CASS will hand out samples in Vari Hall, from 11:30am to 3pm. There will also be information on events happening downtown June 21.

“Three sisters soup is a traditional dish that not only tastes delicious, but it shows how advanced the Aboriginal people were with agriculture,” says Amber Wynne, student peer leader at CASS.  Wynne say the three sisters vegetable garden, comprised of corn, beans and squash, works together, as “the corn would take the nitrogen from the soil, which was readily replenished by the bean plant, and the squash leaves would keep the soil moist by protecting it from the sun”.

Inside the  Centre for Aboriginal Student Services

In celebration of the 16th Annual National Aboriginal Day, CASS is bringing the event to the students, staff and faculty at 91��ɫ.

“It’s important to recognize and celebrate the rich culture and history behind Indigenous peoples, while promoting inclusion and unity among all nations,” says Jolene John, CASS administrative assistant. CASS would like to “share the diverse cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people while also promoting awareness that Indigenous people are here and thriving,” says John.

The National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations, first called for a National Aboriginal Day in 1982. It was to be a day that commemorated Aboriginal solidarity.

In 1995, The Sacred Assembly (a national conference of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) once again called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal peoples. Finally, in 1996 former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc declared June 21 as National Aboriginal Day.

Some events that will be taking place in the Toronto area are as follows:

June 18 to 23
Art Show
Sponsored by the Toronto District School Board Aboriginal Education Centre
Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen St. W.

June 21
National Aboriginal Day Sunrise Ceremony & Flag Raising
Podium Roof, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W.
5:30am

Celebrate the summer solstice with First Nations’ dancing, drumming and a sunset ceremony
Fort 91��ɫ National Historic Site, 250 Fort 91��ɫ Blvd.
6pm to sunset

All My Relations’ National Aboriginal Day
Allendale Gardens Park
12pm to 6pm

June 23
Na-Me-Rez Outdoor Traditional Powwow
Wells Hills Park, East of Bathurst & St. Clair West
Grand Entry starts at 12pm

June 29
Scarbourough Powwow
20 Waldock St., Scarborough, Ontario
Sunrise ceremony at 5:30am
Grand Entry at 12pm

June 30
Aboriginal History Month Celebration Event @ Dundas Square
Sponsored by the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto
12 to 8pm

For more information about celebrations that will be taking place around National Aboriginal Day, visit the Government of Canada’s website.

For more information on Aboriginal services, visit the website or stop by the centre at 246 91��ɫ Lanes.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The Climate Justice and Politics Workshop is part of the Climate Justice II Workshop Series, “Bringing a Democratic Canadian Perspective to the Climate Change Conference in South Africa: Taking Action on Climate Change.” The event will take place Oct. 26, from 1 to 4pm, 305 91��ɫ Lanes, Keele campus. It is hosted by 91��ɫ’s Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability () and Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (), and co-ordinated by Mihae Ahn, a student in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), and JP Sapinski, a PhD student at the University of Victoria.

The workshop will feature five student panelists with follow-up commentary by guest discussant 91��ɫ FES Professor Ellie Perkins. It will also be virtually available for those outside the University to participate. For instructions on how to connect, . The idea is to help spark discussion about people who are already marginalized – women, dispossessed classes, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and citizens of poorer countries – and who are bearing the brunt of the consequences of a warming world.

The workshop is just one of the events being organized by IRIS and APECS in advance of the United Nations climate change conference, , in Durban, South Africa, in November. It is an opportunity to meet and share ideas with like-minded climate justice activists and academics. It is also intended to solicit input from the audience to inform the work of the 91��ɫ delegates, some of whom will participate in an exhibit booth intended to highlight Inuit experiences and perspectives of climate change. "We are also waiting to hear about the approval of our side event, 'Bridging Knowledges: Communicating on Climate Change Experiences to Build Resilient Communities'," says Rachel Hirsch, a FES post-doctoral fellow and IRIS executive member at 91��ɫ.

Two of the delegates are youth from Arviat, Nunavut. It is important to have the voice of the Arviat youth at COP17, says Hirsch, as they are one of the groups most affected by climate change. The whole idea is to create dialogue. The booth is a joint effort between 91��ɫ, the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Nanisiniq Project. “Bringing people to COP17 is one way to get people’s voices heard regarding climate change, but it has become a pan-Canadian initiative,” says Hirsch. The result is that “we all want this to be an ongoing network for continuing dialogue. It has become something so much bigger.” 

The five panelists will discuss climate justice and politics from perspectives ranging from ethics and philosophy to critical discourse analysis to the political economy of global warming. FES student Aaron Saad will discuss, “Just and Unjust Solutions to Climate Change and Human Displacement,” Ahn will look at “Climate Change and Hybrid Ethics: A Review of Four Ethical Theories,” University of Toronto students Rachel 91��ɫ-Bridgers and Paul 91��ɫ will discuss “Animals and Climate Change,” Sapinski will talk about “Capitalism, Climate Change and the Discourse of Ecological Modernization” and University of Ottawa student Chris Bisson will look at “Resilient Cooperation – A (Re)new(ed) Alternative to Sustainable Development." Sapinski and Bisson will join the workshop virtually.

“Such a workshop is crucial because it challenges the way that climate change is currently addressed at the global level. The impacts of climate change on people force them to migrate to other countries or regions (climate refugees) or change their whole way of life (First Nations and Inuit people, especially in the North), among others,” says Sapinski. “However, the issue of climate justice is not limited to the impacts of climate change, as injustices and inequalities also come from the way governments deal with the issue.”

For more information on the workshop, its presenters and their abstracts, visit the website. For more information about the Arviat youth, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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