Murray Sinclair. Image courtesy: Thompson Rivers University
Justice Murray Sinclair, senator and former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, will examine what Canada can learn from indigenous societies around the world on Sept. 29 at the annual Avie Bennett Historica Canada Public Lecture in Canadian History.
Sinclair’s talk, “Indigeneity, the World, and Canada” will address what non-Aboriginal Canadians should learn from other societies when it comes to their relationship with indigenous people.
“Sinclair has been praised for his work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” says Professor Marcel Martel, who holds the Avie Bennett Historica Canada Chair in Canadian History. “He is a remarkable public speaker and those who have attended his talks have found him inspiring and challenging.”
Sinclair’s public lecture is part of an international conference on Confederation from a global perspective. Scholars from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Germany, India, Ireland, Spain and the United States will reveal what the rest of the world had to say about Confederation and the emergence of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.
“For instance, British colonies at the time such as Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, followed very closely what was happening in British North America since they thought that they could benefit from it,” says Martel. “Others such as Cuba saw the emergence of Canada and especially the adoption of federalism as a solution to their own political problems.”
Marcel Martel
The 2016 conference on Confederation takes place at the Archives of Ontario on Sept. 29 to 30 and registration is required. It is part of a series of scholarly activities organized by the Avie Bennett Historica Canada Chair in Canadian History in collaboration with the History Department, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and Archives of Ontario. Learn more by visiting 150canada.info.yorku.ca.
The Avie Bennett Historica Chair was established at York University in 2004 by the Historica Foundation of Canada, endowed by York Chancellor Emeritus Avie Bennett. Its purpose is to promote the study of Canada’s heritage and ensure the academic vitality of the discipline.
Sinclair’s lecture will be held at 7:15pm in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall in the Accolade East Building. RSVP by Sept. 27 at laps.yorku.ca/bennett-lecture.