Author to speak about diversity, inclusion through Indigenous perspective

Ojibwe activist Jesse Wente is going to talk about diversity and inclusion and ways to move forward together as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people during a free, virtual event this week.

Northern College and District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1) are co-hosting the event.

The presentation will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 10, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Wente is an Ojibwe author, broadcaster, activist and public speaker from Serpent River First Nation. He recently published a new book, Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance.

During the presentation, Wente is going to share his personal story of growing up as an Indigenous man in Toronto. He will also explain his perspective on reconciliation and what actions non-Indigenous people can take to work alongside Nations, said DSB1’s director of education Lesleigh Dye.

“We felt he would be an ideal individual to help move our thinking forward,” Dye said. “He’s going to help the listener understand what inclusion means for a student or an individual who identifies as Indigenous, and help those of us who don’t identify as Indigenous, giving us strategies how we can build that sense of belonging, that sense of inclusion.”

This is the second time DSB1 and Northern College host an Indigenous speaker. Last year, the two institutions hosted a former Senator Murray Sinclair.

“Both of our strategic plans and both organizations are in the first year of a four-year plan,” Dye said. “Both focus on ways to further service needs of our students who identify as Indigenous and to help our staff understand what the needs are of our students, and what the history is for us to better understand why some of our students who identify as Indigenous not being as successful as we know they can be.”

The event will be streamed via YouTube and is open to everyone.

For more information and to register, click here.