Please join us for a vibrant discussion presented in partnership with The Government of Canada and Ottawa Public Library.
Elder Albert Dumont will begin the evening with a prayer.
Ohpikiihaakan-Ohpihmeh (Raised Somewhere Else): A 60s Scoop Adoptee's Story of Coming Home
by Colleen Cardinal delves into the personal and provocative narrative of her journey growing up in a non- Indigenous household. During the 60s Scoop, over 20,000 Indigenous children in Canada were removed from their biological families, lands and culture and trafficked across provinces, borders and overseas to be raised in non-Indigenous households. In this memoir, she speaks frankly and intimately about instances of violence and abuse throughout her life, but it is not a story of tragedy. It is a story of empowerment, reclamation and, ultimately, personal reconciliation. It is a form of Indigenous resistance through truth-telling, a story that informs the narrative on missing and murdered Indigenous women, colonial violence, racism and the Indigenous child welfare system.
Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing
by Suzanne Methot explores intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities–and strategies for healing–with provocative prose and an empathetic approach. Indigenous peoples have shockingly higher rates of addiction, depression, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions than other North Americans. According to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, these are a result of intergenerational trauma: the unresolved terror, anger, fear, and grief created in Indigenous communities by the painful experiences of colonialism, passed down from generation to generation. How are we to turn this desperate tide?
This Place: 150 Years Retold
, is a groundbreaking graphic novel anthology that includes a contribution from author Kateri Akiwenzi-Damm. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.