IPAC-U: Reconciliation in Context (Matthew Wildcat)

While Indigenous politics has always been fundamental to Canada, reconciliation has held a gravitational pull on Canadian political consciousness like few, if any, other moments in Indigenous-Canadian relations. This talk will explore what has brought us to this moment and offer an analysis that asks us to pivot away from a moralizing assessment of reconciliation toward a perspective that views reconciliation in context. The talk will conclude by suggesting that a great deal of Indigenous institution-building still has to occur and suggests a method for pursuing this task, which I call “relational governance.” Relational governance asks Indigenous peoples and willing partners to envision how we create new institutions that locate responsibility within relational webs based on Indigenous ethics.

Matthew Wildcat is an instructor in Political Science and Native Studies at the University of Alberta. He is currently completing his PhD in Political Science at the University of British Columbia. He is Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) and grew up in Maskwacis and is a member of Ermineskin Cree Nation. He is a research fellow with the Yellowhead Institute, a Indigenous lead research body that provides policy and governance support. Wildcat is a co-lead of the Prairie Indigenous Philosophy project.  He was also the Director of Communications and a Senior Advisor on Governance to the Maskwacis Education Schools Commission from 2016-2018.

PLEASE NOTE: Registrants must obtain a visitors pass from Central Reception (ground floor, ATB Place North Tower) to access this event.