This year’s symposium topic is Transformative Engagement & Relationship Building.

The next series of posts will share bios and information on some of our speakers, including their websites, projects, interviews and videos.

Panel speakers

Micheal Langan

MICHEAL LANGAN is an Indigenous artist from Cote First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory, who is committed to educating people through creative renderings of our colonial past. After moving to Regina almost 20 years ago, Micheal immersed himself in the local skateboard community, of which he has remained a prominent member ever since. Last spring, Micheal launched his own skateboard company – Colonialism Skateboards – to draw attention to, and have people engage with, complex and untelling aspects of Indigenous Canadian history and culture. By combining skateboard art with a history lesson on Indigenous culture and colonialism in Canada, Micheal’s innovative approach is leading a conversation about how Canadians, especially youth, can move forward together through reconciliation.

Profoundly influenced by his upbringing and experiences as an inter-generational residential school survivor, Micheal’s initiative has grown and expanded beyond the realm of skateboarding. He has been invited to elementary and high school classrooms in Regina, Fort Qu’Appelle, as well as various community panels to speak about his company and its mandate. He was recently invited to the Winnipeg Art Gallery to speak on an Indigenous
artist panel, where his boards were featured.

Colonialism Skateboards continues to receive international attention as Micheal inspires skateboarders and non-skateboarders alike to learn about the history and enduring legacy of colonization, and to think about ways to address these ongoing challenges locally and globally

Colonialism Skateboards

  • Read a 2018 interview with Langan discussing his work here.
  • Langan’s bio at the AGA.
  • 2019 article from the CBC “U of R panel looks at skateboarding, decolonization in Canada and Australia”:

Videos
Micheal Langan & Friends – Colonialism skateboards

Sask. First Nations skateboard designer collaborates with artist Kent Monkman on new
series