The three Americas, where our dreams are born and flow

Conferences
27 May 2021

This activity will take place on Thursday, May 27th at 12:00 pm (EDT).

This conference considers the three Americas from an indigenous perspective in relation to the current issues of circulation of the living arts. Let us discover different conceptions of Mother Earth's territories, of those who try to be in osmosis with the ecosystems vital to their survival. The challenges of the transmission of human expression persist, both locally and abroad, even as ancestral traditions confront new technologies. To be heard and to unite throughout the world deserves to be reflected upon together.

Guy Sioui Durand - Photo by Ivan Binet.
Conchi León - Photo by Jason Buff.
Vandria Borari - Photo by apoenaphotos.
André Dudemaine - Photo by Mario Faubert.

Moderator
Charles Bender

Since his Gémeaux nomination for hosting the young adult show, C’est parti mon tipi, Charles has become a regular presence on Aboriginal People’s Television Network. He is the lead of Sioui-Bacon and the host of Sans reserve a new talk show on APTN french. On screen, he has appeared in a variety of productions, both in English and in French, such as Eaux Turbulentes (Blik TV and KO TV) and Being Human (Muse Productions). He was also the host of the four-part documentary series, Le 8e feu (8th Fire), a series tackling a variety of contemporary First-Nation issues, produced and aired by Radio-Canada. On stage, he has worked with a variety of politically and social active theatre companies such as Teesrie Duniya, Tableau d’Hote and Ondinnok. He is co artistic director of Productions Menuentakuan, a company that strives to produce engaging theater that facilitates a more meaningful relationship between Quebec First-Nations and the varied cultural diversity communities of the province. He also sits on the board of directors for many organizations that promote aboriginal culture.

Speakers
Guy Sioui Durand Sociologist (Ph.D) and commissioner of Aboriginal art

Guy Sioui Durand is a Wendat (Huron) sociologist (Ph.D.) and art critic specializing in Kanata' and Kébeq Aboriginal performing arts. A renowned performer and speaker, he creates "harangues". As an independent commissioner, he has orchestrated more than twenty community and inter-national events and exhibitions, including the Inter Nations Gathering of Aboriginal Performance Art (IGAAP) in 2018 in Wendake and Quebec City, and the exhibition De tabac et de foin d'odeur, Là où sont nos rêves at the Joliette Museum of Art in 2019.

Conchi León Director, Actor, Playwright

Member of the National System of Art Creators of Mexico. As an actress, she has participated in more than sixty works under the direction of renowned directors. Her work is published by publishers in Mexico, Spain and Argentina. She has been awarded by national and international institutions. "Mestiza Power", from her authorship, is part of the didactic anthology of Mexican theater and in 2011 she receives a recognition from the government of the state of Yucatan, for its five hundred performances. Her theater has been presented in important forums and festivals in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Germany and the United States. In 2011, she received recognition from the Human Rights Commission of Yucatan for his social work through theater.

Vandria Borari Indigenous activist, bachelor of law, communicator and ceramist

Vandria Borari, an indigenous woman from the Borari Alter do Chão Indigenous Land, in the Baixo-Tapajós region, western Pará, Amazonia. Vandria is the first indigenous woman to hold a bachelor's degree in law in the Baixo-Tapajós region, western Pará. She is a legal advisor to the Maparajuba Collective of People's Lawyers, a group of people's lawyers active in the Amazon who fight to defend the rights of the forest and water peoples of the Tapajós region. She is part of the musical group of indigenous women "As karuanas", women who through their art sing in defence of the rivers and the forest. She carries the ancestral knowledge of her people in the making of Tapajonic ceramics, a tradition of clay that has been maintained for thousands of years in Amazonia. Ceramista is active in the defence of human rights, especially the rights of indigenous peoples and the protection of the Amazon. In 2019 she has visited Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and Germany denouncing human rights violations in the Amazon and the deforestation of the forest. Also, at the UN (Switzerland) she participated in the Global Campaign of the 5th UN Session for a binding treaty on transnational corporations and human rights. She is the general organizer of the Indigenous Art Exhibition of Tapajós, which in the indigenous language means "MUKAMEESAWA TAPAJOWARA KITIWARA", the largest exhibition of indigenous art in Brazil.

André Dudemaine Director International First Peoples Festival

André Dudemaine (Innu) became known as a director and cultural animator in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (1974-1976) by producing television programs broadcast on the Radio-Québec network (1977-1984). Co-founder and president of the Semaine de cinéma régional (1975), starting point of the future Festival International d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Director of Abijévis, a short film selected at the Belfort Festival (1986), he assists Arthur Lamothe for L'écho des songes (1986-1988). Editor-in-chief of the magazine Terres en vues (1993-1995). At Concordia University, he was in charge of the First Nations and Film course (2000-2001). On behalf of Land InSights, of which he is Director of Cultural Activities, he has accepted: Mishtapew Awards from the First Peoples' Business Association (2001, 2002 and 2003); and the Jacques-Couture Award for Intercultural Rapprochement (2002) for the Tercentenary of the Great Peace of Montreal of 1701. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Montreal (2017) and still directs the First Peoples' Festival.