Events

Explore upcoming REDI events


March


The Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion is proud to present a new REDI Lunch & Learn series featuring our team of advisors: Robyn Campol, Dr. Neila Miled and Derek Thompson. This fresh and informative series will be spontaneous and conversational in its approach to talk about issues that are timely and relevant. These sessions will also highlight the importance of showing up to these necessary conversations with presence and persona – so bring your very best of curiosity and energy!

Each session will also provide an opportunity for the participants to engage in a Q&A or to simply to reflect on the merits of the conversations. This exciting series will be offered every month starting in March 2022, with each advisor presenting their own one hour session. Please join us on March 10 for the inaugural offering: Parts Know and Unknown, with Derek Thompson (details below).


Topic: Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson - Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation (REDI Lunch & Learn Series)

Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm PST

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Please note that the event will be not be recorded


Parts Known and Unknown

Um. Let’s see. I’m writing this bit of narrative as I’m devouring a Banh Mi sandwich. It’s delicious. As I am chomping, slurping and thoroughly enjoying my meal I’m struck by the absence and impact of Anthony Bourdain. For me, and right from the start, he was like a friend that was altogether strange and familiar. And since his passing, and as much as he did in life, the meals that I enjoy these days are the meals that I enjoyed as a child. My Gran’s homemade duck soup or my Great-Grandmother’s barbeque sockeye salmon, and she would make the cedar stick herself and fasten a whole fish on it and cook over an open fire. My Mom’s fresh bread enjoyed with a bowl of beef stew made from scratch, or the egg, bacon and cheese sandwich wrapped in foil that I would demolish on the way to school on the 3-hour return trek from Nitinaht Lake to Port Alberni.

This makes me think about the spaces where we all feel welcome - the kitchen table that you grew up around, your Auntie’s home, a favorite restaurant, a picnic, a smorgasbord, holiday meals - and it is food. Tony said, “when someone cooks for you they are saying something. They are telling you about themselves - where they come from, who they are, what makes them happy.” So, bring your favorite lunch, pull up a virtual chair, and we’ll talk about the bits and pieces of a meaningful conversation, and chew on the many and layered flavors of telling the truth and reconciling for the future.


What Will I Learn?

Anthony Bourdain said, “Perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.” So, what we’ll strive to learn about is our potential for curiosity and compassion for and with each other.


Facilitator

Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup is an advisor in the Faculty of Medicine Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI). Thlaapkiituup is from the diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht First Nation, one of fourteen Nuuchahnulth Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. As the REDI Indigenous Initiatives Advisor, Derek provides leadership and support across the Faculty to help create and sustain learning and work environments that incorporate standards of cultural safety and humility and that are free from Indigenous specific racism and discrimination. Derek promotes inclusion of an Indigenous perspective in all Faculty initiatives. Derek also works closely with the Director, Indigenous Engagement to implement the Faculty’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in a way that will best support the formal commitments made to Indigenous peoples for a better and just future. This important work will also create opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage with Indigenous people and communities in meaningful ways, and to begin anew the creation of redressing what we believe ourselves to be - as Indigenous peoples, and as Canadians.

Read the Message from the Indigenous Initiatives Advisor

indigenousinitiatives.advisor@ubc.ca

In this session, participants will discuss why engaging with equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is important in creating just and healthy communities where everyone feels a sense of belonging. They will also identify how oppression operates. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss how to engage in the learning journey to facilitate a strong commitment to EDI. This is part of the REDI Lunch & Learn Series.

Facilitator: Dr. Neila Miled

Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm PDT

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Please note that the event will be not be recorded

What Will I Learn?

  • Discuss the importance of engaging with EDI
  • Learn about the major concepts related to equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Identify oppression and how it operates
  • Discuss strategies to learn and to unlearn

This session will be an in-depth discussion regarding the different options to report learning environment concerns and what happens after these concerns have been reported. This is part of the REDI Lunch & Learn Series.

Facilitator: Robyn Campol

Date: Thursday, March 24, 2022

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm PDT

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Please note that the event will not be recorded

What Will I Learn?

  • Gain an understanding of the intent and the reasoning behind our reporting system
  • Participants will be able to describe the process for reporting and responding to learner mistreatment
  • Explore and discuss the various examples of report types, including anonymous and confidential reporting
  • Understand what is meant by consent

Please join us on Friday, March 25 for "Ni tipeyihtenan ōhi acimōwina | We own these stories. The Marrow. A Conversation with Sky Dancer about Writing and Righting Our Truth and Place in Canada". This virtual event is presented by the Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series. REDI is honored to welcome Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer, Parliamentary Poet Laureate.

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The event will be recorded and the recording will be made available on redi.med.ubc.ca

Indigenous writing is mostly informed by personal experience as a member of an immediate and extended - often times large though tightly knit families. It’s also shaped by our connection to each other by order of importance - my tribe, my relatives, all surrounding First Nations, all Indigenous peoples in BC and Canada, and all Indigenous peoples anywhere in the world. In our communities, who one’s relations are and what roles one plays in one’s extended family say much about who one is. It is this unique affiliation that has created insights for all who to wish to better understand the cultural and political aspirations of Indigenous peoples.

These stories are a cumulative tear, a ceremonial gathering. That is why we sing, dance, and pray. Sôhkêyihta.

Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer has uplifted and deepened this experience from the roots of her ancient teachings to that of a collective spirit through her poetry and stories. In her own words from Sôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe she eloquently inspires us to “Have courage. Be brave. Be strong. Sôhkêyihta is a gentle, commanding word used to encourage people to stand strong while they face adversity. In order to move forward one must have the stamina, sometimes, to excise the oozing infection of a wound. I believe all that I have written has been about that excavation. Therefore, I encourage readers to stay grounded as they encounter their own shadows, or their own truths, in these stories. I walk. I meditate. Wrestle. I’ve pulled out my heart, wrung and strung it on the clothesline. These stories are a cumulative tear, a ceremonial gathering. That is why we sing, dance, and pray. Sôhkêyihta.”

"We own these stories. The marrow." They are the core of all that we are in an ongoing effort to right and write our truth and place in Canada. We invite you to join the conversation, and in so doing, let’s create a language that is generous of understanding and compassion about the redress of what we believe ourselves to be - as Indigenous peoples, and as Canadians.

Please note that this event will not have a Q&A portion but the REDI office is happy to receive questions at redi.office@ubc.ca


Topic: Ni tipeyihtenan ōhi acimōwina | We own these stories. The Marrow. A Conversation with Sky Dancer about Writing and Righting Our Truth and Place in Canada

Date: Friday, March 25, 2022

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm PDT


What Will I Learn?

You will learn about the need for creative and meaningful connections with Indigenous peoples.


Speakers

Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer was raised on the Saddle Lake Reserve and attended the Blue Quills Indian Residential School. Louise is married, has two adult children and three grandsons. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina. She also completed two years of Addictions Counselor Training at St. Albert’s Nechi Institute where she also facilitated the program. She served as Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate for two years and has traveled extensively for her poetics and to present at numerous conferences. Her books include Bear Bones and Feathers, Blue Marrow, The Crooked Good, Burning In This Midnight Dream, Sôhkêyihta, and awâsis: kinky and dishevelled. She has received numerous accolades and awards including honorary doctorates from Wilfred Laurier University, the University of Saskatchewan, and Mount Royal University. She currently serves as the national Parliamentary Library Poet Laureate.

Louise also serves as an Elder or Knowledge Keeper at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. She actively participates in cultural and ceremonial activities relevant to her Plains Cree culture.

Learn more about Louise Bernice Half - Sky Dancer here

Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup is an advisor in the Faculty of Medicine Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI). Thlaapkiituup is from the diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht First Nation, one of fourteen Nuuchahnulth Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. As the REDI Indigenous Initiatives Advisor, Derek provides leadership and support across the Faculty to help create and sustain learning and work environments that incorporate standards of cultural safety and humility and that are free from Indigenous specific racism and discrimination. Derek promotes inclusion of an Indigenous perspective in all Faculty initiatives. Derek also works closely with the Director, Indigenous Engagement to implement the Faculty’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in a way that will best support the formal commitments made to Indigenous peoples for a better and just future. This important work will also create opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage with Indigenous people and communities in meaningful ways, and to begin anew the creation of redressing what we believe ourselves to be - as Indigenous peoples, and as Canadians.

Read the Message from the Indigenous Initiatives Advisor

indigenousinitiatives.advisor@ubc.ca

April

Introduction to The Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series: Derek Thompson - Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Importance of Persona & Persuasion in an Era of Truth and Reconciliation. The Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series is an original and important platform to begin, continue and advance the conversation about telling the truth and reconciling for the future. In many of the presentations that I provide in my role as the Indigenous Initiatives Advisor I am often asked about how to best approach these important conversations, how to talk about these complex issues, and how to be mindful of those on both sides of the dialogue - as Indigenous peoples and as Canadians. I think that it's always a useful exercise to consider why we choose to bring our self into this story, this chapter, this narrative between the pages of history and our modern times. Consider how you want to fit into the story, the stories, and what you are willing to contribute, and to think about how we inform and form our perceptions about Indigenous peoples and communities.

We all come from some place in the world, we are all connected to a lineage that's anchored to history, and these contexts all have a story, and you are a singular chapter to these narratives. Who we are, where we come from and what our territories mean to us all shape and define ourselves as Canadians. These stories provide the opportunity for people to come together in the spirit of truth, reconciliation, redress, and celebration of the unique characteristics that make up the individual and collective purpose to want to understand each other. So, bring your favorite lunch, pull up a virtual chair, and we'll talk about the bits and pieces of the importance of persona and persuasion in an era of truth and reconciliation. This is part of the REDI Lunch & Learn Series.

Facilitator: Derek Thompson

Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm PDT

JOIN THE EVENT

Please note that the event will not be recorded

What Will I Learn?

You will learn about how to best approach the many conversations about telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

In this session, participants will learn about implicit bias and microagressions and their detrimental impact on our health care system. This session offers an opportunity to identify the different layers of racism and how we can engage with anti-racism as an action-oriented strategy to make real changes. This is part of the REDI Lunch & Learn Series.

Facilitator: Dr. Neila Miled

Date: Thursday, April 14, 2022

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm PDT

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Please note that the event will not be recorded

What Will I Learn?

  • Identify the different manifestations of racism in medicine and health care
  • Acknowledge implicit bias and microaggressions in health care settings
  • Discuss several approaches to resist bias and microaggressions
  • Learn how to engage with anti-racism

This session will be an opportunity to learn more about the Faculty of Medicine's Upstander Engagement Model and practice the skills required to be an ideal Upstander. This is part of the REDI Lunch & Learn Series.

Facilitator: Robyn Campol

Date: Thursday, April 21, 2022

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm PDT

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Please note that the event will not be recorded

What Will I Learn?

  • Recognize the strategies that will promote engagement, including being an upstander
  • What does it mean to be an Upstander?
  • Recognize strategies to respond if an Upstander approaches you to discuss a concern
  • Using scenarios and role-play, to practice the skills associated with being an Upstander

Please note that the Lunch & Learn sessions will be held monthly starting in May 2022


Series Presented by REDI

Learn more about what REDI has to offer: