The Zoryan Webinars

In this webinar, hosted as part of the Zoryan Institute’s 2022 Climate Change, Human Rights & Genocide Webinar Series, Professor Deborah McGregor examines the relationships between indigenous peoples, rights, and colonialism that perpetuates injustice. She also explains why Indigenous leadership and knowledges are critical for advancing climate justice goals, and how climate impacts render Indigenous communities disproportionally vulnerable (e.g. the disruption of traditional food sources, lack of health infrastructure, barriers to accessing clean water). Professor Deborah McGregor is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at York University. This webinar was originally recorded on March 10, 2022. For more information about the Zoryan Institute’s educational programming, please visit https://zoryaninstitute.org/.

In this webinar, hosted as part of the Zoryan Institute’s 2022 Climate Change, Human Rights & Genocide Webinar Series, Professor Lauren Eichler of Old Dominion University explores topics such as ecocide, the colonial ideologies behind it, and the impacts on Indigenous Peoples. This presentation explores how the dualistic and racist Western-colonial conceptions of "human" and "nature" have harmed Indigenous communities in three related ways: by delegitimizing Indigenous environmental ontologies, identity, and ethics, by dehumanizing Indigenous peoples, and by enabling the ecocide-genocide of Indigenous lands and peoples. The presentation also considers the value and limitations for Indigenous peoples of making ecocide an international crime. This webinar was originally recorded on March 2, 2022. For more information about the Zoryan Institute’s educational programming, please visit https://zoryaninstitute.org/.

In this webinar, hosted as part of the Zoryan Institute’s 2020 Genocide and Human Rights Webinar Series, Professor Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira discusses: Indigenous nations in Brazil are facing worsening violations of their human rights such as invasions of their traditional lands which is a fundamental basis of their lives and cultures; fires that destroy biomes caused by invaders; state violence and government proposals that restrict their rights. Is it possible to identify this as a genocidal process? This webinar was originally recorded on November 11, 2020. For more information about the Zoryan Institute’s educational programming, please visit https://zoryaninstitute.org/.

In this webinar, hosted as part of the Zoryan Institute’s 2020 Genocide and Human Rights Webinar Series, Professor Lorena Fontaine discusses the impact of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples in North America, with a focus on the loss of Indigenous languages. She explores how language is deeply tied to identity, culture, and rights, and why its revitalization is essential to reconciliation and justice. Professor Fontaine is Cree-Anishinaabe and a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Canada. She currently serves as the Department Head of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba.This webinar was originally recorded on August 12, 2020. For more information about the Zoryan Institute’s educational programming, please visit https://zoryaninstitute.org/.