In honour of National Indigenous History Month, join us for an engaging series of interactive online and on campus events throughout the month of June.
Indigenous Speaker Series: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Tuesday, June 7
We are pleased to welcome Robin Wall Kimmerer as the second guest in our Indigenous Speaker Series. Registration for this virtual event is open to the Langara College community: faculty, admin, leadership and students.
Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. Kimmerer is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both Indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability. As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. She lives on an old farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild.
Sign up for the Indigenous Speaker Series with Robin Wall Kimmerer on June 7 at 11:30am
TCDC Summer Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass
Tuesdays, May 24 – June 21
In advance, of our upcoming Speaker Series, we will be hosting an in-person book club to discuss Robin Wall Kimmerer’s bestselling book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. This is a beautiful book that explores the relationship between biology and Indigenous teachings, and will engage anyone who is passionate about being an educator and is open to learning more about Indigenous worldviews, the natural environment, and each other.
TCDC’s Indigenization specialist and curriculum consultant Jen Ward, who recently passed away, was eager to host a book club for this amazing text, and we are holding these sessions for the Langara community in her honour.
ARC: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Research (Feat. Dr. Georgina Martin, ABST)
Tuesday, June 7
Featuring Dr. Georgina Martin (Secwepemc), a member of the Tri-Council National Reference Committee for Indigenous Research, this ARC session will discuss how to decolonize your research as well as how to work with Indigenous research partners. It’s all about relationality!
Led by ARC Coordinator and Researcher, Jenny Francis, along with guest presenters, these informative and interactive sessions are all you need to conduct research at Langara. Meet the people who can help you, learn about funding and supports available, and connect with other researchers. All ARC topics were developed in response to the results of the ARC 2021 Faculty and Instructor Research Inventory conducted in Jan-Feb 2021.
Cedar Weaving with Musqueam Artist Rita Point Kompst
Wednesday, June 8 and Wednesday, June 15
Join Musqueam artist Rita Point Kompst for a basket or bracelet weaving workshop, using cedar that was harvested and prepared by Rita herself.
Point Kompst is a Coast Salish weaver and grew up on the traditional territory of Musqueam located on unceded lands in Vancouver, BC.: “Both my parents, my late Father Joe Becker and my late Mother Evelyn Norris were from Musqueam. My late Father was a well-known wood carver and artist with several pieces here in the city. When I was a teenager, my sisters and I often sanded, stained and polished my late Father’s carvings. I grew up going back and forth between my parents so I was blessed to learn teachings from each.
My artist journey began when I returned home several years ago. I had experienced deep personal losses on both sides of the family. I thought long and hard and began to experiment with various Indigenous craft forms. Weaving is the form I prefer and have become extremely passionate about. I teach cedar weaving workshops at various locations around the city. It has become so important to share the knowledge with relatives, friends and at workshops! Cedar weaving is one of the best things we can do to heal!
I currently weave private orders and facilitate cedar weaving and natural dyeing workshops. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with you!”
Sign up for cedar basket weaving with Musqueam artist Rita Point Kompst on June 8 at 12:30pm
Sign up for cedar bracelet weaving with Musqueam artist Rita Point Kompst on June 15 at 1:00pm
