MARCH 21, 2022 - International Solidarity between Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples of Formosa (Taiwan) and on Turtle Island (North America) have faced similar tragedies of violence, displacement, and genocide. In both places, Indigenous Peoples affirm sovereignty and claim rights to self-determination in a neo-liberal context that includes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. There is much to learn from each other, and there is great value in both international solidarity and academic research across borders. In fact, the Indigenous Peoples of these two places have a long history of meetings at the United Nations, in international church networks, and in academia. Canada, like Aotearoa (New Zealand), even has a history of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Taiwan on Indigenous affairs. Taiwan has nearly 600,000 Indigenous people in 16 state-recognized Indigenous nations.

uOttawa has MOUs with both National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) and National Chengchi University (NCCU) for education and research; with Indigenous rights as a priority area. Due to pandemic travel restrictions, we cannot meet in person, but we are meeting online on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to discuss current human rights issues and our dreams and visions for sovereignty and self-determination in the post-COVID world.

Monday, March 21, 2022
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. (Ottawa)
8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Taiwan)

ONLINE | ZOOM Webinar

Event in English. | Free and open to all.

About the Speakers

• Awi Mona | Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Institute of Financial and Economic Law, NDHU, Taiwan
• Yi-shiuan Yayut Chen | Assistant Professor, Master's Program of Land Policy and Environmental Planning for Indigenous Peoples, NCCU, Taiwan
• Claudette Commanda | Special Advisor to the Dean on Reconciliation, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, uOttawa
• Jolan Hsieh (Bavaragh Dagalomai) | Professor and Director, Center for International Indigenous Affairs, College of Indigenous Studies, NDHU, Taiwan
• Ghislain Otis | Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section & Canada Research Chair on Legal Diversity and Indigenous Peoples, uOttawa
• Chinwen Wu | Associate Professor, College of Law, NCCU, Taiwan

The panel will be moderated by Scott Simon, Full Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences & Co-Holder of the Taiwan Studies Research Chair, uOttawa.