Centre for Ethnography Talk (April 1st - UTSC): "Witnessing Aboriginal Child 'Protection' in Treaty 3 Anishinaabe First Nations"

The Centre for Ethnography at UTSC would like to invite you to its final
talk in its Speaker Series for Winter, 2013.

"Witnessing Aboriginal Child 'Protection' in Treaty 3 Anishinaabe First
Nations"

Krista Maxwell, UTSC Fellow
Monday, April 1, 12-2pm (light lunch will be served)
Centre for Ethnography (Room MW 296), Social Science Building

Abstract
The forced removal of the children of subjugated peoples by agents of the
state is a social and political act which intensifies subjugation by
disrupting or destroying social reproduction. For more than a century,
the Canadian state has authorised the forced removal of indigenous
children from their families and communities. Since the 1950s, the
Anishinaabeg of Treaty Three First Nations have lost thousands of
children, apprehended by child welfare workers in the name of protecting
children's best interests as defined by the state. These Anishinaabeg
have struggled to resist the removal of their children and to recover
those who have been taken, in myriad ways and with varied outcomes. In
this presentation I share some of the accounts of loss and struggle which
have been shared with me during on-going fieldwork, and consider the role
of the anthropologist and the challenges of conducting ethnographic
research in the context of continuing child welfare interventions which
violate Anishinaabeg's sovereignty over their own children.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Girish Daswani
Assistant Professor
Anthropology