Re-igniting the Sacred Power of Creation Conference at Trent University to Address Global Environmental Challenges
Trent to host international Indigenous leaders and activists at first Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences conference
Indigenous leaders, scholars and activists will convene at Trent University on Earth Day this Friday, April 22, 2016, for the first Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences (IESS) conference, Re-igniting the Sacred Power of Creation: Essential Knowledges for Transformative Action, aimed at bringing together Indigenous teachings and traditional knowledge to address complex global environmental issues.
The conference is being organized by the IESS program and project partners, including Trent’s Indigenous Women’s Symposium, the Indigenous Studies Ph.D. program at Trent, Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science program (TRACKS), the Kawartha World Issues Centre, Niijkiwendidaa, and Trent Oxfam, who have been working over the past year to make this conference a reality. This conference will provide attendees with opportunities to engage with traditional teachings, join conversations, get involved, and help define new ways of living and belonging in this world.
“We are excited to have international leaders like Vandana Shiva, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Manulani Meyer coming to Canada and to Trent, to guide us in discussions about how to heal the environmental issues facing all of us in the global community,” says Professor Dan Longboat, director of IESS at Trent. “At the same time, there are Elders and Knowledge Holders from across Canada and the United States that will be speaking. We have also organized an academic component for scholars and community members to discuss and share their important work with the entire IESS community.”
“The academic component of the conference is really about celebrating the important projects that are going on throughout Ontario, across Canada and around the world in the area of Indigenous Environmental Studies,” explains Barbara Wall, the chair of the conference planning committee. “We wanted to create time and space for community practitioners, academics, and activists to come together and share their work, network and learn from one another. This, will happen in the academic component on Saturday, but throughout the entire conference as well.”
For more information about the conference visit: iessconference.org or to register and purchase tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/iess-conference-2016-tickets-21536852305
About the Indigenous Environmental Studies program at Trent University
Trent’s Indigenous Environmental Studies program is the first in North America to integrate Indigenous traditional knowledge with a Western scientific approach. Students explore complex topics such as climate change, Indigenous health, and the environment. IESS is a collaboration between the department of Indigenous Studies and the Environmental and Resource Science/Studies Program, and is designed to give students the necessary skills and knowledge to work in the growing field of Indigenous environmental issues.
About Trent University
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
For more information, please contact:
Carly Armstrong, Ph.D. candidate and conference co-organizer, Trent University, carlyarmstrong@trentu.ca
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