This fall ushers in the return of our popular Halton Hills Lecture Series, with three distinctive speakers joining us, either in-person or live via Zoom.

We begin in October, with our first lecture, Relocation of Mississauga of the Credit First Nation in 1847, presented by Darin Wybenga, the Traditional Knowledge, and Land Use Coordinator for Mississauga of the Credit First Nation. Join us to learn how and why the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation moved from River Credit to its current location near Hagersville. Founded in 1825, Mission Village was a highly successful settlement that was seen as a model Indigenous community. Central to its history is Peter Jones, one of the Mississaugas’ Chiefs and a Methodist minister, who had strong ties to both the Indigenous and settler communities. This presentation will explore the history of Mission Village and the need for relocation, the work of Peter Jones, and the establishment of the modern MCFN Reserve. This lecture takes place at the John Elliott Theatre, on Tuesday, October 3 at 7:30 pm. Free tickets are available through the JET box office.

Later in the month, we will “Zoom” in for a live, virtual event, Bernie Saunders in Conversation with Rico Phillips. Bernie Saunders, author and former NHL player, will speak about his book, Shut Out: The Game That Did Not Love Me Black. Saunders grew up with an exceptional passion and talent for hockey, playing at the college-level for Western Michigan University before joining the Quebec Nordiques as a right winger in the National Hockey League. At that time, he was only the fifth Black player in the NHL. Despite these successes, Saunders would eventually leave the game he loved when the racism he experienced from spectators, coaches, and other players became overwhelming. The conversation will be moderated by Rico Phillips, the Director of Cultural Diversity and Inclusion for the Ontario Hockey League and winner of the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. This lecture will be held on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 pm, live on Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to registrants prior to the start of the event. Register to attend through the Events Calendar on our website.

In November, we will engage in a conversation about Safe Sport with Allison Forsyth. Allison is a COO, Partner ITP Sport & Recreation, Olympian, and World Championship bronze medalist skier, who is driven by a passion for changing the system and shifting a culture, motivated by her own sexual abuse victimization in the Canadian Sport System. At age 17 she began competing on the World Cup Circuit of Alpine skiing, a career that lasted 11 years. After retiring due to injury in 2008, she took the experience she gained in elite sport, and started her career in brand, marketing, and corporate communications. Allison Forsyth will be speaking about her work to shift sport culture to the better, including recognizing different forms of maltreatment in sport, minimizing environmental and cultural risks, and raising awareness of the gaps in organizational policies and current training. Join us for this lecture at the John Elliott Theater on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm. Free tickets are available through the John Elliott Theatre box office.

To learn more about each lecture, please visit the Lecture Series website page.