Day 1: Plenary - Reconciliation and the barriers to an inclusive society

Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, O.B.C. is a Hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation who has dedicated his life to bridging the differences brought about by intolerance, lack of understanding and racism at home and abroad.

As one of the last few speakers of the Kwakwaka’wakw language, Chief Joseph is an eloquent and inspiring Ceremonial House Speaker. He is currently the Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, a member of the National Assembly of First Nations Elders Council and an Honorary Witness to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Kimberly Murray BA, LL.B, IPC

Kimberly Murray is a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation. She is the Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Aboriginal Justice, where she is responsible for overseeing the implementation the First Nations Representation on Ontario Juries Report.

Previously, Kimberly was the executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the executive director of Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto.

Kimberly is the recipient of several awards including the Law Foundation’s Guthrie Award and the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Laura Legge Award. Recently, the Indigenous Bar Association granted Kimberly the Indigenous Peoples Counsel (IPC) designation.

Max FineDay is a citizen of Sweetgrass First Nation and is currently serving as Co-Executive Director of Canadian Roots Exchange, a national non-profit providing Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth with opportunities to engage in reconciliation dialogues, leadership development, and educational initiatives at a local and national level.

His past work has involved youth leadership development, speaking on theories of change making, and increasing accessibility of post-secondary education for traditionally underrepresented communities. For his contributions in these areas Max was recognized as one of the top 40 change makers under 40 in Saskatchewan from CBC Saskatchewan in 2014.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Political Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and has also studied in the Arctic Circle at the University of Nordland in Bodø, Norway.

David MacDonald is a full Professor in the political science department. He has a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Before coming to Guelph, he was Senior Lecturer in Political Studies at Otago University, New Zealand (2002-07), and before that Assistant Visiting Professor at the ESCP Graduate School of Management, Paris, France (1999-2002). He has written three books, co-edited three, and has co-authored a political science textbook with Oxford UP (now in its second edition), in addition to numerous book chapters and peer reviewed journal articles. Much of his writing focuses on comparative Indigenous politics and genocide studies. He currently has a 4 year SSHRCC Insight Grant comparing Indigenous-settler-community of colour relations and models of governance in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. Part of this work is informed by critical race theory.