Round table
March 12 | 6 p.m.
Recentring Indigenous sexual sovereignty
Free Activity | Space is limited, Reservation required
As part of International Women’s Rights Day and in dialogue with the exhibition Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience, the McCord Stewart Museum invites you to a round table discussion moderated by Celina Yellowbird, Curatorial Assistant, Indigenous Cultures, with Maïlys Flamand, Géorgie Gagné and Dayna Danger.
Discourse and the ways in which institutions, media, and society represent Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited folk, and how these spaces reproduce stereotypes and narratives, are dangerous and are argued to be vehicles of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ folk in Canada. Notably, discourses of hyper sexualization and fetishization of Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ folk influences and structures sexually violent acts against Indigenous women which in turn produces and generates internalized feelings of shame amongst many Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ folk.
These feelings of shame surround sexuality and feeling comfortable in one’s own body. Considering discussions around decolonization and undoing colonial structures, the discussion will look towards decolonizing internalized colonial discourses, especially for Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ folk to help recentre sovereignty and agency over our/their bodies and identities. One of the ways we can encourage Indigenous women, girls, 2S+ folk to regain power and sovereignty over identity and body is by way of art, artivism and sexual pleasure.
Thus, this round table looks towards discussions of stepping outside colonial borders and narratives of hypersexuality and violence and instead redirects our attention around conversations of Indigenous body sovereignty, agency and sexual pleasure through art and research.
Information
- Free activity, in English and in French, on Wednesday, March 12, at 6 p.m.
- Discussion and Q&A in French and English.
- Space is limited, reservation required
Is the activity you’re interested in fully booked? Show up 15 minutes early to get on the waiting list. Places may become available before the start of the activity. - Duration: 1 h
- Location: J. Armand Bombardier Theatre at the Museum
Speakers
Célina Yellowbird, Curatorial Assistant, Indigenous Cultures
Célina Yellowbird is Plains Cree and French from Treaty 6 territory. She is a proud member of the Alexander First Nation. She has spent the last couple of years working on her degree at the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta and is passionate about storytelling, activism, and film. She hopes to one day be able to use her voice and degree to teach others about the Cree ways of knowing and being.
Géorgie Gagné
Géorgie Gagné is a multi-award-winning, mixed heritage Cree and franco-québécoise artist, educator, facilitator, and advocate, dedicated to infusing intersectional approaches, Indigenous ways of knowing, intentionality and care within communities around Turtle Island. Her art practice focuses on physical and digital collage, beadwork, photography, and graphic design. Géorgie’s art aims to create bold and challenging conversations on topics of 2Spirit identities, transness, interconnectivity, dignity, ruptures, and resilient love. Recently, she has participated in Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre’s Coalesce Residency, their annual juried exhibition Playful Encounters, as well as Union Gallery’s group exhibition Gentle Disruptions and Kingston School of Arts’ group exhibition Close to home. Through facilitation and community-building initiatives, she continuously creates thoughtful and transformative learning experiences that centre around 2Spirit resilience, intersectionality and decolonization practices within artistic, academic, advocacy, and nonprofit environments. With years of involvement within nonprofits and social justice movements, Géorgie has developed knowledge and expertise that sustains her in creating affirming and empowering spaces for BIPGM and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
Maïlys Flamand
Maïlys was born in Roberval and is originally from the innue and Atikamek nations. She has been an ambassador for Eros et Compagnie for close to two years, giving home demonstrations of erotic products. She specializes in demonstrations for First Nations people, and regularly does so for women, couples, and members of the LGBTQIA2+ community. In addition, for the last two years she has worked for Wapikoni mobile as an awareness workshop coordinator. In her spare time, she does beadwork, makes earrings, and plays video games on the Twitch streaming platform. She raises awareness of Indigenous realities both in the Twitch community and in her home demonstrations.
Dayna Danger
Dayna Danger (they/them) is a Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, Métis-Saulteaux-Polish, visual artist, hide tanner, drummer, and beadworker. Danger’s art practice is an act of reclaiming space and power over society’s projections of sexualities and representation. This transpires in Danger’s art through their intentionally large-scale images that place importance on women-identified, Two-Spirit, transgender, and non-binary people. Their art uses symbolic references to kink communities to critically interrogate visibility and rejection. Danger centers Kin and practicing consent to build artworks that create a suspension of reality wherein complex dynamics of sexuality, gender, and power are exchanged.
Exhibition
On going
Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience
The exhibition bears witness to the still unrecognized knowledge of Indigenous peoples in Quebec and Canada as well as the deep wounds they carry and their incredible resilience.
Discover