In partnership with Northumberland County, the Municipality of Port Hope is hosting ‘Inspiring Change,’ an evening of education and culture in observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation this Saturday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre.
Attendees will experience a free, live-guided virtual tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, with a focus on the Truth and Reconciliation exhibit.
Following the virtual tour, Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky will host special guest Jeannette Corbiere Lavell in conversation and reflection. Ms. Corbiere Lavell is an educator and lifelong advocate for Indigenous women's rights. In 1970, she lost her status under the Indian Act when she married a non-Indigenous man. Noting that the same did not apply to Indigenous men, she challenged the Indian Act at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ms. Corbiere Lavell will recount how her actions served as a catalyst for activism on the issue of gender discrimination against Indigenous women. Ms. Corbiere Lavell will be joined by her daughter, Dr. Dawn Lavell Harvard, who has worked to advance the rights of Aboriginal women as the President of the Ontario Native Women's Association since 2003. Dr. Lavell Harvard is Director of the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University.
Mayor Hankivsky hopes the event will provide an opportunity for Port Hope citizens and all residents of Northumberland County to think differently about Truth and Reconciliation and be inspired to learn more.
