On Being a Good Visitor: A Workshop on "Land Acknowledgements" with Smokii Sumac

Event Date: 
Thursday, October 10, 2019 - 2:30pm to 4:30pm EDT
Event Location: 
AT5036 and OA3041
Event Contact Name: 
Max Haiven
Event Contact E-mail: 

The Department of English, the Indigenous Learning Department and RiVAL: the ReImagining Value Action Lab are pleased to present a free workshop: On Being a Good Visitor: A Workshop on "Land Acknowledgements" with Smokii Sumac. 

Smokii Sumac, a semi-permanent visitor in Anishinaabe territories, from the Ktunaxa nation, will push you out of your comfort zone and onto the land in this critical look at the current trend of land acknowledgements in the academy and beyond. This workshop was born out of Smokii's frustration at being bombarded with "going-through-the-motions" or "check-box" territorial acknowledgements at nearly every event on campuses across what we currently call Canada. In the spirit of relationality, kinship, and decolonial love, Smokii pushes you past the point of "uncomfortable" and into a more generative state of honouring relationships. If you've ever felt worried about "doing it wrong," this workshop will help you move away from that place of fear and forward in your learning. 

Smokii Sumac is a proud member of the Ktunaxa nation, and a PhD Candidate in Indigenous Studies at Trent University. He is also a poet, releasing his debut poetry collection you are enough: love poems for the end of the world in December 2018 with Kegedonce Press. Smokii is honoured to have performed across the country, including at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (2017) and at the Queer Arts Festival (2018). As a two-spirit and transgender educator, Smokii has facilitated workshops for various organizations and groups, including as a knowledge holder at the Trent Elder’s Gathering (2018). Smokii currently shares his time between Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, Ontario) and Ithaca, NY where he lives with his family and their dog, Smudge.

****

Note: Sumac will also be giving a poetry reading on the evening of October 9 at the Thunder Bay Public Library Brodie branch: https://www.facebook.com/events/406759256698416/

****