Website: https://www.iicconnections.com/

Twitter: @uoftitalian

Description: 

Indigenous-Italian-Canadian Connections is a public-facing educational and documentation project that explores existing connections and possible paths forward between Italian migrants/settlers and Indigenous Nations on Turtle Island. The project is housed at the Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian-Canadian Studies, within the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto, and is co-directed by Prof. Paolo Frascà and Dr. Angela Nardozi. The project is inspired by the Hon. Frank Iacobucci’s past work in the area of Truth and Reconciliation. Contributors to the project include community members and scholars who have experiences at the intersection of Italian-Canadian and Indigenous identity.

The project hosts an event series and a digital platform. Both of these bring together scholars and community leaders to discuss an array of issues: from controversial figures such as Giovanni Caboto and Cristoforo Colombo to their relationship with the land and foodways. A main focus of this project is fostering discussion on the responsibilities Italian-Canadians have towards Indigenous Nations, including possibilities for restitution, building solidarity, and strengthening relationships with Indigenous Nations through scholarship and community-oriented activities.

The digital platform includes project information, scholarly and community resources, and a blog. The resources on the platform include an interactive map of the location of major Italian enclaves and the territories (and treaties, where applicable) on which they are positioned, as well as written resources on the relationship between settlers, migrants, and Indigenous Nations. The blog includes reflections on the current state of Indigenous-Italian-Canadian relations. The pieces of writing in our blog are part of an ongoing conversation in the Italian-Canadian community on our relationship with Indigenous peoples. We are mindful that we are on a learning journey with one another and that the writing within the blog — and our project more generally — represent an ongoing, iterative learning process.

Contributors:

• Paolo Frascà, Project Co-Director; Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream), Dept. of Italian Studies, University of Toronto; Faculty Affiliate, Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto
• Angela Nardozi, Project Co-Director; Lecturer, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education & UTM. Emilio Goggio Research Fellow at the Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian Studies
• Ariana Maglocco, Research Assistant (2020-2021); MA Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto
• Pamela Arancibia, Research Assistant; PhD Candidate (2020), Dept. of Italian Studies, University of Toronto

Funders: Faculty of Arts and Science, Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian-Canadian Studies,