Fa’afafine (In the Manner of a Woman)

From October 8-11, Carleton University is pleased to host a visit by this renowned multi-media artist, with a keynote lecture on Wednesday, October 9, at 7pm, in Room 372, 3^rd Floor Residence Commons Banquet Hall, and a Q&A session and reception to follow. Entitled, “Undressing the Pacific” — after her acclaimed mid-career retrospective of the same name — the presentation is free and open to the general public. Pre-registration is recommended in order to plan appropriately for the reception.

Contact: allan_ryan@carleton.ca, or call 613-520-2600, ext. 4035.  Doors open at 6:30 pm.

This is a special presentation of the New Sun Chair in Aboriginal Art and Culture and the School of Canadian Studies, with the generous support of the Dean of Arts and Social Sciences.

For more information on the artist and to view her video works, especially “The Making of Siva in Motion”, “Assume Nothing”, “Culture for Sale” and Taualuga: The Last Dance, visit: http://shigeyukikihara.wordpress.com/ and http://vimeo.com/channels/shigeyuki.

Please circulate!  Bring your friends.

The 2013 FEL Conference (The Seventeenth Conference of the Foundation for Endangered Languages) will be held October 1 – 4, 2013 at Carleton University, in Ottawa, the capital of Canada and headquarters of the country’s national Aboriginal organizations.

“This conference is all about connections and building collaborations , locally and internationally,” explains conference co-organizer and professor in Sociology and Anthropology, Donna Patrick. “We see it as a way to bring together all kinds of people who have concerns about Indigenous languages, as well as endangered languages in general. The conference provides a forum to share work being done, discuss current challenges and think about new projects and collaborations. Our theme embraces everything from academic research to building solidarity and connections within and among communities.”

The conference itself is a collaborative effort between the non-profit UK-based international organization, Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL) and a group of Carleton professors in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies (Marie-Odile Junker, Kumiko Murasugi and Ida Toivonen), the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (Donna Patrick) and the Department of French (Erik Anonby). Nicholas Ostler, Chairman of FEL, invited Mary Jane Norris, a FEL member and a Carleton sociology alumnus, to serve as local chair for their 17th annual conference in 2013, to be held for the first time in Canada. As a former graduate, Mary Jane approached her home university of Carleton to collaborate in hosting the conference here in Ottawa.

The conference itself reflects connections, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary research with respect to Ottawa’s Algonquin heritage, community and the University. Mary Jane, a specialist in the demography of Aboriginal languages in Canada, is also a member of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation. Simon Brascoupé, an Adjunct Research Professor in Carleton University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology and internationally known Aboriginal artist from the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi Anishnabek, contributed his art work to the front cover of this year’s Conference Proceedings. There is also a pre-conference trip organized to visit Kitigan Zibi School which runs an Algonquin immersion program and is about a two-hour drive north of Ottawa.

These kind of collaborations are fruitful, not only with respect to what they achieve together, in the form of the conference and publication of the proceedings, but also in the benefits found in the learning process and in the relationships that are made along the way.

Visit the FEL Conference website for more information:  http://www.carleton.ca/fel2013/

Recently established, the Scholar-in-Residence program is dedicated to hosting emerging and prominent scholars who have a demonstrated, professional focus on Canada and have made a significant scholarly contribution to our knowledge and understanding of Canada.

Nimijean, whose research focuses on Canadian political culture, national identity and the politics of branding Canada, gave a series of talks to the community surrounding the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh.

“It was a great honour to be the Fulbright Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for the Study of Canada at SUNY Plattsburgh,” explains Nimijean. “The award not only let me speak with students, colleagues and the community about my research on the politics of branding Canada; it was also an opportunity to support the important and innovative work performed at the Center on the study of Canada in the United States.”

He was at the Center for the Study of Canada at State University of New York College at Plattsburgh during the periods of April 16-24.

To learn more about Nimijean’s research, watch his recent appearance on The Agenda with Steve Paikin here.

Are you a student who is interested in and/or researching any of the following topics?

• Children and violence
• Mental health
• Issues concerning Aboriginal children
• Sexual exploitation of children
• Youth justice

If so, access to a world-class resource is right at your fingertips.

The Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights houses a collection of over 10,000 items organized according to the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These books, documents and reports have been donated to Carleton by The Honourable Landon Pearson.  Pearson has been a life-long advocate for the rights and well-being of children, and a Canadian Senator responsible for children.

The Landon Pearson Resource Centre offers a print library that is rich in relevant materials and also a unique ‘living’ library. These resources would be relevant for students who are studying children’s rights, political science, law, human rights, social work, child studies, women’s and gender studies, public policy, Canadian studies, sociology and international development etc.

The Centre not only offers students access to a vast collection of resources and study aids, it also presents them with the exceptional opportunity to meet and work one-on-one on projects such as honours research papers and theses with former Senator, author and an international representative of Canada, Landon Pearson.

Take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to collaborate with one of Canada’s most prominent child rights advocates.

Please contact Landon Pearson or Associate Professor Virginia Caputo to schedule an appointment.

The Landon Pearson Resource Centre is located in A735 Loeb Building.

Check out the Landon Pearson Resource Centre website for more information:  http://www.landonpearson.ca/

Journal Launch 4:00 – 4:30

The Southern Journal of Canadian Studies will introduce its online and open access special issue: “Constructing Black Canada: Becoming Canadian”, Amoaba Gooden (Kent State), Guest Editor. Richard Nimijean (Carleton U), Journal Editor.

Book Launch and Reception 4:30-5:30

Eve Haque (York University), Multiculturalism

Within a Bilingual Framework: Language, Race, and Belonging in Canada. University of Toronto Press, 2012.

In this ground­breaking new work, Eve Haque ex­plores the roots of multiculturalism and bilingualism in Canada to show that these two im­portant Canadian policies are inex­tricably linked and operate together as a contemporary na­tional narrative, fa­mously formulated by Pierre Trudeau as ‘multicultural­ism within a bilin­gual framework.’

Eve Haque is an associate professor in the Depart­ment of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics and the Department of Equity Studies at York University.

Keynote Lecture 5:45 –7:00

‘My name is not George’: Questioning Anti-blackness; or Towards a Critical Canadian Studies.

Rinaldo Walcott is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. His research and teaching is in the area of Black Diaspora Cultural Studies with an emphasis on queer sexualities, masculinity and cultural politics. A secondary research area is multicultural and transnational debates with an emphasis on nation, citizenship and coloniality. As an interdisciplinary scholar Professor Walcott has published on music, literature, film and theatre among other topics. All of Professor Walcott’s research is founded in a philosophical orientation that is concerned with the ways in which coloniality shapes human relations across social and cultural time. Walcott is the author of Black Like Who: Writing Black Canada (Insonmiac Press, 1997 with a second revised edition in 2003); he is also the editor of Rude: Contemporary Black Canadian Cultural Criticism (Insomniac, 2000); and the Co-editor with Roy Moodley of Counselling Across and Beyond Cultures: Exploring the Work of Clemment Vontress in Clinical Practice (University of Toronto Press, 2010).

This annual speaker series was established in 2011 to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Trent-Carleton Joint PhD in Canadian Studies.

Conference welcome 2012

“The whole day was memorable. You can read about it, hear about it, and even watch the video, but being there is the only way that you can feel the positive energy that permeates the room! From the beginning when the elder, Jim Albert, smudged us and opened the day to the ending when Allan Ryan announced that there was a surprise gift for each of us, it was a day to remember. … Will I be there next year? You betcha, with bells on … and I intend to bring my husband and encourage all students in the Indigenous Studies program to attend as well.  Thank you Professor Ryan for inviting us to participate in this wonderful event.”  AB

Allan Ryan’s New Sun Conference on Aboriginal Arts has become an absolute capstone on Carleton University’s annual calendar.  Since its inception in 2002, few events have been able to generate the sort of buzz and anticipation that New Sun evokes each year.  Anyone who has attended one or more (likely more — few people attend only once) of Ryan’s previous conferences will enthusiastically explain that the first Saturday in March is one of those annual days that helps them to  define that particular year in its entirety.  The conference is inspired by personal stories of struggle and triumph.  When those in attendance witness the creativity displayed by the speakers, they are invariably impressed with the infinite adaptability of contemporary Aboriginal culture and more hopeful about the viability of indigenous communities in Canada.  They leave the New Sun Conference invigorated, fortified and with the satisfying knowledge that they have broadened their own horizons.

New Sun Conference speakers come from various First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities, as well as from the non-Native community.  Presenters have included those with expertise in photography, painting, sculpture, film making, acting, musical performance, curating, arts education, literature and the culinary arts.  Themes such as “healing through the arts,” “transforming traditions,” “engaging authenticity”, and “inspiring resilience” have been explored in a collegial and communal atmosphere that encourages dialogue on important cultural and artistic issues.  New Sun honours, and seeks to raise public awareness of individuals whose work affirms contemporary Aboriginal experience and contributes to increase cross-cultural understanding.

This is not a standard research conference. In fact, few participants who leave the Carleton campus would classify what they had just attended as a ‘conference’.  Though the New Sun Conference certainly has an academic edge, the gathering acts a lot more like a participatory festival than a traditional academic conference.

With the early morning smudging of the room with sage by Elder Jim Albert the conference is framed as an Aboriginal ceremony – a cleansing and healing ceremony which transforms the classroom where the conference is held into a sacred space of indigenous learning.  Appropriately, the day’s activities have been described as nourishment for the soul.

Elder Jim Albert holding a sacred eagle feather, 2012

As Ryan explains, the conference focuses on the creative spirit within the broader Aboriginal community that celebrates both diversity and inclusivity:

“New Sun offers participants a chance to become a part of the informed minority.  We feature positive, uplifting stories that don’t steer away from the tough issues to educate, and to give a sense of hope.  We hit on the themes that are often missed by mainstream media.  New Sun is a much needed antidote.”

Ryan creates a safe, intimate space that is entirely inclusive, meaning that those in attendance consider themselves to be participants more than an audience.  His goal is to have every person at the conference feel that they have contributed, and feel that they have been inspired.

This is embodied at the always popular luncheon. The luncheon of Native foods has become a very important component of the conference – a way for those attending to socialize, network and discuss what they learned in the morning. It also offers an opportunity to witness, again in an intimate setting, up close and personal, a musical performance that they feel part of.

Ryan takes a great deal of pride in the fact that the New Conference is an entirely unique gift to those who attend.

“I view the New Sun Conference as a gift from Carleton to the community, however broadly we choose to define that term, possibly even an extraordinary gift – what makes something extraordinary, out of the ordinary? – that is dependent on the generosity of many people, not the least of whom are the presenters, and the funders,” says Ryan.  “And I have the privilege and responsibility of organizing this event and making it as memorable and uplifting and spiritually nourishing as possible.”

Because of the unparalleled caliber and reputation of the conference,  the New Sun Conference always attracts the most prominent names in Aboriginal arts.  This year is no different, with a speaker’s list that includes: Dorothy Grant, haute couture fashion designer; Daniel Heath Justice, author and educator; Tantoo Cardinal, stage, film and television actress; Gerald McMaster, curator and visual artist; and Lucie Idlout, blues-rock singer/songwriter.

Git Hayetsk Dancers, 2011

2013 Program
2013 Poster

Allan J. Ryan

Allan J. Ryan was appointed as the New Sun Chair in Aboriginal Art and Culture in 2001.  The first of its kind in Canada, the Chair is situated in the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton. It was made possible through the support of the New Sun Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Ottawa.

Ryan holds a joint appointment in the School of Canadian Studies and the Department of Art History in the School for Studies in Art and Culture. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on indigenous topics and holds a special interest in contemporary Aboriginal issues and their aesthetic manifestation in literature, film and the visual arts.  Many of these interests were brought together in his book, The Trickster Shift: Humour and Irony in Contemporary Native Art (UBC Press/U Washington Press), which won an American Book Award in 2000 for its contribution to multicultural literature.  Ryan also conducted post-doctoral research on Aboriginal cartoonists at Simon Fraser University.  In 2005 he co-curated the exhibition, About Face: Self- Portraits by Native American, First Nations and Inuit Artists, shown at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More recently he has lectured on Canadian Aboriginal art and cinema in China and Brazil.

In former lives Ryan worked as a graphic designer, and achieved a certain degree of notoriety as a popular and successful television satirist, singer-songwriter and recording artist.

Contact: allan_ryan@carleton.ca, www.trickstershift.com

Impressions of past New Sun Conferences

Tanya Tagaq, 2010

-My New Sun Conference 2012 experience was an absolute delight, coupled with moments of inspired optimism for my future and my country and filled during the day with feelings of hope, faith, sadness, anger, joy and a deep gratitude for life. Qujannamiik Dr. Ryan and to all who made this happen.  :)  PP, 2012

 -It was again a pleasant trip to Ottawa. I don’t always have pleasant trips. I felt I had the “right to speak” cause what I had to say was important and worthwhile to listen to. That what we had to say and show was important and helpful. And you Allan are one amazing bridge, and an important one too. I think I am speaking in Inuktitut and translating it to English, which is how I usually speak anyway. Thank you again for the important day you invited me to.  :) Evie Mark, throat singer and presenter, 2012.

-What a fantastic conference! I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I was crying the whole way home (words cannot truly describe how beautiful the event was.) Thank you so much. MSG, 2011.

-Well, Allan, After last year, I really didn’t know what you could possibly do next. But you figured it out. Thanks enormously for another amazing day of people and art. FS, 2011.

-I am an MA art history student at Carleton U and a senior who had a successful professional career in another discipline.  I should like to congratulate you on a most successful conference. It attracts people to return who have no aboriginal connection and who also lack any background in aboriginal contributions and culture. This is a fantastic outreach achievement. The span of the conference, embracing visual art, oral art, architecture, and dancers in performance, was outstanding. Mosha Folger and Douglas Cardinal were inspiring and remarkable for their achievements: both for native peoples in Canada and the rest of the Canadian population. In architecture, one has to wonder why projects like the ROM were not set in Douglas Cardinal’s capable hands. The buffet luncheon of Native cuisine was outstanding. Best wishes for your future conferences which I plan to attend. You certainly meet the conference’s objectives of “rais[ing] public awareness of an individual whose work affirms contemporary Aboriginal experience and contributes to increased cross-cultural understanding.” I hope you find my comments helpful. I plan to attend future conferences: this was my first. Please do pass on my congratulations to all who contributed and participated! GH, 2011.

More Feedback

Tom Jackson, 2009

Watch!

Courtesy of Indigenous Culture and Media Innovations, a monthly half hour Rogers Cable TV show on Aboriginal youth in the nation’s capital that airs on Sundays, The New Sun Conference also has a YouTube presence.

The producer and host of Indigenous Culture and Media Innovations, Joanie Mendowagen, planned on devoting 7-10 minutes of their March 2012 episode to the New Sun Conference. After attending the event, Mendowagen decided to devote the whole half hour to New Sun, saying it was the best conference she had ever attended.

Watch highlights from the 2012 edition of the New Sun Conference here:

*All conference presentations have been videotaped and archived on DVD in the Carleton University Library.

Born in Coast Salish traditional territory, she was raised in Haudenosaunee and Neutral traditional territory in St. Catharines, Ontario.  She attended Lakehead University and obtained a BA in Political Science (Pre-Law) and an HBA in Political Science, along with minors in Women’s Studies and Severn Ojibwe.  Adese holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies & Critical Theory and a PhD in English (Cultural Studies stream) from McMaster University’s Department of English & Cultural Studies.  As a recipient of the Harvey E. Longboat Scholarship for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis and the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship program, Adese completed her PhD in the summer of 2012.  She is currently developing a book proposal based on her dissertation research, which examines the construction of and visual representation of “Aboriginality” by Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state.  In her research, she reflects on depictions of Indianness and Aboriginality in the latter part of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries across a number of sites of visual cultural production – the Aboriginal tourism industry, the 1976, 1988 and 2010 Olympics, and Foxwoods Casino and Casino Rama.  Adese also considers the work of Indigenous mixed media artists that she argues engages in an exercise of what Jolene Rickard and Michelle Raheja have separately referred to as “visual sovereignty.”

Adese teaches within the Indigenous Studies minor program.  She has taught courses in Indigenous-settler relations and Indigenous representation.  This term, Adese is teaching a course titled “Indigenous Rights, Resistance, and Resurgence,” which examines the historical and contemporary climates through which Indigenous peoples have sought to challenge colonialism, work towards decolonization, and heal their communities.  Topics covered in the course include a focus on decolonization theory; pre-1960s resistances; post-1960s movements (including Kahnesatake, Grassy Narrows, Lubicon Lake, Temagami, Kanehstaton, #IdleNoMore); Northern and Inuit self-governance; Indigenous Women’s resistance and pathways to resurgence; and the rights movements (in both the Canadian-state and international contexts).

Do you know what the International Association for Quebec Studies (AIEQ) can do to support your projects? Come and learn all about it at Carleton University.

A representative from the International Association for Quebec Studies will describe in detail the programs, grants and support available to graduate students, researchers, instructors and all Faculty members pursuing an interest in Quebec. The presentation will not exceed 45 minutes.

The AIEQ has a great deal of information for those who work on a topic related to Quebec. The association is also an important funding source for its members, constituting a vast network of international researchers.

Every year, more than 20 grants or scholarships are offered to graduate students and junior researchers working on an aspect of Quebec, either a Quebec Studies topic or on a comparative study including Quebec. In addition, the AIEQ has more than 70 grants available to support research travels and stays, participation in conferences, support for developing courses on Quebec, along with publication grants.

Come and learn about what the International Association for Quebec Studies can do to help you make your projects happen!

Wednesday, February 6th 2013 at 11:30 in Dunton Tower, Room 2017, Carleton University

Poster for more information

Confirming your presence by email or phone would be greatly appreciated accueil@aieq.qc.ca /
418-528-7562.

Association internationale des études québécoises
accueil@aieq.qc.ca / www.aieq.qc.ca / 418-528-7562