Ryerson University is presenting a wide range of events over the course of Congress 2017, ranging from interdisciplinary lectures, to cultural programming, and more. These diverse community events are intended to compliment Congress 2017 and showcase the thought leadership and vitality of Ryerson University’s downtown campus. For a full list of upcoming events please visit Ryerson Programming.
For example, celebrating the Congress 2017 theme “The Next 150, On Indigenous Lands,” Ryerson University is pleased to present “Freedom Sings: Land/Bodies/Resurgence” by Leanne Simpson.
Simpson, an award-winning Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer, academic and First Nations activist, is one of the most influential and compelling Indigenous voices of her generation.
Through story, song and video, Simpson will explore Indigenous nationhood and resurgence. Sharing works from her recent album f(l)ight (RPM Records), her new book of short stories This Accident of Being Lost (House of Anansi) and her forthcoming academic work on The Radical Resurgence Project (UMP Press), Simpson is sure to provide a provocative, poetic and crucial window into Canada’s colonial practices and how Indigenous communities continue to grow.
“Leanne is a gifted writer who brings passion and commitment to her storytelling and who has demonstrated an uncommon ability to manage an impressive range of genres from traditional storytelling to critical analysis, from poetry to the spoken word, from literary and social activism to song-writing. She is, in my opinion, one of the more articulate and engaged voices of her generation.” — Thomas King
Accomplished, insightful and outspoken, Simpson is an exciting choice to kick off a series of special events being hosted by Ryerson University over the course of Congress 2017.
“Freedom Sings: Land/Bodies/Resurgence” by Leanne Simpson
Sunday, May 28th from 3 to 4 p.m.
ENG 103, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Ryerson University
245 Church St., Toronto
Free Admission
About Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a band member of Alderville First Nation. She is the author of four books, including This Accident of Being Lost, Islands of Decolonial Love, and Dancing on Our Turtle's Back, and she is the editor of three anthologies. Leanne is a faculty member at the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning in Denendeh, Northwest Territories, and has lectured at a number of universities across Canada and the United States. She holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba and was the winner of the Native American Indigenous Studies Association’s Best Paper Award for “Land as Pedagogy” in 2014. As a writer, Leanne was named the inaugural RBC Charles Taylor Emerging writer by Thomas King, and she has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards. Leanne’s new album, f(l)ight, is a haunting collection of story-songs that effortlessly interweave Simpson’s complex poetics and multi-layered stories of the land, spirit, and body with lush acoustic and electronic arrangements. Recorded and produced by an acclaimed cast of Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians, f(l)ight and was released in the fall on RPM Records.