Sparking Connections: Strengthening Grassroots Community for Human Rights- Pam Palmater Keynote Address
Event Details
Join us for Sparking Connections, our first ever online, nation-wide gathering of the Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking) membership and wider community!
While we have been prevented from gathering in our expected ways, this is an incredible opportunity to gather and connect in an unprecedented way! Our theme is strengthening grassroots connections between activists, groups, and campaigns within Amnesty International Canada and we are thrilled to have Dr. Pam Palmater as our first Keynote Speaker on November 7. The keynote will be starting promptly at 10am PST / 11am MST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST / 2pm AST / 2:30pm NST and will run for 60 minutes.
***If you have registered for the whole Sparking Connections Conference, you do not need to register for Pam Palmater’s keynote separately
This keynote will have live captions as well as ASL interpretation but please let us know if you have any further access needs, please contact us at alexandrea.activism@gmail.com or call 613-744-7667 ex 258 to leave us a message with a call back number so we can connect with you!
Keynote Address
Dr. Pamela D. Palmater is a Mi’kmaw citizen and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. She has been a practicing lawyer for 20 years and is currently an Associate Professor and the Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. She comes from a large family of 8 sisters and three brothers. Pam has two sons, Mitchell and Jeremy, who are also active in the community.
She has 4 university degrees, including a BA from St. Thomas in Native Studies, and an LLB from UNB where she won the Faskin Campbell Godfrey prize in natural resources and environmental law. She went on to complete her Masters and Doctorate in Law from Dalhousie University Law School specializing in First Nation law.
Pam has been studying, volunteering and working in First Nation issues for over 25 years on a wide range of social, political and legal issues, like poverty, housing, child and family services, treaty rights, education and legislation impacting First Nations. She came in second in the Assembly of First Nations election for National Chief in 2012 and was one of the spokespeople, organizers and public educators for the Idle No More movement in 2012-13.
She has been recognized with many awards and honours for her social justice advocacy on behalf of First Nations generally, and Indigenous women and children specifically, and most recently for her work related to murdered and missing Indigenous women. Some of these awards include 2012 YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Social Justice, the 2012 Women’s Courage Award in Social Justice, Bertha Wilson Honour Society 2012 and Canadian Lawyer Magazine’s 2013 Top 5 Most Influential Lawyer in the Human Rights category, Canada’s Top Visionary Women Leaders 2014, and most recently, the 2015 UNB Alumni Award of Distinction, the J.S. Woodsworth Woman of Excellence Award in Human Rights and Equity, and most recently, the Margaret Mead Award in Social Justice.
Pam’s area of expertise is in Indigenous law, politics, and governance. She has numerous publications including her book, Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity, legal academic journal publications, magazine articles and invited news editorials. Her political blog, Indigenous Nationhood has been reposted and reprinted in numerous formats and has been published into a book, Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens. She is a well-known speaker, presenter and educator on Indigenous issues both across Canada and internationally, having spoken in Samoa, Peru, Switzerland, England, Belgium and the United States. She is frequently called as an expert before Parliamentary and United Nations committees dealing with laws and policies impacting Indigenous peoples. Learn more about Dr. Palmater on her website: https://pampalmater.com/about/
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