Digging Through the Archives: A Journey of Metis Self-Discovery

Date

November 19, 2017 14:00 - 17:00

Location

Ottawa

Details

Posting on behalf of the Friends of the City of Ottawa Archives

Special Speaker, Jesse Thistle, at FCOA AGM:

“Digging Through the Archives: A Journey of Metis Self-Discovery.”

Jesse Thistle is a road allowance Metis from Saskatchewan. His journey from homeless addict to successful university graduate student has shaped the way he approaches homeless studies, Indigenous history, criminology, social work, and addiction studies. His distinct perspectives were further developed as he participated in a wide range of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research projects as a research assistant and researcher.

Jesse sits as the national representative for Indigenous homelessness in Canada at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. Here, Jesse uses his lived experience as a former homeless addict to bridge policy and practice, academia and the streets, in working with and researching homeless Canadians, especially Indigenous people. He has worked as an interviewer and ghost writer for many homeless consumer survivors, encouraging them to tell their stories and creating ways for researchers to hear homeless voices.