We are living in a golden era of Indigenous literary expression, as authors from many nations and traditions craft compelling, surprising and inventive stories that subvert and transform genre. But often, reading Indigenous authors is treated as a duty and obligation rather than a pleasure, bypassing the authors' intentions, relationships and literary influences. In this conversation, Indigenous scholars and educators Daniel Heath Justice and Joaquin Munoz will discuss their pedagogical and personal approaches to Indigenous literatures and the pursuit of stories that can shift reality for Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers alike
Location: Room C440
Sponsored by Pace Accounting and the Metro Vancouver Regional Cultural Grant
Type: In Conversation, Non-Fiction, Guest Indigenous Curator Michelle Cyca Programming
Moderator: Indigenous Curator Michelle Cyca
Readers: Joaquin Muñoz | Daniel Heath Justice, Our Fire Survives the Storm (UBC Press)
About The Moderator
Michelle Cyca
Michelle is a journalist and essayist living on the unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations in what is recently called Vancouver. She is an editor with The Narwhal and a contributing writer to The Walrus. Her writing can often be found in Maclean's, Chatelaine, The Tyee and The Globe & Mail. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief and co-publisher of SAD Mag. Her feature story, The Curious Case of Gina Adams, received a National Magazine Award in 2023 for investigative journalism, and was published in April 2024 as a limited-edition hardcover. She's a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6, Saskatchewan.
About The Readers
Joaquin Muñoz
Joaquin Muñoz grew up on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation in Arizona, where he learned early on about the complicated issues of race, culture, history, and oppression. Dr. Muñoz is currently an assistant professor of Indigenous Education at the University of British Columbia, where his research focuses on Indigenous Education and teacher education, supporting teachers to be effective when working with diverse Indigenous populations, through cultural awareness, critical pedagogy practices, and culturally relevant pedagogy. Dr. Muñoz has spent the last 19 years in education, developing practices that connect Indigenous Circle Work, Theatre of the Oppressed, as well as various forms of art, dialogue and literacy tools.
Daniel Heath Justice
Daniel Heath Justice is a Colorado-born enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation/ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ and a Spears, Foreman, Riley, and Shields citizen descendant. A scholar, editor, essayist, and fiction writer, he works on unceded Musqueam territory at the University of British Columbia, where he is Full Professor and UBC Distinguished University Scholar in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the Department of English Language and Literatures. His research extends from Indigenous literary expression to Indigiqueer studies and belonging, Cherokee allotment history and literature, to literary considerations of other-than-human kinship, Indigenous wonderworks, and animal studies. He is currently working on a young-adult fantasy novel and an updated 20th-anniversary edition of his first book on Cherokee literature.
