From the WIA website:
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Join us Wednesday, September 17th, for a special presentation and dialogue session.
We are honoured to welcome Ginger Gosnell-Myers and Kamala Todd, leading voices in Indigenous urban policy and planning. Drawing on extensive experience, Ginger and Kamala have transformed how cities engage with Indigenous rights, knowledge, and reconciliation. This session will explore how colonial systems have shaped the built environment, architectural practices, and how decolonial approaches, rooted in Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and protocols can lead to more just and informed design.
The event will feature a brief presentation followed by a dialogue session focused on lived experience, engagement practices, and systemic change in policy and design. Presenters are:
Ginger Gosnell-Myers: From the Nisga’a and Kwakwak’awakw First Nations, Ginger is a recognized thought leader advancing Indigenous rights, knowledge, and reconciliation through urban policy and planning. With over 20 years of experience, she transforms public and institutional processes to meaningfully centre Indigenous knowledge - moving beyond tokenism to systemic change. As Vancouver’s first Indigenous Relations Manager, she led the city’s emergence as the world’s first City of Reconciliation. Her award-winning work includes leading the Environics Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study, which influenced national policy and public opinion. She is the first Indigenous Fellow at SFU’s Centre for Dialogue, focusing on Decolonization and Urban Indigenous Policy and Planning. A published writer, TEDx speaker, and frequent media commentator on BC politics, Ginger has been named one of BC’s most influential business leaders and one of Vancouver’s most powerful people. She chairs Greenpeace Canada’s Board and continues to embed Indigenous worldviews into planning, policy, and placemaking.
Kamala Todd is a Métis-Cree mother, Indigenous planner, filmmaker, curator, and educator born and raised in the beautiful lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Skwxwú7mesh-speaking people, aka Vancouver. She has a Master’s degree in urban Geography from UBC and she is Associate Professor of Professional Practice at SFU Urban Studies. Kamala was the City of Vancouver’s first Aboriginal Social Planner and first Indigenous Arts and Culture Planner. She was proud to be part of the team who created the Vancouver UNDRIP Strategy in 2022. Kamala's media production company is Indigenous City Media and some of her film credits include Indigenous Plant Diva, Cedar and Bamboo, and RELAW: Living Indigenous Laws. She is the author of the Vancouver Park Board's seminal report, Truth-Telling: Indigenous perspectives on working with municipal governments and other works dedicated to healing and transforming how we live in the city.
Anticipated Schedule:
6:00 PM – 6:25 PM | Food & Drinks
6:25 PM – 6:30 PM | WIA Introduction
6:30 PM – 7:20 PM | Presentations
7:20 PM – 7:40 PM | Q&A
7:40 PM – 7:45 PM | Closing Remarks
7:45 PM – 8:15 PM | Social & Networking
Please be sure to arrive by 6:25PM before presentations start.
When: September 17, 2025, 6-8PM
Where: Acton Ostry Architects 111 E 8 Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5T 1R8.
AIBC Learning Unit: Approved for 1 Core Indigenous Peoples Learning LU
Admission:
$10 Entrance fee In-Person
$5 Entrance fee Online
We kindly ask for solid commitments upon registration. If you register and can no longer attend, please let us know so we can reallocate your spot. Please note that refund requests within 48 hours of the event will not be accommodated.
Tickets here.