Upcoming Events

Event Planning and Scheduled Events

Colloquia with Indigenous Scholars

The Psychology Department IRC committee is commited to organzing various events including Colloquia with Indigenous Scholars, as well as small conversational meetings of Indigenous students with these scholars. Because of the pandemic, we have been able to hold these Colloquia and Small Conversational meeting over Zoom, and as such to date the Colloquia have been public events open to the international community, and the Small Conversational meetings have been attended by Indigenous students from across Turtle Island.

Some of these Colloquia are highlighted in the sidebar headings.

* Upcoming Programming

We are currently in the planning stages of upcoming colloquia, small group meetings, and workshops. 

- September 21st, 2023 , Mark Champley will be offering a Hybrid Public Colloquium (9-10:30am PT -- BLU 10011 for inperson attendees) and an additional followup Small Group Meeting (10:30-11:30am PT -- BLU 10021 for selected/invited Indigneous students and scholars). These events are being organized with Indigneous Tutoring and Mentorship Program. We thank Todd Nelson and the ITMP for working closely with Mark Champley in his two week visit to SFU during his Churchill Trust Fellowship, and for inviting the IRC to work with them in the organization these events which form part of his fellowhip visit.

Title: One Person’s Reconciliation Journey in Australia

Bio: Mark Champley is a Learning & Development Associate, People & Culture at Transport for New South Wales. Mark Champley was born on Wongal Country and has lived on Darkinjung land for over 20 years. His ancestors are Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri. Mark has had a long commitment to Aboriginal equality, reconciliation and cultural engagement. Having held board positions with Mingaletta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and is currently a member of Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, and Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group. Mark was appointed Uncle at the prestigious St Joseph College Hunters Hill 2014 – 2017 to support Indigenous students. 

Mark is a leader with extensive experience driving customer service excellence in the transport, retail and hospitality industries both in Australia and internationally. He has worked in Transport for over 30 years and is currently the Associate Learning & Development People & Culture. Mark represents Transport for New South Wales on the Aboriginal Reference Group , Reconciliation Advisory Committee and the NSW Public Sector Commission Aboriginal Employment Advisory Committee. Mark is a current member of the University of New South Wales Adjunct Faculty and in 2019 his first short story was published in the inaugural Blak Unsweetened Journal. Mark believes his life's mission was passed down from his ancestors, through his mother, to himself, driving him to work tirelessly for true reconciliation in Australian society and equality for his people. Mark is currently a Winston Churchill Trust Fellow to continue learning, sharing knowledge & best practice in reverse mentoring to support reconciliation; his visit to Simon Fraser University is a component of this Fellowship.

Topic. In this talk, Mark Champley will discuss his journey of reconciliation in the Australian context.  In his work with the iconic Sydney Ferries, he was able to increase Aboriginal Employment from 2% to 5% in a 3-year period. In 2013 he facilitated the first time the Aboriginal flag to fly on Sydney ferries during National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee Week celebrations. In his more recent work with Transport for New South Wales, he was a member of Transport Reconciliation Advisory Committee and later the steering committee; in this work the TRAC delivered the largest Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in the public service in August 2019.  Mark has also been managing the Aboriginal Career Development & Mentoring Program. In this program,  there is support, career development and extension of cultural knowledge of non-Aboriginal people. Mentees/Mentors come together through workshops, events and informal meetings in a unique reverse mentoring model; in the 2020 Cohort, 50% of the participating mentees have moved into more senior roles. He has also co-led the implementation of the Stolen Gen Memorials from the Unfinished Business Report (Recommendations 11, 12 &13); supported the repatriation of 7 Aboriginal skeletal remains to Awabakal Country where they were taken in 1837; supported the transfer of a retired ferry asset (Lady Northcott) to Aboriginal charity Tribal Warrior; and supported the development of the Aboriginal Cultural Learning Framework.   

- October 20, 2023, Dr. Kyle Mays will be offering an Online Public Colloquium (2:30-3:45/50pm PT on Zoom) and an additional followup Online Small Group Meeting with selected Black/African, Indigenous, & Afro-Indigenous students and scholars (3:45/50-4:30pm PT on Zoom). These events are being organized with the Social Area. We thank the Social Area for taking the lead in inviting Dr. Kyle Mays to speak inviting the IRC to work with them in the organization and sponsorship of these events. We also thank the Department Colloquium Committee for their assistance in funding.  

Title: Blackness, Indigeneity, and Kinship as Solidarity

Speaker Bio: Kyle T. Mays (he/him) is an Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar of Afro-Indigenous studies, urban studies, and contemporary popular culture. He is an Associate Professor in the Departments of African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and History at UCLA. He is the author of three books, including City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022) and An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States (Beacon Press, 2021).

Topic: This talk examines the importance of mino-bimaadiziwin, or the good life. An Anishinaabe philosophy rooted in better relations between human and non-human species, Dr. Mays argues that while solidarity might be fleeting, kinship might be the way forward for Black and Indigenous peoples to resist together, without sacrificing their respective histories and contemporary realities. Using historical examples and contemporary popular culture, he will examine the pitfalls and possibilities for a collective notion of reparatory justice.

-We are thankful to the FASS Reconciling Curriculum Grant Program and Grant adjudication team of the FASS Reconciliation Working Group for awarding us funding for the equivalent of a 1-day workshop, which we are in preparation/planning stages to offer in the academic year (2023/2024). We are in correspondence with Dr. Karlee Fellner for an offering based on her 1-day workshop "Indigenous Wisdoms for Psychology". 

Details on these and other events, including registration details/steps, will be forthcoming.

To learn about other events that may be of interest including an upcoming one on September 29th, by Dr. Jude Mary Cénat, you are invited to look up events organized by or considered of interest by the Department's JEDAI work group.

*Past 2023 Programming

We held, as part of the 2023 programming, colloquia with Indigenous scholars. Below are some details on the events in 2023. 

Invited Speaker: Dr. Amy Bombay

Intergenerational trauma and the protective effects of culture in relation to mental health among Indigenous populations
on Thursday March 2nd, 2023,

Event 1: 12:30-~1:45/50pm PT for the main public colloquium: Main event registration link (all welcome, Past)
Event 2: ~1:45/50-2:30pm PT for the small group conversation meeting of Dr. Bombay with Indigenous students: Small group participation request link (Past)

We are thankful to the Department area of Developmental Psychology which co-funded this pair of events with Dr. Amy Bombay. For more information about the work of Dr. Amy Bombay, please visit: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/health/nursing/faculty-staff/faculty/amy-bombay.html

Invited Speaker: Dr. Adam Murry

Going where the need is: Psychological research in the context of reconciliation
on March 9th, 2023,

Event 1: 12:30-~1:45/50pm PT for the main colloquium: Main event registration page link (all welcome, PAST)
Event 2: ~1:45/50-2:30pm PT for the small group conversation meeting of Dr. Murry with Indigenous students, Small group participation request registration link (Past)

This pair of events with Dr. Adam Murry was funded through the budgets of the IRC,  the area of Social Psychology, and the Department Colloquium Committee. We are thankful for this funding collaboration for the events with Dr. Adam Murry 

For more information about the work of Dr. Adam Murry, please visit. https://psyc.ucalgary.ca/profiles/adam-murry 

*2022 Programming

We held, as part of the 2022 programming, colloquia with Indigenous scholars:

Invited Speaker: Dr. JoLee Sasakmoose

Utilizing the Cultural Responsiveness Framework to Develop a Strength- Based, Trauma-Informed Practice: Understanding the Practitioner’s role in Indigenous Wellbeing
on Wednesday April 20th, 2022,

Event 1: 1-~2:15/20pm PT (for the main colloquium);  Main Event Registration (past)
Event 2: ~2:15/20-3:00pm PT (for the small group conversation  meeting of Dr. Sasakamoose with Indigenous students) Small group conversation participation REQUEST (past)

Invited Speaker: Dr. Karlee Fellner

iskotew & crow: (re)igniting narratives of Indigenous survivance & trauma wisdom in psychology
on May 17th, 2022,

Event 1: 12:30pm - ~1:50pm PT (for the main colloquium); Main Event Registration Page Link (past)
Event 2: ~1:50pm - 2:30pm PT (for the small group conversation  meeting of Dr. Fellner with Indigenous students) Small Group Participation Request Link  (past)    

We are pleased that the Clinical Science Area of the SFU Department of Psychology joined the SFU Psyc IRC as a co-sponsor for this set of events with Dr. Fellner. We are appreciative of the Clinical Science area's support in helping make the event possible.

We are are thankful and excited to offer this programming. Planning for future programming is continuing.

In general, we set up the Eventbrite registration links, etc., for our events. Events are open to the public. Registration for the events is at no cost to participants. For many of the events, the Invited scholars have also accepted to have recordings of their presentations be made and made available publicly (please see the links for the individual events).  

If you would like to donate to support
- the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, visit: https://www.irsss.ca/
- Indspire, visit: https://indspire.ca/ways-to-give/donate/
-the First Nations Children and Family Caring Society, visit: https://fncaringsociety.com/what-you-can-do/donate
- the maskihky wellness community, organized by Dr. Fellner, donations can be made to: https://www.maskihkiy.com/about-3  

If you are interested in co-sponsoring an Indigenous Scholar Colloquium/Small Conversational Meeting Series with the Department IRC please contact us. Also, if you interested in being on a mailing list for announcements for these Colloquia/Events with Indigenous Scholars, you are also invited to contact us.

Special Event -- April 18th, 2023

The SFU Department of Psychology and the Department's IRC joined the ISC and FNMISA as co-sponsors for one of the 

Monthly Lunches - Indigenous Student Centre - Simon Fraser University (sfu.ca)

organized by the SFU Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) and the SFU First Nations, Métis & Inuit Student Association (FNMISA). If you are a student, staff, faculty member at SFU who is Indigneous. We are thankful to all who joined us in this event. We hope hope you will share information about these events with others, and that you will look into attending this and other community spaces for a shared meal in the future.