During Indigenous Awareness Week, we encourage you to learn directly from Indigenous people regarding their experiences. Some of these events are open to the public, but others are intended for Indigenous people to connect. Remember your positionality and consider whether your presence will contribute positively to a space when choosing which events to attend. While Indigenous Awareness Week brings a whole host of important events, it’s important for us to remember that Indigenous people do not stop existing, organizing, telling stories, or creating histories after “Awareness Week” ends.
Montreal Distorted Descent Launch
At Concordia University
Tuesday, September 24 (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
From the event page: “Join Darryl Leroux as he discusses the major findings from his book Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity. Books will be available for purchase at the event in cash ($25).”
Untold Stories of Indian Health Services and Intimate Resistance
A part of Indigenous Awareness Weeks
Wednesday, September 25 (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)
From the Facebook event: “Embodied Geographies of Care: Indigenous Peoples’ Untold Stories of Indian Health Services and Intimate Resistance in Tyendinaga and the Surrounding Area [with] Shelby Loft.”
Fruits of Our Labour: Annual General Meeting
Hosted by Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK
Wednesday, September 25 (5:30 pm – 8:30 pm)
An opportunity for any individual or group (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) to “join The NETWORK in celebrating a year of growth, transformation, and learning.” Indigenous community members who are “committed to social justice and decolonization” are also encouraged to apply for the NETWORK’s Board of Directors, which will have its election at the meeting.
Bidaanban: First Light – Virtual Reality Experience
A part of Indigenous Awareness Week
Reception on Thursday, September 26 (5:00 pm – 7:30 pm)
Created by Lisa Jackson, Mathew Borrett, Jam3, and the National Film Board of Canada, this is a virtual reality experience that is rooted in Indigenous futurism which explores “a highly realistic – and radically different – Toronto of tomorrow” that has been reclaimed by nature. In the experience, viewers engage with “written text of the Wendat, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and gain insight into the complex thought systems of this land’s first peoples.”
What Does Matriarchy & Indigenous Language Mean
Indigenous Awareness Weeks Closing
Friday, September 27 (5:00 pm – 7:30 pm)
An open mic event that welcomes Indigenous members of the McGill community to share what matriarchy and Indigenous language mean to them through song, poetry, stories, etc.
Art Exhibition: Nehirowisidigital De Meky Ottawa
At La Guilde
Until Sunday, September 29
From the event page: “Modern and minimal in style, and halfway between the traditional and the contemporary, her work is strongly inspired by her Atikamekw culture and heritage, her feminist perspective and her daily urban life. Her works are often humorous and committed, and at times political through reverse reappropriation.”
A Powerful Wind on Turtle Island: Narratives of the Afro-Indigenous Experience in the Americas
Hosted by the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling
Tuesday, October 1 (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)
Alicia Aroche is a producer and documentarian who is interested “in facilitating storytelling among communities that have been historically silenced, marginalized and trauma-impacted; to support their healing and to inspire action.” In this event, she will be focusing on Afro-Indigenous experiences in the Americas, which she is currently producing a documentary on.
14th Annual Memorial March and Vigil for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans and Two-Spirit People
Organized by the Centre for Gender Advocacy and Missing Justice: Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Friday, October 4 (6:00 pm)
From the event page: “Too many Indigenous families have lost their loved ones to racist, misogynistic, colonial violence. Too many Indigenous women, girls, trans and Two-Spirit people wonder if they will be next. This can’t go on. With the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls having recently been published, […] it’s time to take stock of its recommendations on how this genocide against Indigenous communities can and must be stopped.”
Facing the Monumental
At the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Until Sunday, October 6
This is the largest exhibit of Anishinaabekwe artist Rebecca Belmore’s work to date. Her art “explores our problematic relationships with territory, women’s lives, historic events and ongoing violence against Indigenous peoples.” The museum is also hosting an event with the Festival international de littérature on Friday, September 27 (5 pm – 7 pm), during which “three women of different generations who play an important role in the Indigenous literary and arts scene” will be reading pieces that they have written about Belmore’s work.
Special Lecture on Indigenous Oral Tradition and Oral History
Hosted by the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling
Wednesday, October 16 (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)
Crafting Circle
Hosted by Native Montreal
Weekly on Thursday (6:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
An opportunity for Indigenous individuals to learn a new skill or work on a project in beading, painting, sewing, and other mediums. Materials are provided.
Women’s Circle
Hosted by Native Montreal
Biweekly on Wednesday, October 2, 16, and 30 (6:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
A circle for women who identify as Indigenous to meet and partake in workshops.
Craft Night
Hosted by Native Montreal
Weekly on Monday (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm)
An opportunity for Indigenous people to “learn or teach a variety of beading or Indigenous arts techniques. It’s the perfect place to share your knowledge and learn more about embroidery, beading, leather, weaving and more.”