[Indigsol] Mar 31: Uncovering “Canada Park”: A Dispossessed Palestinian Speaks Out, April 1 - 2: Decolonization Conference

Thu Mar 31 12:40:36 PDT 2016

1) Mar 31: Uncovering “Canada Park”: A Dispossessed Palestinian Speaks Out
2) April 1 - 2: OPIRG Carleton Public Interest School Conference -
Decolonization

Uncovering “Canada Park”: A Dispossessed Palestinian Speaks Out

The Israeli army expelled Heidar Abu Ghosh from his hometown of Imwas in
1967. It was subsequently demolished along with two other villages, and
covered over by "Canada Park". Heidar is touring Canada to uncover this
crime for Canadians, and suggesting a path towards justice and peace.

Heidar will share his experiences on:

Thursday, March 31, 2016
Doors open @ 6:30PM, event starts @ 7PM
Centretown United Church, 507 Bank St.
FREE, donations are welcome

Introduction by Indigenous elder Barbara Hill

National organizer: Independent Jewish Voices Canada

National sponsors: Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Canadian Friends of
Sabeel, United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine/Israel

Co-sponsored by:

Independent Jewish Voices – Ottawa, Association of Palestinian Arab
Canadians – National Capital Region, Graduate Students Association –
Carleton, Department of Sociology & Anthropology – Carleton, Ottawa CUPE
District Council, CUPE 2424, CUPE 1979, Indigenous Peoples Solidarity
Movement Ottawa

All proceeds will go towards the campaign to challenge the charitable
status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada (JNF Canada). JNF Canada is
responsible for using tax-deductible donations to cover over the ruins of
depopulated and demolished Palestinian villages, erasing them from space
and consciousness.

Please invite your contacts through our Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/801934696579069/

Brief Bio of Heidar Abu Ghosh

Heidar Abu Ghosh holds a Master’s degree in Public Health, and serves as
the director of a program for the prevention and management of
non-communicable diseases with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. He
is based in Ramallah, Palestine. In his spare time, he speaks to
delegations at Canada Park to keep alive the memory of the villages that
once stood.

Mr. Abu Ghosh is excited to speak in Canada, which he sees as an
opportunity to raise the case of the destroyed villages, and the role that
Canadians and the federal government continue to play in covering up the
crimes committed against the villagers. He is looking forward, in his own
words, to “building a relationship of cooperation and liaising with
Canadian organizations and individuals for the sake of peace and justice
in the Holy Land. A real and just peace is the only solution for
individual and state security, not state power and increasing
militarization.”

Resources on Canada Park and the Jewish National Fund:

CBC’s “Canada Park: A Park with no Peace”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rZmzIqK6Fc

Jesse Rosenfeld’s “Grass Stains on Canada’s Hands”:
https://nowtoronto.com/news/grass-stains-on-canadas-hands/

Al-Haq’s “Where Villages Stood”:
http://www.vho.org/aaargh/fran/livres10/Latrun.pdf

What is the Jewish National Fund?: http://ijvcanada.org/what-is-the-jnf/

============================================================================

2) OPIRG Carleton Public Interest School Conference - Decolonization

OPIRG Carleton invites students, community members, and activists to this
FREE conference Friday evening and Saturday during the day on unceded and
unsurrendered Algonquin territory, Carleton University campus. The event
is on the crucial movement of decolonization, centering indigenous peoples
and work, though all are welcome to attend. Please register at the
opirgcarleton.org website (scroll to the bottom of the page for the form)
so we have approximate numbers for catering and workshop attendance.

SCHEDULE:

Note: Schedule is subject to change the day of the conference due to
possible cancellations. Thank you for your understanding.

*Friday, April 1st, 2016*

6:30pm - Registration & Quiet Room - River Building, Rm 2308
7:00pm - Keynote Address by Native Youth Sexual Health Network - River
Building, Rm 2200
8:30pm - END

*Saturday, April 2nd, 2016*

9:30am - Day 2 of Conference Begins
- Registration & Quiet Room Opens for the Day - Tory Building, Rm 219
- Breakfast & Morning Ceremonies - Tory Building, Rm 360

10:15am - Break

10:30am - Morning Workshops
- Anti-Violence & MMIW2 - Tory Building, Rm 360
- Decolonizing Gender - Tory Building, Rm 234
- Right Relationships: Black & Indigenous Peoples - Tory Building, Rm 230

12:00pm - Lunch - Tory Building, Rm 219

1:00pm - Afternoon Workshops
- Blanket Exercise - Tory Building, Rm 360
- Spirituality - More Not Less - Tory Building, Rm 234
- Decolonizing the Sex Work Movement - Tory Building, Rm 230

2:30pm - Break & Snacks

3:00pm - Screenings & Panel Discussion - Tory Building, Rm 360
- Ariel Smith
- Gabriella Fayant
- Josh Lewis

5:00pm - Break (Dinner not provided)

7:00pm - Keynote Address by Dr. Lynn Gehl - Tory Building, Rm 360
8:30pm - END

KEYNOTES:

Friday, April 1st Keynote
"Decolonizing Sexuality: A return to our bodies" by The Native Youth
Sexual Health Network

Decolonizing Sexuality includes a large spectrum of issue(s) and themes
that have to do with everything about our bodies, land, and safety. We as
Indigenous communities hope to un-do/stop harmful thinkings, thoughts and
actions that we perpetuate onto ourselves, others and communities. This
keynote hopes to provide a broader understanding of why decolonizing
sexuality is crucial and provide examples of ways we can work to resurge
and revitalize love and Indigeneity back into our spaces.

The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) is an grassroots peer based
network by and for Indigenous youth that works across issues of sexual and
reproductive health, rights and justice throughout the United States and
Canada.

Saturday, April 2nd Keynote
"Decolonizing Your Heart: Learning an Indigenous Understanding of Canada’s
Constitutional Beginnings through Wampum Diplomacy" by Dr. Lynn Gehl,
Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe

The 1763 Royal Proclamation, Canada’s first constitutional document, was
ratified at the 1764 Treaty at Niagara. Because successive governments
have promoted a particular version of Canada’s history – a fiction of two
founding nations – the broader Canadian public is unaware of the
significant role Indigenous Nations held in Canada’s creation. To
guarantee the successful ratification of the Proclamation, assure a clear
understanding, and codify the historic event at Niagara, British
representative William Johnson relied on the Indigenous governance
practice known as wampum diplomacy. He presented two Wampum Belts to the
Anishinaabeg: The British and Western Great Lakes Covenant Chain
Confederacy Wampum Belt and The Twenty Four Nations Wampum Belt. The
former Belt codified a relationship between equal allies and the latter
Belt represented the Indigenous Nations that participated in the Treaty.
In turn, Indigenous Nations presented Johnson with a Two Row Wampum Belt.
Through my doctoral work on the Algonquin land claims process I created
new editions of these Wampum Belts and accepted the responsibility of
creating a contemporary Wampum bundle. It is this bundle that I open and
read in a traditional way via the oral tradition explaining the events at
Niagara. You can learn more if you wish here at this link:
http://www.lynngehl.com/the-truth-that-wampum-tells-tour-canadas-constitutional-history-through-wampum-diplomacy.html

Lynn Gehl, Ph.D., is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe. She is an advocate,
artist, and writer and is an outspoken critic of colonial law and policies
that harm Indigenous women, men, children, and the land. Her book The
Truth that Wampum Tells: My Debwewin on the Algonquin Land Claims Process,
published by Fernwood, is available at her website: www.lynngehl.com

LIST OF WORKSHOPS & PRESENTERS

Workshops are in the morning (10:30am-noon) and afternoon (1-2:30pm).
Workshops can be split into Decolonization 101 (for those who have never
had teachings on this before) and Decolonization 201 (for those who have
already begun learning and unlearning).

Decolonization 101

Blanket Exercise by Elaine and Theland Kicknosway
Spirituality - More Not Less by Albert Dumont "South Wind"
Anti-Violence & Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two
Spirit People by Bridget Tolley (Families of Sisters in Spirit)

Decolonization 201

Decolonizing Gender by Alexa Lesperance
Decolonizing the Sex Work Movement by Naomi Sayers
Right Relationships: Black & Indigenous Peoples by Zainab Amadahy
(Attendance restricted to Black, Indigenous & People of Colour Only)

Screenings (Film & Television) & Decolonizing Media Panel Discussion

Ariel Smith
Gabriella Fayant & Josh Lewis

Visit: http://www.opirgcarleton.org/pis-2016-workshops for a full list of
workshop descriptions and speaker biographies.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

For accommodations with ASL interpretation, language translation, child
tending, attendant care, support workers, and other accommodations are
available upon request (please contact vopcopirg at gmail.com). Minimal or
scent-free environment, please, so that all our beloved community members
and volunteers can attend. Carleton University is close to the 4, 7, 104,
and 111 bus routes, as well as the O-Train.

No official gender neutral washrooms, but we will create washrooms to be
accessible to all genders. All washrooms near the venues are wheelchair
accessible as well.

-River Building-
Accessible through the tunnels as well as outdoors. There is construction
between the University Centre and River Building, so that may impede your
path if you are not using the main road (Campus Ave.)
River 2308
River 2200*

-Tory Building-
All of these rooms are near elevators within the Tory building, and have
accessible routes from the University Centre.
Tory 360*
Tory 234
Tory 230
Tory 219

*These rooms are auditorium style and will have staircases within the
classroom; there is accessible seating in both of these rooms.

Greeters will assist in campus navigation Friday evening and Saturday all
day.

REGISTRATION FORM AVAILABLE AT: http://www.opirgcarleton.org/
scroll to the end of the page

Conference Logo by Kyle Mishibinijima, an upcoming young Anishinaabe
artist from Wikwemikong First Nation.

VOLUNTEER CALL OUT:
We are in need of volunteers! Volunteer opportunities include postering,
promotions, material preparation, registration desk, workshop and room
preparations, clean up,food related tasks, peer support and more.
Volunteers are invited and encouraged to attend the conference.

Interested in helping out?

Contact vopcopirg (at) gmail.com

-- 
Love and Solidarity,
IPSMO
On stolen Algonquin land
--

IPSMO's Facebook page, Website and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/ipsmo
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com
twitter: @IPSMO1