By Dan Hermanutz

come in with an open mind

Indigenous Perspectives Conference returns to Red Deer College

Jan 21, 2020 | 6:00 AM

The fourth annual Indigenous Perspectives Conference will take place January 30 and 31 at Red Deer College.

The conference, which began as an initiative for Education students, will be open and free to the public this year.

“On January 30 at 7 p.m., we have a free screening of the film about Jordan River Anderson called The Messenger. It came out at the Toronto International Film Festival last summer. That screening will be at the Arts Centre Mainstage,” says Amanda Fitch, a student and one of the event’s organizers.

The film follows Anderson’s battle for the rights of Indigenous children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of Canadians.

“Then on January 31 at 9 a.m., we have Lyle Keewatin Richards at the Cenovus Learning Commons inside Red Deer College. He will be speaking about the legacy and impact of the Red Deer Industrial School and the 60s Scoop.”

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Richards, Fitch says, has been working with a historian at the Red Deer Museum to research this area’s residential school history. Both events are free, though donations are welcomed to help fund next year’s conference.

Following Keewatin’s presentation, there will be a free soup and bannock lunch served.

“This started off as an education initiative, which is huge because the Education students are the ones on the frontlines going out into the classrooms and seeing firsthand how Indigenous issues are affecting the next generation,” added Fitch.

“We decided this year to open it up to the public because it’s still something not a lot of people in the community are aware of; the nature of not only discrimination, but how inadequate our system is in dealing with the trauma and a lot of the things that have happened in the past and the present to the Indigenous community.”

More details are on the event’s Facebook page.