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UNB honours Gwen Bear at memorial lecture

Author: Communications

Posted on Nov 7, 2012

Category: UNB Fredericton

The Gwen Bear Memorial Lecture will take place on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in Room 143, Marshall d'Avray Hall, UNB Fredericton.

This lecture is the second event of the Wolastoqiyik / Mi’kmaq Speaker Series “Welcome to Our Talking Circle”, which aims to bring Wolaqtoqi and Mi’kmaq First Nations speakers, stories and perspectives to UNB.

The Gwen Bear Memorial Lecture: Grandmother Teachings aims to honour the life and work of this remarkable woman by celebrating Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq culture, spirituality and language. Imelda Perley, MMI’s Elder in residence and Gwen’s life-long friend, will host and serve as the keynote speaker for this event. She will be joined by Elder George Paul, Ron Tremblay, members of Gwen’s family, and several Aboriginal Artists who will speak about the influence of Gwen in their lives and the work she did to promote First Nations’ languages and culture through art.  

This is a free, public event and following the presentation will be a reception with traditional foods.

(Mary) Gwen Bear was the first Elder in residence at UNB. She took up this position in Fall 2009, and was dedicated to MMI (as she was all things in her life) until her sudden passing on Jan. 23, 2012. Her death shook the MMI and UNB community, as it did many other communities and organizations around New Brunswick, and the Gwen Bear Memorial Lecture is MMI's way of honouring this remarkable woman and her vast contributions to our province.

MMI works as an equal partner with Wolastoqi and Mi’kmaq First Nation educators in research, policy, administration, and the development of programs that meet educational needs as defined by First Nations communities.

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