Trick or Treaty: Do the Rights Thing Film Series April 19th
April 6, 2015
Trick or Treaty?
Do the Rights Thing: Standing Up for Human Rights in History
April 19th
2 pm
Free (donations accepted)
Edmonton Public Library, Whitemud Crossing Branch (4211 106 Street NW)
This film was recently shown to great acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival and is directed by Alanis Abamsawin, one of the masters of Canadian cinema. It unpacks the tangled history of the making of Treaty No. 9 in 1905, a treaty with First Nations in Northern Ontario. The claim is made that there is a vast disparity between the written text of the treaty and the various promises which were made to the First Nations' representatives, and which they clearly believed made up part of the agreement to cede their lands and resources. The film is set against the backdrop of a number of recent events - the Idle No More movement and other youth-oriented protests, including one on Parliament Hill in the winter of 2013. Legal, historical and cultural experts are interviewed, as are First Nations descendants of the signatories of the treaty.
Cree Elder and cultural advisor Gary Moostoos will be in attendance and following the showing will relate events in the film to his own experiences and to those of other First Nations peoples in Alberta. A general discussion with an opportunity to ask questions will then take place. Rob Normey, Constitutional and Aboriginal Law counsel, will introduce the film and Gary Moostoos.
This Film Series is held in partnership with Edmonton Public Library.
Youth Forums to Challenge Perspectives on Canadian Identity, Diversity and Community Inclusion
March 10, 2015
March 21st marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and in commemoration of this important date, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights invites young people ages 16-28 to take part in a community conversations to look at issues surrounding diversity and inclusion across the province.
During these full day youth forums, youth will work to break down stereotypes but also build strategic recommendations to present to local elected officials. At the end of the day, youth will present these recommendations to the public and community leaders and engage in further discussion about their community.
During the forum, youth will engage with former child soldier and now Juno nominated recording artist, Emmanuel Jal. Emmanuel Jal was born into the life of a child solider on an unknown date in the early 1980s in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan. Through unbelievable struggles, Emmanuel managed to survive and go on to emerge as a recording artist, achieving worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his personal experiences.
This past year, Jal co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the Warner Brothers motion picture, “THE GOOD LIE” which tells the story about the journey of four young Sudanese refugees (based on The Lost Boys of Sudan). He has also graced the stages in many places including the United Nations’ as well as at Nelson Mandela’s Birthday. He is a young Bob Marley/Nelson Mandela; an artist with messages for peace and change. “I believe I survived for a reason... to tell my story... to touch lives,” says Emmanuel.
There is no cost to attend.
Register for Rocky Mountain House: March 17
Register for Edmonton: March 21
Register for High Prairie: March 23
Register for Cold Lake: March 25
Register for Fort McMurray: March 27
Facilitated by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, and supported by The Department of Canadian Heritage, This Is Our Canada aims to foster a movement of young people in Alberta who are committed to re-shaping Canadian identity and building communities of inclusion, respect and compassion. Youth forums and community potlucks will also be taking place in Rocky Mountain House, High Prairie, Cold Lake and Fort McMurray.
Do the Rights Thing Film Series: A Class Apart (Sun MAR 15)
March 10, 2015
A Class Apart (PBS, 2009). This film explores the dramatic challenge to the discriminatory regime in Texas and other US states which Mexican-Americansm faced. Clearly Mexican Americans were second-class citizens up to the time in 1951 when lawyers forged a daring legal strategy, asserting that Mexican- Americans were a “class apart” from a legal system that recognized only blacks and whites. A number of remarkable and colorful participants, particularly the lead lawyers who took the case all the way to the US Supreme Court for a landmark decision, ensure that the human side of the struggle for equality is center stage in the film.
We will also view an excerpt from the film F.R.Scott: Rhyme and Reason (NFB). This will allow us to look at a famous Canadian case on fundamental rights, Roncarelli v. Duplessis, which worked its way through the courts at the same time as the Hernandez case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the counsel was the famous constitutional scholar, poet and Renaissance man, Frank Scott.
Rob Normey, constitutional lawyer, will compare the two situations and discuss why Scott was indeed in a “class apart” himself, and why a statue of him should be placed near the Supreme Court building in Ottawa. Audience members will have the opportunity to join the discussion.
March 15, 2015
2pm
FREE
Donations accepted
Edmonton Public Library
Whitemud Crossing Branch
4211 106 St NW
RSVP to HRfilms@jhcentre.org
