Arctic / Amazon: Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Indigenous Ontologies

Wednesday, May 4th at 1:00PM (EDT)

Join Wapatah Centre for a very special Knowledge Exchange Workshop on Indigenous Ontologies as part of the Arctic / Amazon project and in support of the upcoming publication – Arctic/Amazon Networks of Global Indigeneity. Co-authors Dr. Gerald McMaster and Dr. Nina Vincent will be joined in conversation by contributing author Ailton Krenak to discuss the profound importance of the Indigenous Ontologies and ways of being that stem from the relationship with the Land, and the idea of “forestzenship” as opposed to citizenship. The workshop will also touch upon Ailton Krenak’s historic speech on September 4, 1987 at Brazil’s National Constituent Assembly. An important moment for Indigenous peoples in Brazil, the speech still resonates today – for some as “performance art” and for others as a groundbreaking use of Indigenous language and art as political resistance.

This virtual event series is hosted with the generous support from SSHRC Connections Grant, The Appleton Foundation, Michael Audain, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau, Kiki and Ian Delaney, Michelle Koerner, Jamie Cameron and Chris Brett, and in collaboration with the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery as part of Wapatah’s Global Indigeneity Initiative and the Arctic/Amazon project that will culminate in several milestones: a major publication titled Arctic / Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity, an online educational resource hosted by Wapatah centre, and a Fall 2022 Arctic / Amazon Exhibition in partnership with the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Ryerson Image Centre.

About the Speakers

Gerald McMaster, O.C., is a curator, artist, and author, and is currently professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice at OCAD University where he leads a team of researchers at the Wapatah: Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge.

Nina Vincent is a Brazilian anthropologist, researcher, professor, independent curator and currently works at the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), where she works close to communities to preserve intangible heritage and Brazilian popular/traditional culture.

Ailton Krenak is an Indigenous human rights activist, writer, curator, and professor at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Part of the Krenak people that live by the Rio Doce in Minas Gerais, in southeast Brazil, his work challenges western and capitalist notions of natural resources exploitation, humanity,  and ways of living.

Translation/Facilitation

Alice Fortes

Learn more about the Arctic / Amazon project and educational resource.

Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity is supported at Wapatah by:

Dr. Gerald McMaster

Dr. Nina Vincent

Natalja Chestopalova

Brittany Pitseolak Bergin

Pedro Portella

The Arctic/Amazon Knowledge Exchange Workshops are hosted with the generous support from SSHRC Connections Grant, The Appleton Foundation, Michael Audain, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau, Kiki and Ian Delaney, Michelle Koerner, Jamie Cameron and Chris Brett, and in collaboration with the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.

| Michael Audain | | Kiki and Ian Delaney |  | Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau | | Michelle Koerner | Jamie Cameron and Chris Brett |