Policing Black and Indigenous Lives in Canada: A Digital Teach-In

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Policing Black and Indigenous Lives in Canada: A Digital Teach-In
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 4 PM – 6 PM ADT
Join us for a digital teach-in bringing together organizers and lawyers from across the country to engage in a discussion around policing Black and Indigenous people in Canada.

The event will be live streamed on YouTube. Register here to receive the link: https://act.bccla.org/policing_digital_teach_in

In the wake of brutal and, in many cases, deadly examples of police violence against Black and Indigenous people, there has been a wave of public outcry calling for immediate action to address anti Black and anti Indigenous policing practices across Canada. Some conversations have included defunding the police, robust civilian oversight bodies to hold police accountable, serious legal questions about the jurisdiction of colonial policing forces on Indigenous lands, and more.

Relying on their on-the-ground experience and legal expertise, speakers will address: the role of policing in expanding the colonial state, the evidence of police violence and discrimination, current strategies for transformative change, and how people can get involved in the movement..

Speakers:

El Jones is a poet, educator, journalist, and advocate. An Atlantic Journalism Award winner and national champion spoken word artist, she was the fifth Poet Laureate of Halifax, and the 15th Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. El is a 2016 recipient of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission Burnley “Rocky” Jones award. El is a co-founder of the Black Power Hour, a radio show developed collectively with prisoners. Her advocacy and work fights anti-Black racism in Canada, walking in the path of our great-grandmothers who resisted relentlessly. Her book of poetry and essays on state violence, Canada is So Polite will be released in the winter from Gaspereau Press.

Dr. Pam Palmater is a Mi’kmaw lawyer, professor, author, and social justice activist from Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. A practicing lawyer for 22 years, Pam has been volunteering and working in First Nation issues for over 30 years on a wide range of issues like socio-economic conditions, Aboriginal and treaty rights, and legislation impacting First Nations. Her books, Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens and Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity, and her other publications focus on Indigenous law, politics, and governance and the importance of native sovereignty and nation-building.

Reakash Walters is a writer, community advocate, and articling student who is dreaming alternatives to policing and punishment. She recently completed her law degree and has about a decade of community organizing experience.

Meenakshi Mannoe is a settler living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples since 2006. She is the Criminalization and Policing Campaigner at PIVOT Legal Society. In her role at Pivot, Meenakshi works alongside her interdisciplinary colleagues to envision intersectional approaches to policing and criminalization. Her work emphasizes the impact of policing on all aspects of Pivot’s work, with particular attention to public legal education materials, policy analysis, community engagement, and coordinating speaking engagements.

Moderated by Latoya Farrell, BC Civil Liberties Association Policy Staff Counsel

Speakers will be accepting questions through the comments section on YouTube during the event.

We acknowledge that this event will feature speakers and attendees situated on various Indigenous lands and will be inviting everyone to acknowledge the territory from which they join during the event.

Organized by working group: Latoya Farrell of BCCLA, lawyer Avnish Nanda and professor Asad Kiyani.

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