A number of scholars are in Southampton today for a symposium on indigenous border issues.
The main concentration focuses on indigenous people who live in close proximity to the Canada/US border.
The Historic Saugeen Metis are hosting the Centre for the Study of Indigenous Border Issues “2012 symposium,” at the Walker House in Southampton.
Patsy McArthur of the Historic Saugeen Metis in Southampton says they will discuss how the imposition of the border through the heart of their homeland affected them historically, and present day.
McArthur says the group of academics from Ontario and Michigan get together once a year.
This year Phil Bellfy from Michigan State University will discuss “Sugar Island, Neebish Island and the Imagined Border through the Upper St. Mary’s River.”
York University’s Dr. David McNab’s topic is “Borders of Knowledge: Other Visions of Homeland Security Through the Great Lakes.”
McArthur says those two speakers kick off the symposium at around 9AM.
The main speaker is York University Professor James Laxer.
Laxer’s topic is “Tecumseh’s Vision of Peoples and Borders” A guide to the 21’st Century.”
The Symposium runs at the Walker House in Southampton from 9 AM to 4 PM.
