SACKVILLE, NB — The long-standing President’s Speakers Series is returning to Mount Allison University this year. Elder William Nevin will deliver the first talk, titled Then and Now, on Wednesday, Sept. 29 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall, 37 York Street, Sackville. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for attendees.

Nevin is a Mi’kmaw Ceremonial Elder of Elsipogtog First Nation. Originally of Sipekne’katik First Nation, he is a cultural counsellor, a Sundance Chief, Traditional Ceremonial Elder, a mentor, and knowledge keeper.  

“We are honoured to have Elder William Nevin deliver the first talk in the President’s Speakers Series,” says Mount Allison University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jean-Paul Boudreau. “This year’s series, with the theme, Moving Forward, Together, follows a year away from many on-campus activities due to the pandemic and helps illustrate the kind of inclusive and welcoming University community we seek to embody at Mount Allison.”

Elder Nevin authored the book Spiritual Journey and the Sundance and co-authored Collateral Damage and Collateral Healing in Our American Indian Communities: What Needs to Occur and When to Begin. He was featured in the NFB film The Sacred Sundance - The transfer of a ceremony.   

Dr. Jennifer Tomes, Mount Allison’s interim Dean of Science, is chair of the PSS 2021-22 Committee, made up for students, faculty, and staff members.

“Earlier this summer, the President’s Speakers Series committee asked the Mount Allison community to send us recommendations about who we should ask to participate in the PSS this year,” says Tomes. “Elder Nevin’s name was suggested repeatedly and enthusiastically. I am thrilled that he has agreed to share his knowledge with us as the first speaker in our series and I am looking forward to his talk.”

Elder Nevin has been instrumental in bringing back the sacred Sundance ceremony to the Mi’kmaw people. He is currently the Sundance Chief of the White Eagle Sundance and works as a drug and alcohol counsellor with the Lone Eagle Treatment Centre at Elsipogtog First Nation.

The annual President’s Speakers Series at Mount Allison University brings noted speakers from across Canada and around the globe to campus to address issues of current interest or importance.

The 2021-22 series, Moving Forward, Together, will see speakers from a number of areas and fields of expertise. Presentations will be held both in-person and virtually on campus, with health and safety measures in place. More information on this year’s line-up and presentation formats for each talk will be available at: mta.ca/pss

Masks and proof of vaccination will be required to attend as per GNB Public Health regulations. Please check the above link in case of any cancellations or change of venue before attending.