American Indian Studies Sets Nations First Film and Lecture September 16-17

Colin Samson, a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex, United Kingdom, will discuss First Nations sovereignty at the University of Wyoming Sept. 16-17.

Samson will show the documentary “Nutak -- Memories of a Resettlement” Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in Room 127 of the College of Business Building, followed by a discussion. Samson served as consultant for the film, which tells the story of the removal of the Mushuau Innu, an indigenous hunting people of Northern Labrador, Canada.

He will present a lecture, titled “The Architecture of Dispossession: Neocolonialism and Neoliberalism in Aboriginal Land Claims Agreements in Canada,” Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 4:30 p.m., also in Room 127. The talk describes the Comprehensive Land Claims process, a contemporary treaty process for indigenous groups that have not reached an agreement with Canada over their lands.

Samson studied sociology and medical anthropology in the United States and Britain. His research interests are intercultural contact and the rights of indigenous peoples. He has worked with the Innu peoples of the Labrador-Quebec peninsula since 1994.

His visit to UW is sponsored by the American Indian Studies Program, the Department of English, and the Office of Research and Economic Development. For more information, call American Indian Studies at (307) 766-6521