2024 Program
Subject to change.
Program Streams:
Residential and Day Schools
Land Back
Place and Naming
Language and Culture
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Registration OPEN
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Exhibits OPEN
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
Claudette Commanda, CEO, First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres
Stephanie Scott, Executive Director, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Kimberly Murray, BA, LL.B, IPC
Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Break - Visit Exhibitors and Artists
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Concurrent Sessions:
Water and Land Back
Indigenous activists and scholars will shed light on the crucial role that water plays within the broader Land Back Movement, exploring the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, and the protection of waterways.
Stephanie Peltier, Traditional Knowledge Keeper, Matriarch, and Clean Water Activist/Water Walker
Autumn Peltier, Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation and an Indigenous Rights & Water Activist
Diane Obed, Researcher, Mount Saint Vincent University
Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell, Politician, Akwesasne Mohawk Nation
Land Back
Reclaiming and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages and Culture
Panelist will discuss the work they have done to fight for the preservation of Indigenous languages within their communities.
Aluki Kotierk, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated President
Elder Norm Fleury, Special Advisor, University of Saskatchewan
Gloria Wells, First Nation Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres
Language and Culture
The Legacy of Indian Residential School Buildings and Sites
Participants will discuss what their communities have done with former residential school buildings, from the ceremonial destruction of these sites to their revival as research and cultural centres.
Ivy Peers, Project Manager for the U’mista Cultural Centre
Sophie Pierre, St. Eugune’s Resort
Raymond Frogner, Senior Director of Research and Head of Archives, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Residential and Day Schools
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Concurrent Sessions:
Author's Panel
A group of Indigenous authors and publishers will explore how they use literature as a vessel to share history and culture on their own terms.
Nicola Campbell, Award-winning author of Stand Like a Cedar
Jean Teillet, Author of The Northwest is our Mother and Retired Indigenous Rights Lawyer
Louise Flaherty, Co-Founder, Inhabit Media Inc
Sharing Stories
Preserving Language and Culture in Museums
Museum leaders will discuss the strategies and programs they employ to research, preserve, and share Indigenous languages, history, and culture.
Tim Bernard, Executive Director, Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
Alice Williams, Expert Quilt Maker
Salina Kemp, Curator of Eastern Ethnology, Canadian Museum of History
Language and Culture
Digital Preservation
Presenters will showcase the principles and methods used to create digital repositories that preserve language and cultural assets and make them accessible.
Danielle Heavy Head, Liaison to the Blackfoot Digital Library
Jeff Ward, Founder & CEO Animikii
Jennica Robinson, Design Lead, Design de Plume
Language and Culture
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Break - Visit Exhibitors and Artists
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Keynote: Dr. Wilton Littlechild
Description coming soon.
Dr. Wilton Littlechild, Maskwacîs,
Alberta – Treaty No. 6 Grand Chief, Lawyer
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bingo Night
Get ready for some Bingo excitement at IHHG! Join us for an evening of fun, laughter, and friendly competition as we gather around the Bingo boards. With fantastic prizes up for grabs, it’s a chance to connect with friends old and new while celebrating Indigenous culture and heritage. See you there.