutionize harmful systems and ensure those with lived experience design, deliver and evaluate any initiative that affects them.
Michael is working towards a revolution rooted in love, equity and justice.