Indigenous Research Connections

Description of Talk: Amid ongoing colonial violence over land and jurisdiction and intensifying ecological and climate crises, there is an urgent need to understand Indigenous law on its own terms rather than through colonial legal concepts. Central to this task is recognizing the role of Indigenous temporalities in shaping legal orders, governance systems, and relationships with land. Temporal justice provides a framework for challenging colonial power relations and supporting the resurgence of temporalities integral to Anishinaabe Natural law and Clan governance. Drawing on her work with Nimkii Binesi Zaswaaning, an Anishinaabe Round House, Dr. Golkar-Dakin will explore how moon calendars support this resurgence and the enactment of Indigenous law and governance through land-use planning, ecological stewardship, and traditional harvesting practices.

Speaker Biography: Sâkihitowin Awâsis (Dr. Cortney Golkar-Dakin) is an Anishinaabe-Métis geographer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and the Indigenous Studies Program at Western University. Her research focuses on Indigenous energy justice, legal resurgence, impact assessment, traditional land use, and decolonial methodologies.