Indigenous Stories from Indigenous Voices: Spend an Hour with Jesse Wente

Published on: 2022/05/30 - in Releases

RELEASE — Indigenous Peoples know their stories best. Yet for centuries harmful stereotypes, myths, and non-Indigenous “expert” voices have been elevated instead. Together with the Limestone District School Board, the Kingston Frontenac Public Library is hosting Anishinaabe writer, broadcasting personality and arts advocate Jesse Wente for a discussion about narrative sovereignty: the ability for someone, or a community, to tell their own stories rather than being defined by the stories of others.

A long-time CBC Metro Morning columnist who spent over a decade with the Toronto International Film Festival, Wente is well-known in the arts world. He is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Office and Chair of the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts. He is the author of Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance.

His talk with KFPL and LDSB is happening online via Zoom on June 7 from noon to 1 p.m. It will be followed by a moderated Q&A session. Register here .

“It was exciting to work with LDSB to book Jesse for a Kingston audience,” said Jake Miller, Librarian, Adult Programming. “His contributions to the arts, broadcasting, and support for Indigenous creators make him a force! Giving the general public, educators, and students this opportunity will hopefully inspire Indigenous creators and their allies to engage with Indigenous experiences and creations.”

Both KFPL and LDSB are committed to highlighting Indigenous creators, cultures, experiences and perspectives, history, and teachings.

Thank you to the Friends of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library for generously supporting this event.

Interested in future Indigenous programming? Check out upcoming author talks with Sarah Brown-Dunkley and S.P. Joseph Lyons and a beading workshop, Testsi’nehtará:ron, with Flint and Maple’s Liv Rondeau.


Release | image (cropped): Kingston Frontenac Public Library