“Listening to them talk about what they’re wrestling with and what their hopes and dreams are for the future is super inspiring because that wasn’t around when I was coming up,” she says.

The professor from the University of British Columbia presented her work, which combines history and sociology to explore the relationship between sport and culture from Indigenous perspectives. She was joined by other presenters, including Dr. Jon McGavock from the Children’s Hospital Research Institution of Manitoba, Dr. Moneca Sinclaire of Our Data Indigenous, and Sonny Albert, the Director of Parks and Recreation for Norway House Cree Nation, to discuss the year’s theme of Indigenous health and wellness.

“To see a space for that kind of particular interest in Indigenous health and well-being from the point of view of life and culture and nationhood makes my heart sing,” says Forsyth.

Dr. Leisha Strachan, professor and associate dean of research and graduate studies for the faculty, says the theme was chosen to “increase our understanding of Indigenous health and wellness from a research and applied perspective.”

“It was really great to bring these conversations front and centre for Research Day,” said Strachan. “The conversations and connections were fruitful and made more special by the presence of the SPARC and Verna J. Kirkness students.”

The Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation in the Community Certificate (SPARC) program through the faculty helps equip educational leaders to deliver quality physical education and recreation programming throughout communities in Manitoba. Other community members who participated in Research Day included students from the Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation (VJKF), which brings high school students to campus to learn about research and the supports available on campus

“It’s always exciting to share the same space as young minds and new learners because they often ask the simplest but hardest to answer questions,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, the knowledge isn’t valuable if it isn’t accessible to our communities.”

To tie into the theme of Indigenous health and wellness with learning, Research Day participated had the opportunity to take part in a dreamcatcher workshop led by Penny Folster of Prairie Beadwork Designs. She says dreamcatchers are believed to bless the “sleeping one” with beautiful dreams, harmony and good luck throughout their lives.

Students presented their research during the poster competition which featured undergraduate, master’s and PhD students displaying and discussing their research with judges and community members. Forsyth says smaller knowledge-sharing opportunities, like Research Day and the poster competition, can be even more meaningful than larger conferences.

“I think it’s important, more than ever, for people to come together in real time and in real spaces to talk and actually have those connections face to face,” she says. “This is where people learn to express themselves and share their ideas, and that’s how the world moves forward.”

Poster competition award winners

PhD Poster Winners

1. Jason Mergler
2. Saba Mohammadalinezhad Kolahdouz
3. Dean Cordingley 

Master’s

1. Amy Abegglen
2. Vianney Vega
3. Emma Heath

UG

1. Nickolas Klassen

The new fellows come from across UM, representing both the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Arts, and include a former Warden and Vice-Chancellor of SJC.

We caught up with them to see what joining the St John’s community means to them. 

Jenna Tichon: Faculty of Science, Department of Statistics

Dr. Jenna Tichon focuses her research on experimental design, where she looks to find optimal split-plot designs for industrial and agricultural experiments. Jenna uses programming and simulation to develop a deeper understanding of statistical concepts, data visualization, and creating accessible research.

Jenna shares her excitement about learning from other academics and making new connections.

“I’m most excited about meeting and working with new people, learning about their research, and contributing to making the University of Manitoba a more vibrant and friendly place to work and learn. Every fellow speaks about what a strong community they felt at the College and how much they learned by sharing experiences with colleagues from all around the university.” 

Aleeza Gerstein: Faculty of Science, Department of Microbiology and Statistics

Before moving back to her hometown of Winnipeg, Aleeza studied in the Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia, where she focused on evolutionary genetics using the budding yeast, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota.

Her research applies evolutionary principles and statistical methods to understand the factors that influence how and why fungal populations evolve.

About joining St John’s, Aleeza says, 

“I greatly welcome the opportunity as a Fellow to form additional relationships with others across the university community. Creating and fostering community is an overarching thread that has driven much of the service I have undertaken as a faculty member.”

Gregg Olsen: Faculty of Arts, Department of Sociology and Criminology

As an esteemed sociologist, Gregg Olsen has spent over three decades researching socio-economic inequality and strategies to eradicate it. A recipient of the Arts Award in Internationalization, he has given public addresses and conducted research in over twenty nations. His cross-national approach has furthered his understanding of why inequality varies dramatically across countries and time.

Murdith McLean: Former Warden and Vice-Chancellor of St John’s College 

Murdith McLean is no stranger to St John’s College, having served as Warden and Vice-Chancellor from 1980 through 1997. He was also an adjunct professor in the UM Department of Philosophy and served in several important roles at the University. He was a Senate appointee to the Board of Governors, and member of the President’s task force on strategic planning. 

The former Warden returns to St John’s College as a retired fellow.

To learn more about St John’s College fellowship, visit our website. 

In seeking to further the understanding of the human experience of coerced and forced ignorance on social, human rights and criminal justice related topics, the editors of this book have drawn together scholars from multiple disciplinary fronts. As a whole, the book argues that people in our social world are forced or coerced through either implicatory or interpretive denial that is normalized through specific cultural and social mechanisms by which we refer to as non-knowledge or agnosis.

This book’s focus fills a gap in scholarship examining how human victimization and power intersect through the systematic orchestration of forced ignorance and doubt upon daily human life. The chapters examine the ways in which people find themselves in social spaces without empirical clarity and understand that absence as satisfaction, stability, or perhaps even pleasure. This book seeks to make visible the role of ignorance in governing society, highlighting how the late modern human experience in a post-World War II human rights era subsumes, subverts, and sublimates the complex relationship between knowledge and denial; and that the empirical gulf between knowledge and resistance may indeed breed complicit bliss.

The book includes chapters written by other UM Faculty of Law affiliated scholars including: Assistant Professor Martine Dennie, author of “You Just Roll with the Punches”: The Production of Ignorance in Professional Ice Hockey“; Gacek and Jochelson with former Associate Professor David Ireland [JD/2010; LLM/2014] (now a Manitoba Provincial Court judge), co-authors of “Gone, but Not Forgotten: The Agnotological Necropolitics of Inquest Fatality Reports“; Shawn Singh [JD/2022] and Assistant Professor Brandon Trask [JD/2012], co-authors of “Faded by Design: Manufacturing Agnosis of Settler-Colonialism in an Era of Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation in Canada“; Dr. Katie Szilagyi, author of “Fragmenting Epistemologies: Toward Philosophical Foundations for Machine Learning in Law“; and finally Shawn Singh and Brandon Trask individually with papers titled “Shortfalls of the Bioethical Approach to COVID-19: Vaccine Hesitancy, the Right to Choose and Public Health Management in Canada” (Singh); and “Call It Democracy: The Slippage Amongst Rights, Laws, and Values in Canada During the Pandemic Era” (Trask).

Upon the release of Justice in the Age of Agnosis Jochelson and Gacek addressed some questions regarding the need for this book at this time in this era of widespread access to information and widespread ignorance and misinformation.

What inspired you both to join forces to publish a book on this topic?

Gacek: During the height of the pandemic I watched how various conspiracy theorists seemed to be gaining traction on social media. I, like the rest of the world, was concerned about the uncertainties of Covid-19, but I was also alarmed with how misinformation was being weaponized to attack scientists, academics, and health care practitioners. Speaking to Richard on these topics, we agreed that this production of non-knowledge, or the avoidance of knowledge, seemed to leach into other areas of our social world – like how those who are climate change deniers could also potentially deny the benefits of vaccines, or believed that if they ‘did their own research’ on vaccines they would end up realizing a ‘New World Order’ was coming to replace them (i.e., where we see inklings of white nationalist thought).

[W]e felt it necessary to question whether ignorance was indeed blissful, or if the production of non-knowledge or said avoidance would worsen the conditions of already marginalized populations more so than the privileged. – Dr. James Gacek, Department of Justice, University of Regina

As an academic I’m not immune to hate mail on my justice research and teachings, but even I couldn’t believe the correspondence I received during the pandemic, with the rationales some individuals used to suggest the examples above were facts! Climate change denial, anti-vax conspiracy, white nationalism… the list goes on, but how firmly rooted these perspectives are in these people is where the ruminations on the book began. These people, whether they peddle in ignorance claims or are victims to said claims (or both), exist, and Richard and I became fascinated with them. [This was] where we set out to conceive the book.

Richard and I have worked on projects for a few years now, and given our interdisciplinary research relationship, we felt it necessary to question whether ignorance was indeed blissful, or if the production of non-knowledge or said avoidance would worsen the conditions of already marginalized populations more so than the privileged. Agnotology – the study of ignorance, misinformation, and following on, conspiracy—is a new area for us, but it is where we felt we needed to be having this discussion alongside other pertinent and cognate disciplines like law, socio-legal studies, criminology, and criminal justice (among others). Our discussion slowly evolved into where we assert in the book we are living in now: the Age of Agnosis; the political warfare and weaponization of non-knowledge and avoidance of knowledge to harm people in our world.

Jochelson: I was interested in the seeming disconnect between empiricism and the growing spiritual claims of both the left and right of the political spectrum. This is something I had commented on in 2016 upon USA presidential elections and it was a good example of how the left reacted to that election almost spiritually in its conception of repugnancy of the result. I noted that the left was making claims that were echoing some of the right’s moralistic reasoning during the 1980s.

There seems to be a late modern anxiety about waiting for science, law or disciplinary skill to yield a final result, and we seem to be advocating, shouting down and calling out each other, increasingly and at times, in a vacuum of empirical findings. In other words, in a state of ignorance. – Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law, University of Manitoba

I had always viewed the left of the spectrum as prizing evidence-based practice. In the intervening years, spiritual polarization between left and right has increasingly mobilized social movements. The Pandemic is a good example, with true believers on both sides of the political spectrum.  There seems to be a late modern anxiety about waiting for science, law or disciplinary skill to yield a final result, and we seem to be advocating, shouting down and calling out each other, increasingly and at times, in a vacuum of empirical findings. In other words, in a state of ignorance. 

What audience can benefit from the knowledge contained in this book and how?

Gacek: A wide range of readers can benefit from this book! Of course, we know undergraduate and graduate students, but also scholars, policy workers, and community activists would benefit from a fresh lens on world issues like what we incorporate here. Justice impacts all in society, but not all equally; how ignorance, misinformation, and conspiracy not only takes root but insidiously pervades our world needs to be further understood.

Jochelson: Agnosis knows no politics. From political actors through to people with main character syndrome, I think readers should challenge their views by reading the book, which contains views across a reasoned political spectrum.

What solutions to the problems of oppression and ignorance does this book offer?

Gacek: It would be easy for us to say that education, like sunlight, would be the best disinfectant to shine light upon what we don’t know – but as agnosis teaches us, the politics of ignorance is profitable. Our contributors, in various ways, demonstrate that it is not just education that we need; we need compassion and empathy for the marginalized; strong legal mechanisms to hold those tasked in the political and private spheres accountable, especially those who peddle in hate and conspiratorial claims; and better ways to reconcile with traumatic histories that still play into contemporary realities for many marginalized groups in society.

Jochelson: I think we need to return to evidence-based practice whether it is the fuel that drives advocacy, social movements or law reform. We need to learn to drop straw person arguments and tether ourselves to the technologies of something more objective than blind belief or wilful spiritualism.

Do the ideas presented in this book scratch the surface of this area of legal research or is there more work to be done in this area?

Gacek: Our book endeavours to challenge readers on how they gain their knowledge of the world, on how we think about accountability for ignorance production, and on the longstanding harms marginalized peoples continuously face because of agnosis. The potential to have a more informed and empathetic world is real, and our book is a starting point for this discussion.

Jochelson: I think it is an opening salvo. I would challenge all social science, humanities and socio-legal scholars to ask themselves about the objective foundations of their arguments. To the extent that their labour is emotional or spiritual, an objective tethering point ought to at least frame the analysis so we engage in critical analysis apprised of the best information.

UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Heather Gainforth, this year’s keynote speaker, says events like Research Day were one of her favourite things about her graduate experience.

“It’s a special moment where you go across disciplines and share what everybody’s been working on,” Gainforth says. “It’s nice to have these moments that milestone your degree.”

Research Days hosts the annual poster competition, in which undergraduate and graduate students prepare posters summarizing their work. They also give a three—to five-minute talk about their research and answer questions from a judging panel.

According to Gainforth, the opportunity to learn about research outside of your own can build meaningful connections in the community.

“Events like today help you understand why the person in the lab next to you is spending their time doing what they do. It creates a respect for each other.”

Guests started their morning outdoors on an Indigenous history, culture and nature walk led by Dr. Brian Rice. The first session of the day had Dr. Christine Van Winkle, joined by PhD students Kiri Shafto and Lesley Gaudry, on stage to discuss her ongoing international project about community resilience and recovery following disasters. They spoke about lessons they have learned during community data collection research.

Five PhD students also participated in the Three-Minute Thesis competition (3MT), in which each student had three minutes to present their research in plain language with a single slide to illustrate their topic.

Gainforth keynote presentation shared her work on meaningful engagement in research. She summarized evidence on research partners and discussed different considerations for supporting, fostering and maintaining research partnerships.

“The people and the relationships in science are so important,” says Gainforth. “Someone might do their science a little differently because of today or think differently because of something they heard today.”

Gainforth said she sees something very special happening within the faculty, with the entire community not just stating they care about their values but putting them into action, with all of Research Day representing a “deep care for engagement, inclusion and creating belonging and connection.”

Award Winners

Undergraduate Poster Competition winner / GSKARMA People’s Choice Award winner:

• Mauricio Ramos Gutierrez

Masters Poster Competition winners:

• First place – Sasha Kullman
• Second place – Faith Olarinde
• Third place – Yoon-Suk Park

PhD Poster Competition winners:

• First place – Nicole Brunton
• Second place – Jefferson Lima del Santana
• Third place – Emily Hyde

3MT Competition winners:

• First place – Daniel Schwade Araujo
• Second place – Elena Broeckelmann
• Third place – Jacqueline Hay

“It was very surreal and I was crying,” says Olarinde about finding out she received the award in November 2023. “It means so much that Ruth believed in my work enough to support it.”

For Olarinde, Asper’s belief in her work goes a long way in reassuring her she is on the right path. Olarinde says she often suffers from bouts of imposter syndrome, feeling like there is more she should be doing.

“I try to approach it by giving myself grace,” says Olarinde. “I just remind myself that I’m doing the best I can at the time.”

Time is something Olarinde is certainly making the most of. As her first year of graduate studies winds down, she prepares to continue her research and data collection in Dr. Rodrigo Villar’s Cardiorespiratory and Physiology of Exercise Research Lab. She also continues her work as a teacher’s assistant and recently started volunteering with Siloam Mission.

“It’s been so fun doing something different,” says Olarinde. “I just always feel like I can do more.”

During Research Day’s poster competition, Olarinde will also present her work, Differences in physiological responses to orthostatic stress challenges between long-covid and non-long-covid individuals. Olarinde says the event is an excellent opportunity for students and staff to connect and broaden their understanding of the work happening across different labs.

“Kinesiology and recreation are very broad, and there are so many different aspects of them,” says Olarinde. “It’s a great way to find people and see what others are doing.”

Research Day will include several events, including an Indigenous history walk, speaker panels, a poster and Three-Minute Thesis competitions and a keynote talk by Dr. Heather Gainforth, an associate professor at UBC Okanagan.

Olarinde will deliver the land acknowledgement at the start of the event in addition to competing and receiving an award.

“I am looking forward to that,” says Olarinde. “I think it will be fun to see everyone again.”

Research Day is an all-day event on May 14, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and concluding at 4:00 p.m. with an awards ceremony and reception. All members of the UM community are welcome to join FKRM at the free event throughout the day.

Not without its healthy dose of competition, Research Day also hosts the annual Poster Competition, a chance for graduate students to present their research. They answer questions, and a winner is selected based on the poster’s content, quality of research, originality, and presentation.

“I’m really glad our faculty puts something like this together and lets students network and showcase their work,” said Sasha Kullman, who came second in the poster competition.

Kullman said the opportunity for knowledge sharing and the chance to broaden your horizons is one of the reasons why events like Research Day are so important. There were three speakers throughout the day to allow guests to explore some of these new horizons.

Cheryl Moser presents her poster at Research Day 2023

FKRM’s Gordon Giesbrecht presented “What is Research Day,” a session exploring the importance of research and talking to people about that research. The talk looked back at the retiring professor’s career and the ever-important first step of getting your voice heard.

Tina Chen, a history professor with UM’s Faculty of Arts, presented “Equity, Anti-Oppression, Empowerment and Community as Research Praxis: Reflections from Figure Skating.” Her session looked at sports activism and research and the importance of intertwining theory and action to transform institutions and cultures, drawing on her past sports experiences.

Before the afternoon poster competition, a mentorship session was held with keynote speaker Janelle Joseph, an internationally recognized and award-winning scholar from the University of Toronto.

Tanvir Kaur presenting her poster at Research Day 2023.

Tanvir Kaur, an undergraduate student participating in the Poster Competition, said it was inspiring to hear from the speakers, like Joseph, about the roadblock they faced in their careers and how not everything was a smooth path.

“It’s really cool to hear that they started in the same place as me one time,” said Kaur. “Like I’m not the only one who is struggling.”

Alina Derksen, another competitor in the Poster Competition, echoed Kaur’s belief. She said that as a student, you can often feel overwhelmed looking at your degree path, but events like Research Day are an opportunity to see the successes and achievements of those on the same path.

“Everybody starts somewhere,” said Derksen. “It is a very big motivator.”

The afternoon Poster Competition allowed guests and participants to explore the extensive research happening across the faculty. Thirteen presenters entered the competition, and there were five prizes.

The day ended with Joesph’s keynote talk, “The Politics of Storytelling: Research for Resistance and Re-existence in Sport and Physical Culture.”

Keynote speaker, Janelle Joseph.

The session focused on narrative justice, digital storytelling, the power relationship between private and public realms, and how it is revealed through storytelling. The talk drew on black feminist philosophers, griots, artists, activists, academics, and ancestors, putting sport and the moving of bodies at the center.

Joseph said that events like Research Day are a “give and a take,” allowing participants the chance to have their voices and research heard and hear from others and learn.

“When you get to bring people with a variety of experiences and expertise, even staff and faculty and student roles in the same place, there is bound to be magic that happens,” said Joseph.

Following the keynote, the winners of the Poster Competition were announced. The five winners were:

• 1st – Craig Hillier (advisor: Ben Schellenberg)
  • Building Champions: A Savouring Intervention Feasibility Study with Elite Adolescent Tennis Athletes
• 2nd – Sasha Kullman (advisor: Shaelyn Strachan)
  • Engaging Patients and Community Partners in Developing the Calm Hearts Intervention
• 3rd – Cheryl Moser (advisors: Kathryn Sibley and Cheryl Glazebrook)
  • A Qualitative Descriptive Exploration of Physiotherapists’ Experiences with Integrated Knowledge Translation Research Collaborations Related to Balance Measurement Practices in Canada
• Undergraduate poster winner – Tanvir Kaur (advisor: Rodrigo Villar)
  • The Effects of Postural Transitions on Physiological Responses in Young Males and Females
• People’s choice winner – Alina Derksen (advisor: Rodrigo Villar)
  • Reliability and Agreement af Heart Rate Variability Between Garmin Vivosmart®4 and Electrocardiogram in People Living with Frailty: A Pilot Study

The winners reflected on something Gordon Giesbrecht mentioned during his earlier session. He told the audience always to try and walk away from any research event with one new idea.

Craig Hillier said his takeaway was that the next step of any of the research presented could affect real change at higher levels, and thanks to events like Research Day, he has a better idea of how he will do that.

The annual event showcases health, leisure, and human performance research conducted by our faculty and community. It is a day to inspire and be inspired in the faculty’s ongoing pursuit of promoting health through sport, physical activity, recreation, and community development.

A cornerstone of Research Day is the Poster Competition, an opportunity for graduate students (M.A., M.Sc.) and undergraduate students to design a poster and present their research in a three-to-five-minute talk, with the top three presentations being selected by a panel of judges.

More than just a competition, presenting posters gives students a chance to hear from a wide array of experts in the faculty.

“It was a great opportunity to get feedback from other professionals in the field of kinesiology who have different areas of expertise and practice my presentation skills,” said Kaitlin Reilly, who completed her master’s last year and was one of the 2022 Poster Competition winners.

Reilly said the competition also allowed her to see what other projects were happening in the faculty.

“Kinesiology is such a diverse field, so the range of research is fascinating,” she said.

The Poster Competition is just part of the wider Research Day celebration. May 10 will be full of exciting speakers, including keynote speaker Dr. Janelle Joseph (University of Toronto), who will also hold a mentorship session for graduate students during the lunch break.

Research Day 2023 begins May 10 at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 4:30 p.m. Come join in a celebration of health, leisure, and research, with just a little bit of healthy competition mixed in.

RSVP for Research Day

An official launch of the book will take place at McNally Robinson Booksellers on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. with host, James Daschuk.

Baskatawang is an Anishinaabe scholar from Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation in Treaty #3 territory. He graduated with a PhD in Native Studies from the University of Manitoba in 2021. There, he taught online courses, and went on to hold an appointment in the Law and Society Program at York University, where he taught the courses “Indigenous Peoples and Law” and “Social Justice and Law.” Since joining the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law at Robson Hall in 2022, he has taught “Indigenous Methodologies and Perspectives” to upper year law students along with colleagues Marc Kruse, Indigenous Legal Studies Coordinator, and Assistant Professor Daniel Diamond. He also teaches “Introduction to Law and Society,” and “Oral History, Indigenous People and the Law.”

Baskatawang’s primary research interests include: the processes of colonization, reconciliation, and decolonization; social justice; the history of Indigenous peoples (with particular attention to the Anishinaabe); Indigenous law and Canadian policy; treaty interpretation and implementation; Indigenous education; Indigenous resistance and activism; as well as Indigenous literature, art, and representation.

His SSHRC-funded doctoral dissertation “Kinamaadiwin Inaakonigewin: A Path to Reconciliation and Anishinaabe Cultural Resurgence” reflects on the development of the Treaty #3 Anishinaabe education law as it is known in the oral tradition, into a written form of law. As he explains in the following interview, this dissertation was the inspiration behind his new book.

In Reclaiming Anishinaabe Law Baskatawang traces the history of the neglected treaty relationship between the Crown and the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3, and the Canadian government’s egregious failings to administer effective education policy for Indigenous youth—failures epitomized by, but not limited to, the horrors of the residential school system.

Rooted in the belief that Indigenous education should be governed and administered by Indigenous peoples, the future Baskatawang envisions is hopeful for Indigenous nations where their traditional laws are formally recognized and affirmed by the governments of Canada. He details the efforts being made in Treaty #3 territory to revitalize and codify the Anishinaabe education law, kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin. Kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin considers education wholistically, describing ways of knowing, being, doing, relating, and connecting to the land that are grounded in tradition, while also positioning its learners for success in life, both on and off the reserve.

As the backbone of an Indigenous-led education system, kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin enacts Anishinaabe self-determination, and has the potential to bring about cultural resurgence, language revitalization, and a new era of Crown-Indigenous relations in Canada. Reclaiming Anishinaabe Law challenges policy makers to push beyond apologies and performative politics, and to engage in meaningful reconciliation practices by recognizing and affirming the laws that the Anishinaabeg have always used to govern themselves.

What was your motivation for writing this book?

The motivation for writing this book was inspired from my doctoral research. I initially intended to write my dissertation on the Canadian government’s failure to adequately implement the treaty right to education. However, the focus of my research shifted when I learned about the Grand Council Treaty #3’s desire to codify a Treaty #3 Education Law. Being that the Canadian government has historically failed to develop an education policy that is respectful of Indigenous cultures, it seemed to me that having them recognize and affirm the authority of Indigenous nations’ own laws on education was a good way to test the government’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “Calls to Action” and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Who should read this book?

This book was written with the intention of being immediately accessible to all Canadians, whether they are Indigenous or not. As such, I hope the information I provide in the book will be of interest to government officials, policy makers, community leaders, educators, administrators, and students of various disciplines, including law, education, history, political science, and Indigenous studies, as well as to those conducting research on the processes of reconciliation and cultural resurgence. As I say in the book’s introduction, if my book can help to advance any of these matters in the glorious pursuit of social justice, all the better.

What do you most hope readers will take away from this book?

I think there are two important overlapping principles to take away from the book. One is that Canada has a long history of neglecting the treaties it signed with Indigenous nations, which is exacerbated by imposing policies on Indigenous peoples and communities that have been extremely harmful to their overall health and well-being.  The second important message of the book is that all Indigenous nations have their own laws and governance systems that are capable of designing policies for the betterment of their communities and people. These laws and governance systems are formally recognized by UNDRIP, and need to be recognized and affirmed by the Canadian government as well.

What gap in knowledge do you know will be filled with this work?

The fact that Indigenous nations have their own laws and governance systems is only beginning to be recognized by Canadian society in general. This awareness is growing, due in large part by the work of Indigenous legal scholars such as John Borrows, as well as cultural resurgence scholars such as Leanne Simpson and Glen Coulthard. My research builds on the work of these scholars, with the hope that it will be useful to other scholars, as well as community leaders who have an interest in developing laws and policies that will better serve their nations and people.

To what extent can the information in this book be used to help communities in other Treaty areas?

I am conscious of the fact that my research is primarily dedicated to the people of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3. In the book, I am careful to consider that every Indigenous nation, or community for that matter, has different needs and interests that relates to education. That said, I hope the information that I provide in the book will be relevant to any Indigenous government that is considering undertaking a process of codifying some of its laws, particularly those that relate to education, since as I previously mentioned, Canadian education laws and policies have not adequately served Indigenous nations as they ought to.

What research project will you next be working on?

I am currently in the process, with the help of a few colleagues, of developing an annual volume of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Indigenous Inaakonigewin, in association with the Manitoba Law Journal.  As part of this process, we are looking to recruit, both early-career and established scholars, community leaders, Elders, and artists, who have knowledge to share on how Canadian laws and policies can be amended to better serve Indigenous communities and people. Such knowledge mobilization is an integral part of the reconciliation process, and will be reflected in our journal in the form of academic papers, interviews, and artistic expression. In addition to the journal volume, my colleagues and I, are also planning to host an annual conference at the University of Manitoba which will be open and accessible to all, where these ideas can be shared, discussed, and included as part of our journal.

Dr. Lindsay Larios

Dr. Lindsay Larios, assistant professor, has recently received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant to examine the lived experiences of pregnant medically uninsured migrants living in Manitoba.

“There has been a range of different scholarship on the experiences and health outcomes of migrant pregnant people without access to public healthcare insurance in larger Canadian urban centres, including my previous work in Montreal. We know that the substantial financial costs push people to put off necessary healthcare and check-ups during and after their pregnancies; that people experience racism, discrimination, and powerlessness when trying to navigate these systems; and that concerns about ramifications for their immigration trajectories are always front of mind” says Dr. Larios.

The CBC News recently reported on one example of this in Manitoba. A former UM international student was left medically uninsured after graduating and as a result, had to face stress and hardship during the birth of her child.

“Pregnancy can be a time of joy and empowerment, but it can also be a time of extreme racialized and gendered vulnerability.”

“Smaller cities, such as Winnipeg and Brandon, host increasing numbers of precarious migrants with barriers to health care access. There is very little documented about how pregnant medically uninsured migrants navigate the Manitoba health system and what their experiences are. The immigration and healthcare contexts in Manitoba are very different from those of provinces where this research has been done so far.”

By talking with migrant pregnant people and different service providers in Manitoba, we can get a better understanding of what’s happening and what supports can be put in place to support these community members and their families,” says Dr. Larios.

Dr. Larios is an interdisciplinary critical policy researcher. She studies citizenship and immigration in the Canadian context as it intersects with family and reproductive politics and policies. More information on Dr. Larios can be found here.

Research Day was first introduced under a different name by the Health Leisure and Performance Institute in 1984 and has been called Research Day since 2012. The idea behind the day is to offer graduate students mentorship opportunities, open new lines of inquiry and allow students, faculty, and community members to make connections within their research community.

It has been two years since the faculty has been able to host this event in-person. Although it was completely cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020, the FKRM was able to offer a virtual Research Day in 2021, which included a three-minute-thesis style poster presentation and was attended by many student, faculty, and community members. The virtual event in 2021 was successful, however, the faculty is very excited to get our community back in an in-person academic environment to share our research and inspire one another to pursue new lines of questioning.

This year, FKRM is thrilled to welcome Dr. Jeff Leiter of The Rink Hockey academy as the keynote speaker for the event. Dr. Leiter is the former captain of the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team and has advanced research expertise in areas of sport, human anatomy and cell science. His research focuses on athlete development and human performance, orthopaedic sports medicine, concussion, and education, and he has published numerous times in these areas. In addition to Dr. Leiter’s keynote address, Research Day 2022 will feature an Indigenous history walk led by FKRM professor Brian Rice, a research management presentation and graduate student poster presentations.

So, mark your calendars for May 11, and keep your eyes peeled for more information as it is released. Graduate students who are interested in creating a poster to present should discuss this with their advisors and fill out the poster submission webform. The final deadline to submit posters will be April 20, so those wanting to get involved are encouraged to start brainstorming well in advance.

Please RSVP to the event before April 25 to receive a free lunch.

More detailed information will be available the coming weeks. We look forward to welcoming you all back.