Workshops and Presentations
Presentations
There are staff with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society available to provide educational presentations and workshops to community groups, schools, post-secondary institutions, and beyond.
Some topics may include:
History & Impacts of Indian Residential Schools in Canada
Cultural Agility Over Competency
Understanding Intergenerational Trauma
For more information or to make a request, please fill out the booking form.
Please be aware that we are currently experiencing a high volume of support requests. As a result, our response times may be impacted. Rest assured, we are working diligently to address all inquiries as promptly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this period - thank you.
Workshops
In addition to providing emotional and cultural support to First Nations communities, the Indian Residential School Survivors Society offers workshops and presentations to the community, non-profit groups, businesses, grade schools, universities and other organizations which want to learn from some of our knowledgeable support workers and elders. We are flexible in the length of time and content for these sessions, but we recommend approximately 90 minutes for each presentation.
These can be conducted online (via MS Teams, Zoom, etc.) or in-person (schedule permitting, and limited to the province of BC). Staff can speak on subject matter like: the History and Impacts of Indian Residential Schools in Canada, the Idea of Cultural Agility Over Competency, and Understanding Intergenerational Trauma. These topics can potentially be combined with first-hand testimony from a survivor of Indian Residential School or an intergenerational survivor, schedule permitting.
All sessions cover emotionally-sensitive material but are powerful and informative.
Please submit requests for presentations and workshops at least two weeks in advance — four weeks in advance please for requests set during the month of September, if possible.
These speaker sessions provided by the Indian Residential School Survivors Society are free of charge.
IRSSS does accept donations — please make cheques payable to the 'Indian Residential School Survivors Society' please.
These donations go towards supporting the work of Elders and the Cultural Support program, as well as travel expenses to provide support to remote communities that are unable to normally afford these requests.
Please note there are a limited number of staff available for presentations. Please provide advanced notice, thorough details and timelines for requests so we may provide an appropriate assessment. This could include requesting details like abstracts, photos, biographies, slide deck presentations, contracts, planning meetings, and so on.
Regarding cancellations, hosting organizations will be asked to provide two weeks notice and cover travel expenses. If a cancellation is made within two weeks leading up to an event, the hosting organization must provide a full reimbursement including speakers fees that would have been given to elders or staff by the IRSSS.