Week 6: indigenous policy & reconciliation
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
1:00 to 3:00 PM ET
In this session, our panel will delve into the critical topics of reconciliation, Indigenous governance, and policy. Our esteemed speakers will offer valuable insights into the multifaceted landscape of Indigenous affairs, addressing both the challenges and successes experienced by Indigenous communities as well as ongoing initiatives that are addressing the diverse needs of Indigenous peoples.
AGENDA
1:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Introduction and Fireside Chat with Award-Winning Journalist, Karyn Pugliese
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Panel discussion with guest speakers
2:30 pm - 2:50 pm: Peer discussions in breakout rooms
2:50 pm - 3:00 pm: Concluding remarks and feedback
Pre-session reading materials
Make your favourite hot drink, find a quiet corner, and read through these materials ahead of the session.
Webpage: The Impact of Words and Tips for Using Appropriate Terminology: Am I Using the Right Word?, National Museum of the American Indian
Webpage: A Fairer Future For Every Generation of Indigenous Peoples, Government of Canada
Fact Sheet: The President's Budget Delivers..., The White House
Article: A Progressive Facade, Harvard Political Review
Article: What the Fight To Expand Access to the Ballot for Native Americans Looks Like Now, The 19th News
Moderator: KARYN PUGLIESE
Karyn, aka Pabàmàdiz (she/her), is an award-winning journalist. She is an Auntie at Makwa Creative, a visiting professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, occasionally a guest panellist on CBC's Rosie Barton show and the current editor-in-chief of Canadaland. Formerly Karyn worked as the Managing Editor of CBC's Investigative Unit, overseeing the team at The Fifth Estate and Marketplace. Karyn is best known for her work as a Parliament Hill reporter and as the Executive Director of News and Current Affairs at APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) where she ran the news department for seven years. She joined Toronto Metropolitan University's faculty in the Spring of 2020 while completing a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. Karyn has worked in daily news and long-form investigations at various other outlets, including ichannel, VisionTV, and CTV.
From 2018-2020, Karyn was president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and still sits on the national board of directors. Karyn is a board member of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She worked as an expert trainer for Journalists for Human Rights in South Sudan in 2018.
Karyn is a citizen of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation in Ontario and is of mixed Algonquin and Italian descent. When she is not engaged in acts of journalism, you'll find her paddling a canoe, shooting photos and eating frybread.
Karyn's Contact Details:
Phone number: 204-995-1071
PANELISTS
frances abele
Frances Abele (she/her) is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita of Public Policy and Administration, Senior Research Fellow of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, Faculty Associate of the Centre for European Studies, and Research Fellow at the Broadbent Institute. Dr. Abele is co-director with Satsan Herb George of the Rebuilding First Nations Governance project, and a founder of the Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Policy and Administration. During 1992-96, she was seconded to the research directorate at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, where she was responsible for research and policy on the North and some of the Commission’s work on governance. A political scientist born in Alberta, Dr. Abele has worked with Indigenous peoples all over Canada and in some parts of the circumpolar Arctic. Her research has focused on northern economic and political development, Indigenous-Canada relations, self-government, policy and programs important to Aboriginal people living in cities, policy and program evaluation, qualitative research and citizen engagement. Besides her academic publications, Abele has published research reports with the National Centre for First Nations Governance, Canadian Policy Research Networks, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.
Frances' Contact Details:
Email: francesabele@gmail.com
grand chief benedict
Abram Benedict (he/him) is a lifetime resident of Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) and is serving his third term as Grand Chief. During his two-term as Grand Chief, Abram lead a dynamic 12 member Council that focused on building stronger relationships, creating new opportunities and raising the positive profile of his community. During his eight years as Grand Chief, Abram and his Council brought to a conclusion two large land claims worth over $284 million, among many other new and expanding initiatives for Akwesasne.
He had previously served three terms as District Chief of Kawehno:ke. Within that capacity, he served as Portfolio Chairman for social services and housing and was Portfolio Co-Chair for education.
Before Grand Chief Abram’s terms on Council, his work experience was in the private business sector, and he attended Algonquin College. Grand Chief Abram Benedict also served as a volunteer board member as the Aboriginal Representative to the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) board, a member-based agency representing the 47 CAS’s in Ontario, including the 9 Aboriginal Agencies. Abram was a governor for St. Lawrence College where he concluded six-year tenure in 2023 as the Chair of the College Board. In addition, he is a former board member of Cornwall Community Hospital.
Grand Chief's Contact Details:
Email: ahbenedict@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abram-benedict-80b316b2/
Twitter: @AbramBenedict
Miriam jorgensen
Miriam Jorgensen (she/her), a settler scholar, is a Senior Researcher at the University of Arizona Native Nations Institute. She holds the additional titles of Research Scientist at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, Affiliate Faculty at the James E. Rogers College of Law, and Affiliate Faculty in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. Her work—in the United States, Canada, and Australia—has addressed housing, law enforcement and justice, natural resource management, cultural stewardship, digital inclusion, enterprise management, financial education, child welfare, and Indigenous governance more generally. She is co-founder of the University of Arizona Indigenous Governance program; has held visiting positions in law, social work, public policy, and Indigenous research; and is an author and editor of numerous articles and books, including Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development (University of Arizona Press 2007) and Creating Private Sector Economies in Native America: Sustainable Development through Entrepreneurship (Cambridge University Press 2019). She holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Swarthmore College; MA in human sciences from the University of Oxford, and both an MPP in international development and a PhD in political economics from Harvard University.
Miriam's Contact Details:
Email:mjorgens@arizona.edu
Honourable mentions
This will be updated after the session.