The UPEI Multidisciplinary Graduate Research Conference (UMGRC) is happy to announce that Rebecca Thomas, Indigenous Poet and Scholar, will be coming to UPEI on August 12 for a keynote presentation.

Where: MacDougall Hall room 242
When: August 12, 9-10 am
Title: Do you see what I see? Can you? Contemporary world-view and perspective through the eyes of an Indigenous poet and scholar.

Speaker Bio: Rebecca Thomas is a Mi'kmaw woman living in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of a residential school survivor whose family is rooted in Lennox Island First Nation, Prince Edward Island. Rebecca is outspoken when it comes to confronting Aboriginal stereotypes, as well as educating her colleagues and the general public about cultural safety and integrity. Through her work as coordinator for Aboriginal Student Services at the Nova Scotia Community College, and also as a Slam Poet, Rebecca encourages people to think before they speak. Having Captained the Nova Scotia Slam poetry team for the third year in a row she was able to bring her voice, along with three other Nova Scotians, to the national stage. Having been named HRM's most recent Poet Laureate, most of her work focuses on the relationships between Canada's First Peoples, their relationship with the federal government, and how First Nations' people are perceived publicly. Rebecca is on a life long journey to promote understanding and empathy for Indigenous people and marginalized communities.

Questions and comments can be sent to Brittany Jakubiec at gsa@upei.ca