Public Presentations - 2017 Archive

  • September 27, 2017: Quinn Barabash - "Using Social media to Establish the Value of a Fish Based Economy in Northern BC"
    A look into the value of Northern BC's fish economy. How is this value established and what is the role of social media? Other potential topics include "Don't give away my secret spot - Criticism of Social Media", and "Youtube and the Skeena",  among others.
    • YouTube Archive Unavailable
  • October 25, 2017: Maureen Atkinson - "Northern Voices of the Great War"
    War and trauma are perhaps best remembered by those who lived in those moments. The stone memorial cairns remain but it is through the voices of those who lived in the time period who can tell us the great costs of the war, even in a region far removed from the Front. Using audio recordings, written memories and other primary documents, historian Maureen L. Atkinson will bring these voices to light.
    • YouTube Archive Unavailable
  • November 29, 2017: Greg Knox - "Skeena Salmon & Climate Change – Adapting to an Uncertain Future"
    This talk will look at what impacts we are already seeing and experiencing in the Skeena watershed. It will also explore the changing conditions in our coastal waters and the North Pacific that have a large impact on how many fish return each year. The Skeena and its people are well positioned to adapt to these changes - a discussion on what we might see in future years and how we can adapt and give our fish the best possible chance to thrive into the future will be a key focus of the presentation.

  • January 11, 2017: Adam Perry - “Cultural Identity Expressed in Regional Housing: A Case Study from South Africa”
    Constructing similarly styled (vernacular) houses can offer members of a community a supportive reminder to the reasons why architectural features persist and remain practical. In a context of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, settlements are constructed in a manner in which their duration moderates expression for gathering, cooperation, ritual and culture. I describe the material culture of homes among residents who identify as Xhosa. I infer that forms of regional housing reflect forms of resistance to structural inequity in a changing South African society.
  • January 18, 2017: Judy Thompson - “Tahltan Language Revitalization”
    In August 2012, Edōsdi defended her doctoral dissertation, Hedekeyeh Hots’ih Kāhidi – “Our Ancestors Are In Us”: Strengthening Our Voices Through Language Revitalization From A Tahltan Worldview. Her dissertation employed a Tahltan research paradigm and spoke to the ways in which the voices of her people can gain strength and healing through the revitalization of their Tahltan language. Upon the completion of her doctoral degree, Edōsdi was hired by the Tahltan Nation to take on the position of Tahltan Language and Culture Lead. Her doctoral research guided the development of a language governance structure and a language revitalization plan, which focuses on programming, documentation, and training and professional development. This 64-min documentary, Dah Dẕahge Nodes̱idē - “We Are Speaking Our Language Again”, focuses on the language revitalization work that the Tahltan Nation has been carrying out since 2012.
  • January 25, 2017: Rob Bryce – “A Visual Skeena River Historic Journey!”
    Much of the history of Northwest BC from Hazelton to Prince Rupert is focused along the banks of the Skeena River. This visual presentation will highlight the many features along this corridor and focus on those which still remain today and why they are significant.
  • February 8, 2017: Laurent Janssen - "Avalanche Phenomena"
    Learn the basics of avalanche phenomena. Appreciate the complexity of avalanche forecasting! We will explore the life cycle of a snowflake.
  • February 22, 2017: Carol Harrison - "Prince Rupert's Miller Bay Indian Hospital"
    Miller Bay Hospital, just a few miles from Prince Rupert, was one of a string of "Indian" hospitals across Canada, initially opened for the treatment of tuberculosis patients from the indigenous population. It opened in 1946 and did not completely close until 1971. During those years many people spent their childhoods or young adulthoods there as patients; countless others worked there in all capacities, from dishwashers to medical directors. Miller Bay is now in ruins, largely overgrown and disappearing into the landscape, but its legacy remains and should not be forgotten.
  • March 8, 2017: Charity Peal - "Aboriginal Education"
    Aboriginal education has always been . . . it has always existed. First Nations students live and walk in many worlds. My educational experiences have allowed me to know and learn alongside many different and diverse people. What is Aboriginal Education?
  • March 22, 2017: Debra Stokes - "Can Large Resource Developments Contribute to Sustainability in First Nations Communities?”
    Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal projects have been proposed in northwest B.C. These large developments are similar to mining developments in resource-dependent towns, where communities experience boom and bust dynamics associated with both benefits and impacts occurring during different project phases. Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to large resource-development projects, as many are in poverty and their education and employment rates are lower than non-indigenous populations. The purpose of this study is to investigate how benefits from large resource developments can be enhanced so that indigenous communities can sustainably develop and improve their overall standard of living.
    • YouTube Archive Unavailable
  • April 5, 2017: David Bowering & Greg Knox - “Sulphur Dioxide Pollution: Health Impacts and Mitigation Options”
    We will critically review the process leading to Rio Tinto being permitted to significantly increase SO2 emissions from its Kitimat smelter and ask whether the process adequately protects the health of people in the Kitimat/Terrace airshed.
    We will then review the technical options for reducing sulphur dioxide emissions. Detailed options were researched by Rio Tinto prior to receiving a permit to increase SO2 levels from 27 to 42 tonnes per day. Drawing on Rio Tinto’s own expertise, the literature, and examples of other smelters, the viability of different technologies to reduce pollution will be reviewed, including their effectiveness, environmental impacts, and costs.
  • May 2, 2017: Elee Kraljii Gardiner - “Readings from ‘Serpentine Loop’”
    Writers, like skaters, score the blank sheet and test the edge of inclusion and exclusion. Most of these poems begin with a word from skating and push off to another topic. Others revisit ideas of femininity, control, and language as pattern, or visit the past through movement, or enact principles from the rink such as symmetry, joy, endurance, crescendo and accent, revolution, response.
    The blade melts ice via friction and pressure. Even though the author drifted away from skating, the language was imprinted in her -- a tracing, a line extending beyond the margins.
    These are engaging and poignant poems about life on and off the ice.