IDLG News November 2017

Indigenous Directions Newsletter - November 2017


 

• Concordia is Now Hiring an Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator! 
• Thunderbird Strike: links to Elizabeth LaPensée's award-winning video game, and to Chelsea Vowel's call to support the artist
• Returning to Ourselves and the IDLG Territorial Acknowledgement in Guy-Concordia metro tunnel
• Geography, Planning and Environment website links to Territorial Acknowledgement
• Belated thanks and best wishes to former Special Advisor Elizabeth Fast
• Concordia President Alan Shepard seeks input from community on Bill 62
• Events listings: Indigenous-focused art, film, and speakers and gatherings

Concordia University is now accepting applications for a new position:
Coordinator, Indigenous Community Engagement. 
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, November 15, 2017.  

This is a two-year, full-time contract with Concordia's Office of Community Engagement.  Some of the responsibilities include: (1) Leading Concordia’s community engagement initiatives in partnership with Indigenous communities, organizations and networks; (2) Managing key relationships with Indigenous community stakeholders; ths entails communicating/meeting regularly with current or prospective partners to understand their needs and objectives and connecting them, where possible, with relevant Concordia stakeholders; and (3) Coordinating Indigenous community consultations on specific policies or protocols (including territorial acknowledgement and Elder protocol).

All applications have to go through the job description page on Concordia's website.  Follow the link to read the full description and requirements. 

Please share this opportunity with your networks - the deadline is coming up soon!

And, the Faculty of Education at McGill University is hiring an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Education.  The deadline to apply is Monday, November 27, and all the details are here.   

"Fly from the Tar Sands to the Great Lakes as a thunderbird protecting Turtle Island with searing lightning against the snake that threatens to swallow the lands and waters whole”

The image above is a screenshot from Anishnaabe, Métis and Irish artist Elizabeth LaPensée's award-winning video game, Thunderbird Strike.  Montreal-based writer Chelsea Vowel's recent blog post -- Framing Indigenous Resistance as Terrorism -- describes the game, its' recent success at ImagiNative, and the "frothing rage" it has incited in the oil industry and mainstream media. Vowel's blog includes a template letter of support, which we hope you will consider copying and sending in to the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, who are threatening to withdraw grant funding that supported LaPensée's project.   

Elizabeth LaPensée has graciously contributed her original artwork, Returning to Ourselves, for us to use in a variety of visual campaigns around campus.  It is currently featured on the Indigenous Directions web hub, Territorial Acknowledgement postcards, and on the banner that is now on display in the Guy-Concordia metro tunnel.  IDLG undergraduate student representative  Brooke Wahsontiiostha Deer snapped the picture above.  

Some news from the Indigenous Directions Leadership Group:

The members of the IDLG would like to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to Elizabeth Fast, for the formative role that she played in establishing our group.  Her strength of spirit, and determination to make Concordia a more welcoming and supportive place for Indigenous students, faculty, and community, inspire the people around her to work hard to effect positive change.  We extend our sincere thanks, and best wishes to her as she steps back from the IDLG, and focuses on her role as assistant Professor in Applied Human Sciences, and lead investigator on a number of important research projects.   

For a number of reasons,  we have chosen not to recommend the appointment another Special Advisor, but instead, to move ahead with slight modifications to our current structure.  Furthermore, as we approach the half-way point of our three-year mandate, we are focusing on drafting the Indigenous Directions Action Plan.  Our hope is that this document will serve as a practical point of reference to a range of stakeholders, and will function as one of many instruments for change, that will serve to guide the institution towards improved relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities.   

Visit the IDLG Members and Mandate page for more information about the group.

President Shepard invites input from Concordia community regarding Bill 62

Above: poster for Start-up Nations keynote address