Learning from and with Indigenous Community Members Book Club

This book club will be a space where non-Indigenous and Indigenous people can come together to learn through conversations amongst Indigenous guest speakers in relation to Indigenous literature and topics that are meaningful to them and their nations/communities. It is an invitation to get to know Indigenous community members at York University and in neighbouring communities. The intention is to cultivate learning about the diverse histories, ways of knowing, ways of being, lived experiences, identities, and visions for the future of Indigenous Peoples.

Our guest speakers are Dean Smith and Missy Knott who will be in dialogue with one another about the book Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg: This Is Our Territory by Doug Williams (Curve Lake First Nation) and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Alderville First Nation).

Dean Smith is an off-reserve Pictou Landing First Nation member through his mother and of Irish, Scottish and Welsh lineage from his father. Dean is in his first year of semi-retirement after 31 years as an educator, which included 4 years as an Indigenous Education consultant. He is putting his recently acquired MEd in Urban Indigenous Education (York U, ‘22) to good use as a Professor in the Liberal Studies Department at Durham College and supporting local agencies on Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg territory with their respective Indigenous-related goals. Ongoing projects within an Indigenous lens include public speaking, academic research and curriculum writing, performing and recording original music, sustainable gardening, and taking his first steps into writing historical fiction. None of this would be possible without the patient support and guidance from his partner, Debbie, and the loving menagerie that comprises the Pet Ranch.

Missy Knott (Singing Wild Rice Girl) is a Mother, Philanthropist, Educational Assistant, active Curve Lake First Nation Community member and Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter. Her most recent release, “Our Song Acoustic” (2021), made it to #3 on the Indigenous Music Countdown, playing widely on Sirius XM. In 2018, Missy launched her Wild Rice Records label, founded in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough). Soon after, she accepted jobs as an Afternoon Drive and Weekend Live Radio Personality at both ELMNT FM in Ottawa and Toronto. She’s returned home, found a community at Trent Radio, continues her work with ELMNT FM in both Ottawa and Toronto and begun producing a number of songs and shows while working hand in hand with developing artists.