Reflections on Nunavut 25+
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Massey College
Nunavut is celebrating its 25th year in 2024. The Harvard Club of Toronto and Massey College marked this important milestone with former premier Paul Okalik, Prof Emeritus Graham White and Massey fellow Riley Yesno on September 25th.
SEE HERE
Paul Okalik was Nunavut’s first premier from 1999-2008 and MLA until 2017. A graduate of the University of Ottawa Law School, he published Let’s Move On: Paul Okalik Speaks Out in 2018 and joined the World Wildlife Fund Canada where 
he is currently Senior Arctic Advisor. See Paul's bio here
Graham White is a researcher and UofT professor emeritus interested in the Canadian government at the provincial and territorial level, especially Nunavut, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Graham is the co-author of Made in Nunavut: An Experiment in Decentralized Government (2016) See Graham's bio here
Riley Yesno is a Massey College Junior Fellow and a queer Anishinaabe scholar, writer, and commentator from Eabametoong First Nation. She teaches Indigenous governance and justice at Toronto Metropolitan University while finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and is a Vanier Scholar. See Riley's website here.
The Harvard Club of Toronto (HCT) has hosted an Indigenous Issues Series of webinars for the last two years, discussing housing, food scarcity, reconciliation, resource management and other issues with Indigenous leaders and researchers from Canada and the USA. Harvard University’s Native American Program (HUNAP) harkens back to the 1650 charter which committed to “the education of English and Indian youth”; today it supports teaching and research efforts with Native faculty and +1,000 Native Harvard alumni. This is the HCT’s first in person event in the series.
Massey College is committed to truth and reconciliation through innovative programming and scholarship – including the Chapel Royal connected to the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, hosting a series of Anishinaabemowin language classes, holding a drum circle led by MCFN Councillor Kelly Laforme and facilitating a ceremony for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th.
Massey's Ambassadors program was launched in 2023. Seven Junior Fellows enrolled and were given education sessions with Darin Wybenga, historian of the MCFN. The Ambassadors participated in pow wows and other events, where they assist the community and continue to learn.