Anishinaabe guest speaker presents Aboriginal perspective of local history
(October 29, 2013 – Orillia, ON)
The final event of Lakehead’s fall Aboriginal Speaker Series takes place on Thursday evening, November 7, and will feature special guest Dr. Darrell Manitowabi, who will present a lecture and discussion about the Coldwater-Narrows Experiment.
The Coldwater-Narrows Experiment (1830-1836) sought to convince Indigenous peoples to relocate to a narrow tract of land between the Coldwater River and the Narrows of Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe to farm, and convert to Christianity. The Experiment ultimately failed. In his presentation, Dr. Manitowabi will examine the events of this failed Experiment and its impact, including the eventual opening of Casino Rama.
Dr. Manitowabi is an assistant professor and director of the School of Native Human Services at Laurentian University in Sudbury. He is Anishinaabe from the Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve on Manitoulin Island and currently resides on the Whitefish River First Nation. He has a PhD in social/cultural anthropology from the University of Toronto and has published articles on Aboriginal gaming, Ojibwa/Anishinaabe ethnohistory, urban Aboriginal issues, Aboriginal diabetes, and traditional medicine. He recently completed research on the impacts of state socioeconomic interventions on Anishinaabe wellbeing and is currently involved in the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network, a nation-wide project focused on the enhancing research on the Urban Aboriginal experience.
“This final event of the series will be thought-provoking and will offer a unique opportunity for people to learn about the fascinating history of the area,” says David Snake, Lakehead Orillia’s Aboriginal Liaison Advisor and series organizer.
The event takes place on Thursday, November 7 from 6 to 9 pm at Lakehead Orillia’s University Avenue campus (Room OA 2015). All events in the Series are open to the public and free of charge. For further details, please contact David Snake at dsnake@lakeheadu.ca
David Snake, Lakehead Orillia’s Aboriginal Liaison Advisor and organizer of the University’s Aboriginal Speaker Series, is shown at the Narrows in Orillia. The upcoming November 7 event features guest speaker Dr. Darrell Manitowabi, who will discuss the fascinating history of the area.
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Media: For more information, please contact Lakehead University’s Communications Officer, Kathy Hunt, at 705-330-4008 ext. 2014 orkjhunt3@lakeheadu.ca.
Lakehead University is a comprehensive university with a reputation for a multidisciplinary teaching approach that emphasizes collaborative learning and independent critical thinking. Over 8,700 students and 1,850 faculty and staff learn and work at campuses located in Orillia, and Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Lakehead University promotes innovative research that supports local and regional socio-economic needs. In Orillia, development continues on building a campus that meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) standards. For more information about Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca.