VIU's sixth annual Indigenous Speakers Series keynote presentation and discussion
VIU's Indigenous Speakers Series is a partnership with CBC Radio's Ideas. Our 2020 featured speaker, Jesse Wente, is an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, speaker and arts leader.
Born and raised in Toronto, Wente is a member of the Serpent River First Nation. Wente is best known for his 24 years as a columnist for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. Wente spent 11 years with the Toronto International Film Festival, the last seven of which as the director of film programs at TIFF’s Bell Lightbox. As an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights and First Nations, Metis and Inuit art, he has spoken at numerous high-profile events, including the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Canadian Arts Summit. He was recently appointed as Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts – the only First Nations person to ever hold that position.
