Pre-Gathering Workshops

June 2, 2024 | 12:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Participants will have the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops that provide practical skills for researching, preserving, or sharing Indigenous histories.

Registered attendees will be invited to RSVP for their preferred workshop 3 weeks before the gathering.

Governor General I

Accessing records at LAC: Indigenous initiatives, partnerships, and resources

This workshop will present, in three sections, recent work at Library and Archives Canada.

  1. We Are Here: Sharing Stories is a digitization initiative focusing on digitizing and making available collections of particular interest to Indigenous communities. Recent work will be presented along with information on how to access it. The project team will also highlight their archival work regarding reparative description and the development of policies regarding access to sensitive records.
  2. LAC has several recent partnering arrangements to share and highlight, including, among others, the Treaty 3 visit to its home territory, a storage arrangement with the Manitoba Métis Federation, and a work plan with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
  3. Representatives of LAC’s ATIP and Research Support units will provide updates and answer questions.

» LAC Speakers

Governor General II, III

The Sixties Scoop, Reconciliation & Indigenous Child Welfare: a walk through the 2024 Grant Program of the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada

This session will initially be led by the Wayne Garnons-Williams, Acting CEO of the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada where he will explore the history of the Sixties Scoop, Reconciliation and Indigenous Child Welfare in North America followed by the Foundation Director of Programs of the Foundation, Kamal Hossain, who will take us on a deep dive into the process and procedures of the 2024 Grant Program of the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada.

» NSSHFC Speakers

LAC Speakers

To access a speaker's bio, simply click or tap their photo or name.

Kirstei Abbott

Kirstei Abbott

Specialized Media Archival Assistant

Mark Boucher

Mark Boucher

Archival Assistant

Delia Chartrand

Delia Chartrand

Project Coordinator

Maryse Laflamme

Maryse Laflamme

Director General, Outreach and Engagement Branch

Kristina Lillico

Kristina Lillico

Director General, ATIP Branch

Andrew Ross

Andrew Ross

Director of Research Support and Regional Services

Jessica Squires

Jessica Squires

Acting Director of Indigenous Initiatives

National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada Workshop Speakers

To access a speaker's bio, simply click or tap their photo or name.

Wayne Garnons-Williams

Wayne Garnons-Williams

Acting Chief Executive Officer – NSSHFC

Mohammed Kamal Hossain

Kamal Hossain

Director of Programs  – NSSHFC

Kirstei Abbott

Kirstei Abbott

Specialized Media Archival Assistant

Kirstei Abbott is an Algonquin-Anishinaabekwe mixed settler from Bonnechere Algonquin First Nations. She is the Specialized Media Archival Assistant for the We Are Here, Sharing Stories Indigenous Digital Access Project. She is a professor at Algonquin College with the General Arts and Science Indigenous Studies program teaching Introduction to Genealogy. Kirstei is also a graduate student in the Master of Arts Canadian Studies program at Carleton University focusing on Indigenous data sovereignty and decolonizing archival practices.

Mark Boucher

Mark Boucher

Archival Assistant

Mark Boucher is one of the newest members of the We Are Here, Sharing Stories team. Having just joined the team in February, as an Archival Assistant, he is eager to learn as much as possible before the project sunsets in March 2025. Mark has two degrees from Carleton University, one in Sociology, with a minor in sexuality studies, and one in Psychology. His knowledge and experience are an asset to the team as they allow him to bring a different perspective during team meetings and in the decision making process. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, writing stories, designing tattoos, and spending time with his friends and family.

Delia Chartrand

Delia Chartrand

Project Coordinator

Delia Chartrand is a member of the Metis Nation and the Project Coordinator for We Are Here, Sharing Stories. She is a mother of two, who was born and raised in northern Manitoba and currently lives in Winnipeg with her family. She has a Master’s in Archival Studies from the University of Manitoba. Prior to her current position with Library and Archives Canada she worked as a regional archivist on the Listen Hear Our Voices initiative, facilitating community based archival projects. She has a background in community based research, working collaboratively with Elders to decolonize the representation of Indigenous art, history and culture, and to develop culturally proficient frameworks for heritage institutions.

Maryse Laflamme

Maryse Laflamme

Director General, Outreach and Engagement Branch

Maryse Laflamme holds a master’s degree in library and information science from Université de Montréal. She has been serving as the Director General of the Outreach and Engagement branch since February 2024. Her team includes Indigenous Initiatives, Partnerships and Community Engagement and Programming. Maryse has over 20 years of experience in the library and archives sector, including a decade in managerial positions.

Kristina Lillico

Kristina Lillico

Director General, ATIP Branch

Director General, ATIP Branch, Library and Archives Canada Kristina Lillico holds an honours degree in History from Queen’s University and a Masters’ in Public Administration in Management from Dalhousie University. She has been with LAC since 2004, and has worked in many different areas at LAC, including Partnerships, Policy, Grants and Contributions, Private Archives, Government Archives, Information Management initiatives for the Government of Canada, and Regional Services. Since 2016 she has been working with the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) team LAC, first as the Director and now as the Director General.

Andrew Ross

Andrew Ross

Director of Research Support and Regional Services

Andrew Ross is the Director of Research Support and Regional Services at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). His team, which includes the Indigenous Reference Services team, handles reference queries and provides support to departmental researchers in the NCR, Winnipeg, and Vancouver.

Jessica Squires

Jessica Squires

Acting Director of Indigenous Initiatives

Jessica Squires is the acting Director of Indigenous Initiatives at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). LAC Indigenous Initiatives carries out the projects Listen, Hear Our Voices and We Are Here: Sharing Stories, and coordinated the LAC external Indigenous Advisory Circle.

Wayne Garnons-Williams

Wayne D. Garnons-Williams, B.A., J.D., MPA, LL.M.

Président - IITIO
Directeur principal - ISTC
Avocat principal et directeur principal Garwill Law

Wayne est originaire de la Première nation Moosomin et a obtenu une licence en droit à l’université Queens, un master en administration publique à l’université Dalhousie et un master en droit avec une spécialisation en droit international autochtone à la faculté de droit de l’université d’Oklahoma. Le mémoire de recherche de Wayne, dans le cadre de sa maîtrise en droit, portait sur l’histoire juridique, le droit et la politique du commerce indigène entre le Canada et les États-Unis. 

Wayne est avocat principal et directeur principal du cabinet juridique Garwill Law Professional Corporation.  En outre, il dirige une entreprise internationale intitulée Indigenous Sovereign Trade Consultancy Ltd., et est le président fondateur de l’Organisation internationale intertribale pour le commerce et l’investissement (International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization).

Il a été secrétaire du conseil d’administration du Conseil de la région des Grands Lacs, président du Tribunal d’appel de la Fédération des nations indiennes de la Saskatchewan et président du Conseil national des employés fédéraux autochtones. Il siège actuellement au conseil d’administration de la section canadienne de l’Association de droit international et est l’un des membres fondateurs du groupe de travail sur le commerce international autochtone du gouvernement du Canada, chargé des affaires mondiales. Wayne a joué un rôle essentiel dans l’élaboration de la politique commerciale autochtone du Canada, qui a permis de faire progresser le commerce autochtone dans le cadre de la CUSMA et de l’USMCA. Il a également été nommé principal négociateur autochtone canadien pour l’Accord de commerce et de coopération économique avec les peuples autochtones (IPETCA).

Il est également chercheur spécialisé en droit international comparé des peuples autochtones à l’université d’Oklahoma, College of Law, ainsi que juriste au Centre for International Sustainable Development Law. Il a été nommé par décret membre de la liste des recours commerciaux du chapitre 19 de l’ALENA, puis nommé en 2020 membre du comité consultatif de la CUSMA sur les différends commerciaux privés, article 31.22. 

Il est lauréat du prix 2019 du Conseil canadien pour le commerce autochtone pour l’excellence dans les relations avec les Autochtones, lauréat du prix 2020 des anciens élèves de l’Université Queen’s, lauréat du prix 2020 du spécialiste juridique international en matière de paix, de justice et de gouvernance décerné par le Centre for International Sustainable Development Law , lauréat en 2024 du prix Sidney J. Picker Award pour sa contribution au développement des relations canado-américaines et 2024 H.R.S. Ryan Law Alumni Award of Distinction en reconnaissance de contributions exceptionnelles à la faculté, à l’université et à la profession juridique, Queen’s University, Faculty of Law.

Mohammed Kamal Hossain

Mohammed Kamal Hossain

Director of Programs

Mohammed Kamal Hossain (Kamal) is a nonprofit manager with more than 19 years of progressive experience in health, education, disability, Indigenous communities, housing, and homelessness.

He has diversified project management skills, including fund-raising, coordination, monitoring, stakeholder relations, logistics, and asset management.

He is also experienced in managing large humanitarian response programs. He has a Masters in Social Sciences along with numerous training and certificates, including Indigenous Canada, Clinical Supervision, Trauma Informed Practice, Managing High Performance, Health Program Management, Humanitarian Program Operation, etc.

Mohammed received a Civil Society Innovation Award from the Civil Society WASH Fund, AusAid in 2016 and the Zero Project Innovative Education Project Award, Austria in 2020. His research projects have been published in many international journals, including the European Journal of Education, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and many more.

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