Dawn Martin-Hill

Last updated
Dawn Martin-Hill
Professor Dawn Martin-Hill at the Toronto March for Science 2017.jpg
Martin-Hill speaking at the Toronto March for Science in April 2017
Nationality Mohawk people
CitizenshipCanada
EducationPhD (1995) McMaster University, Cultural Anthropology
Occupation(s)Associate Professor, Anthropology & Indigenous Studies
EmployerMcMaster University
ChildrenCody Looking Horse
FamilyWolf Clan
HonoursPaul R. MacPherson Chair in Indigenous Studies, McMaster University

Professor Dawn Martin-Hill (Mohawk, Wolf Clan) holds the Paul R. MacPherson Chair in Indigenous Studies [1] (appointed in 2013) at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Martin-Hill is an associate professor with appointments in the Department of Anthropology and the Indigenous Studies Program. [2] She co-founded the Indigenous Studies Program while she was a student in the 1990s. [3]

Contents

Research

Martin-Hill does research in the area of social-cultural anthropology. Her research focuses on indigenous knowledge and cultural conservation, including language preservation, cultural reclamation and aboriginal spirituality.

Martin-Hill also works on Indigenous women's issues and aboriginal health, including traditional medicine. Her academic work examines Indigenous traditionalism and decolonization, and she has produced several documentary films. She has examined water security, including the lack of access to clean water at her home community, Six Nations of the Grand River. [4]

Documentary films

Martin-Hill has produced several documentaries. The first, "Jidwá:doh - Let’s Become Again" (2005), examines Elders’ understandings of historical trauma and directions for beginning to heal collectively, using Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices. [5] This film was based on an Elder's Summit that Martin-Hill organized, which was attended by over 600 elders and youth from across the Americas. [6] [7]

"Onkwánisteńhsera - Mothers of our Nations" (2006), [8] examines the need for Indigenous women to reclaim, restore and revitalize their traditional knowledge. [9]

The documentary, “Sewatokwa'tshera't: The Dish with One Spoon” (2008), [10] [11] is about the Haudenosaunee reclamation of traditional lands, including the 2006 Caledonia land claims dispute. [12] [13]

Scholarly outreach and public engagement

Martin-Hill actively engages in public outreach, and advocacy for First Nations rights, particularly in areas of access to health and health policy. She brings both Indigenous and higher education academic perspectives to the table. She is frequently interviewed by regional, [14] national [15] and international [16] [17] media on topics ranging from the lack of access to clean water (water security) in First Nations communities [18] to the next steps that should be taken following the release of the Final Report of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's and Girls Inquiry. [19] [20]

In April 2017, she spoke at the Toronto March for Science [21] [22] and in May 2017, she was a plenary speaker at the Researcher's Summit Meeting in Toronto, [23] organized in response to Canada's Fundamental Science Review.

Personal life

Martin-Hill's son is Indigenous youth activist, Cody Looking Horse, who protested at Standing Rock in 2016 against the Dakota Access Pipeline project. [24] Looking Horse is a representative of the Standing Rock Youth Council. [25] She also has a daughter, Makasa Looking Horse, with Chief Arvol Looking Horse. [26]

Awards

Selected publications

Indigenous Knowledge and Power and The Lubicon Lake Nation, University of Toronto Press, 2007 [27]

Related Research Articles

The Muskotew Sakahikan Enowuk or Lubicon Lake Nation is a Cree First Nation in northern Alberta, Canada. They are commonly referred to as the Lubicon Lake Nation, Lubicon Cree, or the Lubicon Lake Cree. This should not be confused with the Lubicon Lake Band #453, which is a separate entity created by the Government of Canada by Order in Council in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand River land dispute</span> Dispute over Indigenous land rights in Canada

The Grand River land dispute, also known as the Caledonia land dispute, is an ongoing dispute between the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Government of Canada. It is focused on land along the length of the Grand River in Ontario known as the Haldimand Tract, a 385,000-hectare (950,000-acre) tract that was granted to Indigenous allies of the British Crown in 1784 to make up for territorial losses suffered as a result of the American Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris (1783). The Six Nations were granted the land in perpetuity and allege that lands were improperly sold, leased or given away by various Canadian governments, leaving only 5 per cent of the original lands under Six Nations control. The Six Nations also allege that monies owed to the Six Nations from leases and loans on much of the tract have not been paid or were redirected into government coffers.

The Pikangikum First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation located on the 1,808-hectare (4,470-acre) Pikangikum 14 Reserve, in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The main centre is the community of Pikangikum, on Pikangikum Lake on the Berens River, part of the Hudson Bay drainage system; it is approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) north of the town of Red Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native Women's Association of Canada</span> Canadian indigenous organization

The Native Women's Association of Canada is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada, inclusive of First Nations on and off reserve, status and non-status, disenfranchised, Métis, and Inuit. An aggregate of Indigenous women's organizations from across the country, NWAC was founded on the collective goal to enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of Indigenous women within their respective communities and Canadian societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christi Belcourt</span> Métis artist, Canada

Christi Marlene Belcourt is a Métis visual artist and author living and working in Canada. She is best known for her acrylic paintings which depict floral patterns inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork art. Belcourt's work often focuses on questions around identity, culture, place and divisions within communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waneek Horn-Miller</span> Canadian water polo player

Waneek Horn-Miller is a Canadian water polo player from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. She was a member of the Canadian women's water polo team that won a gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Horn-Miller also became the first Mohawk woman from Canada to ever compete in the Olympic games. She was named an inductee for Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in the athlete category in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idle No More</span> Grassroots movement for indigenous rights

Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Indigenous supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally. It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide, inspired in part by the liquid diet hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media. A reaction to alleged legislative abuses of Indigenous treaty rights by then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative federal government, the movement takes particular issue with the omnibus bill Bill C-45. The popular movement has included round dances in public places and blockades of rail lines.

Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author and illustrator, known for her work in children's literature centered around the life and cultures of Indigenous Canadians. Flett is best known for her illustrations in books such as Little You, and When We were Alone, as well as for her written work in books such as Birdsong. Many of Flett's books are bilingual, and written in a combination of English, Michif, and Cree, and serve as an introduction to Michif and Cree for English-speaking readers. Flett's works are critically successful and have been awarded the Governor General's Literary Award and the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.

Marion R. Buller, is a First Nations jurist in British Columbia and current chancellor of the University of Victoria. Buller served as the Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls from 2016 to 2019.

Chelsea Vowel, who often writes as âpihtawikosisân, is a Métis writer, professor, and lawyer from near Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta, whose work focuses on language, gender identity, and cultural resurgence. She has been published in the Huffington Post, The National Post, and The Globe and Mail. Co-host of the podcast Métis in Space and runner of the IndigenousXca Twitter account, Vowel has been noted as a "prominent and respected Métis blogger" and "one of the most visible of [the] new generation" of Métis intellectuals.

A Dish With One Spoon, also known as One Dish One Spoon, is a law used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas since at least 1142 CE to describe an agreement for sharing hunting territory among two or more nations. People are all eating out of the single dish, that is, all hunting in the shared territory. One spoon signifies that all Peoples sharing the territory are expected to limit the game they take to leave enough for others, and for the continued abundance and viability of the hunting grounds into the future. Sometimes the Indigenous language word is rendered in English as bowl or kettle rather than dish.

Angela DeMontigny is a native Canadian fashion designer of Cree-Métis heritage. She is known for her use of leather and suede in her clothing and handbags, as well as cultural motifs from her background including fringe, beadwork and cutwork in a style she describes as "indigenous luxury."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Indigenous law</span> Legal customs, and practices of Indigenous peoples in Canada

Indigenous law in Canada refers to the legal traditions, customs, and practices of Indigenous peoples and groups. Canadian aboriginal law is different from Indigenous Law. Canadian Aboriginal law provides certain constitutionally recognized rights to land and traditional practices.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is a climate justice and Indigenous rights advocate from the Lubicon Cree community of Little Buffalo in northern Alberta, Canada. Growing up with firsthand experience of the effects of oil and gas drilling on local communities, she began advocating for an end to resource extraction in Indigenous territories but shifted focus to supporting a renewable energy transition after a ruptured pipeline spilled approximately 4.5 million litres of oil near Little Buffalo in 2011.

Autumn Peltier is an Anishinaabe Indigenous rights advocate from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. She was named Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation in 2019. In 2018, at the age of thirteen, Peltier addressed world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on the issue of water protection.

Hannah Claus is a multidisciplinary visual artist of English and Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) ancestries and is a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation.

Deborah B. McGregor (Anishinaabe) is a Canadian environmentalist. She is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santee Smith</span> Canadian educator

Santee Smith Tekaronhiáhkhwa is a Canadian Mohawk multidisciplinary artist, dancer, designer, producer, and choreographer. She has used her voice and research to create dance works representing Indigenous identities. She is an advocate for Indigenous performances and is one of Canada's most dominating dance artists. Santee Smith has amassed multiple awards throughout her career and in 2019, she was appointed Chancellor of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Loretta Saunders</span> Murder case that spanned the Canadian Maritimes.

Loretta Saunders was an Inuk woman who lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was a St. Mary's University criminology student writing an honors thesis on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. Saunders was last seen on February 13, 2014. She was reported missing on February 17, and her body was found on February 26 near Salisbury, New Brunswick.

Jaime Black is of Anishinaabe and Finnish descent. This Canadian multidisciplinary artist-activist is focused on First Nations and Indigenous representation and identity. She identifies as Métis, an ethnic group native to the three Prairie Provinces as well as parts of Ontario, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories of Canada and the Northern United States, which traces descent to both Indigenous North Americans and Western European settlers. Black is best known for her art installation The REDress Project that she created as a response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis in Canada as well as the United States. A 2014 report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found that more than 1,000 Indigenous women were murdered over the span of 30 years from 1980 to 2012. However, some Indigenous advocacy groups dispute these reports arguing that the number is much greater than the government has acknowledged.

References

  1. "About". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  2. "Indigenous Studies Program". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  3. Pecoskie, Teri (2013-11-16). "Mac toasts 20 years of indigenous studies". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  4. "Anthropology and Indigenous Studies professor, Dawn Martin-Hill, speaks with CBC". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  5. Martin-Hill, Dawn (2008). "Jidwá:doãh -- "Let's Become Again"" (PDF). Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Health. 5: 55–76.
  6. Carter, Carl (June 2004). "Invitation extended to elders and youth: Aboriginal multi-media society of alberta". Windspeaker (Vol 22, Iss. 3, p.19).
  7. "Lock3 - Docs - Jidwadoh". www.lock3media.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  8. "Lock3 - Docs - Mothers of Our Nations". www.lock3media.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  9. 1 2 3 "Martin-Hill Dawn, Associate Professor". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  10. "Lock3 - Docs - Dish With One Spoon". www.lock3media.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  11. Marin-Hill, Dawn; Melnick, Zach; Brothers, Neville; Hill, Cam; Thomas, Ed; Fox, Bear; Akwesasne Womens Singers; Haudenosaunee Confederacy (2008), Sewatokwa'tshera't = The dish with one spoon, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, OCLC   641208856 , retrieved 2020-02-09
  12. Moro, Teviah (2016-03-04). "Natives recall Caledonia tensions 10 years later". GuelphMercury.com. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  13. "10 years after land dispute, Caledonia bracing for building boom". Kitchener. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  14. Noseworthy, Kelly (2016-09-11). "Traditional knowledge and culture are key to improving mental health of Aboriginal youth". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  15. "Is denying drinking water to Indigenous nations an act of genocide?". rabble.ca. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  16. Shimo, Alexandra (2018-10-04). "While Nestlé extracts millions of litres from their land, residents have no drinking water". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  17. Miller, Elizabeth (22 January 2018). "Safe Water Remains Out Of Reach For Canada's First Nations". radio.wosu.org. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  18. "Why so few people on Six Nations reserve have clean running water, unlike their neighbours". CBC Radio. 20 April 2018.
  19. "Hamilton's Native Women's Centre hopes for local action on final MMIWG report". CBC News. 3 June 2019.
  20. Z, Lara (2019-05-29). "Final Report | MMIWG". www.mmiwg-ffada.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  21. "March for Science Toronto". March for Science Toronto. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  22. "Canadians march for science | CMAJ News" . Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  23. "Researcher's Response to Canada's Fundamental Science Review: summary report" (PDF). Canadian Science Policy Centre. 31 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  24. Editor, NFIC. "My Journey at Standing Rock by Cody Looking Horse". Indian Country News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2020-02-09.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  25. "'Our house is on fire': Hundreds of Ryerson students march for climate justice". The Eyeopener. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  26. Smith-Belghaba, Aicha (Dec 16, 2022). "'The world is running out of water,' says water expert from Six Nations, Ont". CBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  27. Martin-Hill, Dawn (2008). The Lubicon Lake Nation . ISBN   978-0-8020-7828-5.