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This week we had the pleasure of hosting Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), for an online presentation and Q&A with students. After talking about the history of Canadian indigenous rights and the future of indigenous rights as a whole, National Chief Bellegarde fielded questions for nearly 45 minutes on a variety of topics. Students were able to learn about how the pandemic has affected indigenous communities, the indigenous role in combating climate change and a variety of other topics that provided a new outlook on the post-pandemic world.
National Chief Bellegarde has emerged in the past decade as one of Canada’s most recognizable and respected political figures and has played a large role recently in the movement towards the expansion of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). His perspective was incredibly interesting and valuable for the students. Many Global Politics students paid close attention and intend on using what they have learned in academic life, and have event expressed interest in getting more involved in indigenous rights in their own countries.
We are incredibly grateful to National Chief Bellegarde for taking the time out of his day to speak to us and hope to learn more from the AFN in future.
By Thomas Baxter (Canada, UWCD'21)