TIISC 2026 Day 1 – Sunday, May 24

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Registration & Check-in (Doors Open)

Fed Hall Lobby

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Opening Address

Fed Hall Main Hall

• Sara General-Deer, Mohawk/Turtle Clan from Six Nations, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies at United Colleges of the University of Waterloo
• Kevin George, Associate Director, Library Indigenous Initiatives, Cree/Potawatomi, Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
• John Lewis, Interim Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Relations

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM | Plenary session: Protect the Tract

Fed Hall Main Hall

2:50 PM - 3:30 PM | Concurrent Sessions A

Indigenous Futures

Westmount Boardroom, Fed Hall

From Indigenous Brilliance to Indigenous Innovation: Practice as Method in K–12 STEM Systems

Mervi Maarit Salo, University of Saskatchewan and University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway

Knowledge Sovereignty and Research Ethics

Fed Hall Main Hall

Redefining Research: Indigenous Methodologies as Transformative Knowledge Production

Katie L. Kamelamela; Natahnee Winder; Nicholas Reo

Revitalizing Traditional Knowledge

Columbia A&B Room, Fed Hall 

On Indigenous Food, Medicine, and Allyship: Working with Indigenous Knowledges and Knowledge Keepers Towards Healing

Dr. Vincent Ziffle 

Use of Traditional Knowledge in Teaching Science and Mathematics: A Holistic Approach

Dr. Arzu Sardarli 

3:40 PM - 4:45 PM | Conference Keynote: Janna Wale

Fed Hall Main Hall

4:45 PM - 5:00 PM | Day 1 Closing Remarks

Fed Hall Main Hall

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM | Dinner Break