The Jack Matthews Fellowship, a collaboration of Trent University, Lakefield College School, and the Canadian Canoe Museum, continues its tradition of appointing exemplary Canadians as fellows with the announcement of Wab Kinew, renowned musician, broadcaster and university administrator, as the 2015 Jack Matthews Fellow in residence. 

“Wab Kinew engages the core problems of social justice in Canada with his full energy, whether through his hip-hop music, in his role as a journalist and public intellectual, his role as a father, or through his work as a university administrator,” says Dr. Mike Allcott, director of the Trent International Program. “In his charismatic defense of Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda on last year’s CBC Canada Reads, Wab brought home to many Canadians that for us there is no claim to global citizenship until Canada commits to the work of reconciliation with the indigenous people of the land. For those of us who follow Jack Matthews in committing to our responsibilities as global citizens, Wab’s tough and frank leadership provides a path toward that goal of reconciliation.”

As the 2015 Jack Matthews Fellow, Mr. Kinew will engage people throughout the Trent and Peterborough communities in a variety of events, including:

• Public lecture and talk on his forthcoming book Vision of the Journey Ahead: Racism, Rights, and Reconciliation on Wednesday, February 25 at 4:00 p.m. in the Great Hall, Champlain College
• Morning with Lakefield College School students on Thursday, February 26
• "Indigenous Innovation and the Journey Toward Reconciliation" public talk at the Canadian Canoe Museum on Thursday, February 26 at 6:00 p.m. Details at www.canoemuseum.ca
• Elders and Traditional Peoples Gathering: Traditional Leadership in Action – Mr. Kinew will be the keynote speaker at this annual event on Saturday, February 28. For more information, including details on registration, visit http://www.trentu.ca/fphl/initiatives_elders.php

Mr. Kinew is a correspondent with Al Jazeera America, and has had many roles with CBC Radio and TV, including hosting the acclaimed documentary series “8^th Fire”, a searing portrayal of indigenous life in modern Canada.  He is the host of the 2015 Canada Reads competition: One Book to Break Barriers.

For his work as a journalist, Mr. Kinew has been nominated for a Gemini Award, and won both an Adrienne Clarkson RTNDA Award (from the Association of Electronic Journalists) and a Gabriel Award. For his hop-hop debut CD, Live by the Drum (2009), he won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD.

A member of the Midewin, Mr. Kinew is from the Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario and now lives in Winnipeg where he serves as associate vice-president for Indigenous Relations at the University of Manitoba. He was recently named an honorary witness for Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

About the Jack Matthews Fellowship

The Jack Matthews Fellowship honours the memory of the legendary Canadian who was a head of Lakefield College School, a founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum, and founder of the Trent University International Program. Previous fellows have included Shelagh Rogers, Joseph Boyden, Nicolas Dickner and Mike Robinson.