Join us on September 26 for a discussion organized by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
1 to 2:30 p.m. EDT
In June 2021, a little over six years after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, the Government of Canada passed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, creating a lasting, whole-of-government framework to advance implementation of the UN Declaration at the federal level.
The Act, along with the 2023–2028 Action Plan developed in consultation and cooperation with First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty partners, advances the federal government’s commitments to implement TRC Calls to Action 43 and 44. The Action Plan includes 181 measures involving over 25 departments and agencies. It provides a roadmap to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration and to advance transformative, lasting change for, and in meaningful partnership with, Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
How will these commitments result in real, lasting change on the ground in Indigenous communities? How will we know that we are making progress? And how can we work together to address and overcome the skepticism or resistance we may encounter in making this progress?
Join us as we explore the journey to Canada’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We will discuss the significance of this milestone and its potential to reshape the Crown-Indigenous relationship.
Attend in person at the Canadian Museum of History or join us online.
All sessions will have simultaneous English-French and ASL-LSQ interpretation.
Registration:
Register to attend in person.
Register to attend virtually.
Presenters
Megan Lewis
Megan Lewis is a young, queer, mixed Kanien’keha:ka woman and member of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario. With a BA in Child and Youth Care, and an MA in Public Policy and Administration, she has developed a passion for the advocacy of Indigenous people and communities through education. Currently, as the director of the Centre for Indigenous Policy and Research at Indigenous Youth Roots she focuses on engaging Indigenous youth in policy and research by creating more accessible spaces to create and advocate for impactful change.
Megan also sits on the external advisory committee for the forthcoming School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation at Toronto Metropolitan University. Having held various roles both on the frontlines and in government over the years, she continues to strive to make connections between policy and practice. In February 2020 she launched a small beadwork business called Pine and Needle Designs as a way to express herself through a creative, and meaningful medium. In her spare time, you can find her beading and hiking, ideally by the water.
Moderator – Sherri Helgason
Sherri Helgason is Director of Governance and Reporting with the UN Declaration Act Implementation Secretariat at Justice Canada.
Sherri’s background is in the human rights field, having worked with the Canadian Human Rights Commission for over 30 years. She began her career as an investigator with the Commission in Manitoba in 1991 and has worked in numerous positions and locations with the Human Rights Commission since that time, including as the regional director of the BC and Yukon Regional Office in the late 1990s, as the director of investigations in Ottawa from 2000 to 2006, and as director of the Commission’s National Aboriginal Initiative from 2007 to 2017. In 2018, Sherri returned to the management of the Commission’s complaints function to help to address a growing backlog, before being enticed to move to Justice in late 2021 to work on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Sherri is of Anishinaabe and Icelandic heritage, from Manitoba, with roots in the Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Treaty One territory.
Director of Education, Outreach, and Public Programming at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation – Kaila Johnston
Kaila Johnston is Director of Education, Outreach, and Public Programming at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Kaila oversees matters related to the support of educators, development of resources, establishment of outreach initiatives, as well as public engagement on residential schools and their legacy. Additionally, Kaila oversees statement-gathering activities in communities for those wishing to share their stories and experiences related to residential schools, day schools, and other colonial systems.
Prior to joining the NCTR, Kaila worked with the TRC as a statement gatherer and coordinator to support statement-gathering activities. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg and an MSc in International Crimes and Criminology from Vrije Universiteit (Free University), Amsterdam.
More Information
Be sure to check out the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s website for other Lunch and Learn sessions that are being offered during Truth and Reconciliation Week (September 23-27).
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National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation