What does “Land Back” really mean? Is it simply a transfer of land between settlers and Indigenous peoples?

It’s much more, says Wayne Wapeemukwa, a Michif filmmaker and philosopher from Vancouver, who will explore the ideas behind the Land Back movement at a talk and film screening at McMaster on Jan. 24.

“Land Back isn’t just an Indigenous concern anymore,” says Wapeemukwa, who is the Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia, and whose academic work explores continental philosophy from an Indigenous perspective.

“To undo settler colonialism, we’re going to need to do more than merely change title deeds — we’re going to have to undo the proprietorial and patriarchal relationships that comprise our relation to the land.”

As part of the event, Wapeemukwa, a citizen of the Métis Nation of British Columbia, will screen his award-winning first feature film, Luk’Luk’I, a portrait of five Vancouver residents living in the city’s Downtown Eastside during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Luk’Luk’I has been shown at festivals around the world, including the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won Best Canadian First Feature Film in 2017.

For Wapeemukwa, who wrapped up his second feature film and defended his PhD dissertation last year, his academic and artistic work have the same mission.

“As a critical theorist, to use the words of [philosopher] Nancy Fraser, I seek to clarify the causes of the age — to clarify what the most important causes of the age are, and to stimulate revolutionary decolonization,” he says.

“As a filmmaker, I think that cinema needs to pose these questions as well — and as a resident of Vancouver and a lifelong witness to and former resident of the Downtown Eastside, I think it behooves filmmakers, especially in the settler-colonial context of Canada, to address these important concerns.”

The Jan. 24 event is part of an ongoing speaker series hosted by the department of Philosophy. Wapeemukwa’s academic and artistic work made him an ideal speaker for a McMaster audience, says associate professor Johannes Steizinger.

“He brings together philosophy and art, which is important, since theory and narratives speak differently to us and show us other aspects of life,” Steizinger explains.

“Wayne does important work which could help in changing the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in Canada.”

“It’s important that philosophy becomes more diverse, and he is a model for the kind of change we need — both within academia and in society at large.”

Wayne Wapeemukwa’s talk and film screening starts at 4 p.m. in the L.R Wilson Concert Hall on Friday, Jan. 24. There will be Q and A sessions after the lecture and the film, and a reception will follow. This free event is open to all. Click here for more information