Past Indigenous Knowledge Holders

2018 Indigenous Knowledge Holder: Ryan McMahon

In 2018, welcomed our second Indigenous Knowledge Holder: the renowned Ryan McMahon. Ryan is an Anishinaabe comedian, writer, media maker & community activator based out of Treaty #1 territory (Winnipeg, MB). He has recorded a number of national comedy specials with CBC, appeared at Just For Laughs and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. He recently finished the cross-country tour of his comedy show Wreck-On Silly Nation. When not doing comedy, Ryan is works on his podcasts (Red Man Laughing, Stories From The Land), building Indian & Cowboy, or setting the ground work for the Makoons Media Group.

Ryan spent a week at McGill from March 19th until March 24th. Ryan gave a workshop on podcasting to students at the First People's House, spent a day in Kahnawake at the Survival School giving workshops with students, he gave a keynote entitled "Centering Indigenous Stories: Pathway to 2167", participated in a screening of the film Colonization Road, and did a Night of Comedy (with Tatyana Olal and Sehar Manji).

 


2016 Indigenous Knowledge Holder: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

poster advertising Leanne Simpson as the inaugural Indigenous Knowledge Holder

In February 2016, we welcomed our first Indigenous Knowledge Holder, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.  Leanne spent a week at McGill where she gave a Student Writing Workshop; a presentation at the Kahnawake Culture Centre titled “Creating Decolonial Communities of Resurgence; a Special Keynote at the 2016 MISC Conference, Canada on the Global Stage, and gave a talk on “Islands of Decolonial Love” in an Indigenous Studies class which was opened to all McGill students, staff, and faculty, as well as to the public.

Leanne is a prolific Anishinaabe storyteller, scholar, and activist that has played a significant role in the decolonization and resurgence of Indigenous nations through her literary and social activism.  A graduate of the University of Manitoba (PhD), her debut collection of short stories titled Islands of Decolonial Love was nominated for a ReLit Award in 2014 and her acclaimed Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back has been adopted by university courses across North America.  In 2014, Leanne received the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award and her paper “Land As Pedagogy” received the 2014 Native American and Indigenous Studies Association award for most thought-provoking paper. You can read more about Leanne and her publications at https://www.leannesimpson.ca/

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