After a successful initial run, Grand Council Treaty #3’s “Here’s a Thought” virtual speaker series will continue throughout 2026 with no planned end date with experts speaking twice a month on a diverse range of topics viewed through an Indigenous lens.
The series was launched in December by the Gikinoo’amaadiwin education team to explore topics that have been underdiscussed from an Indigenous viewpoint, such as understanding student mental health and maintaining mind, body and spirit.
“The discussions are open to everyone, making them suitable for a wide audience interested in educational matters, regardless of age or background,” Treaty 3 Education Policy Analyst Cass Bundz said in an email. Dates for sessions to come will be posted on the Treaty #3 website’s event page with instructions on registration.
Topics will be mainly centered around educational themes and offer a well-rounded exploration of subjects to provide insight to students, parents and educators, Bundz said.
The first session of 2026 was held on Jan. 22 and led by speaker K’odi Taylor, the founder of First-ory, a Vancouver-based company whose aim is to get as much media to children in their traditional Indigenous language as possible.
Taylor, a member of Haida & Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations, discussed ADHD and its impact on education, work and everyday life from an Indigenous viewpoint. He said living with ADHD has heavily impacted him his whole life, leading to his motivation to shed more light on the topic and break stigmas around it which could prevent people from getting properly diagnosed.
“Within the space of two or three years of getting my diagnosis, I was able to manage all those things I was struggling with and finally live the life that I wanted the entire time,” Taylor said. “If we can break this negative stigma out there for students in school right now and get them the proper support, it’ll increase the likelihood that they’ll be able to achieve the goals that they have for themselves.”
Taylor said he enjoyed speaking and would be happy return to discuss more topics in the series again if called back at a later date. “It was great,” he said. “I do in person presentations and workshops, quite a bit for Indigenous communities, but this was my first time doing an online one.”
Taylor said the online aspect of “Here’s a Thought” is great for the rural nature of many of the places who join the sessions because it allows them to take part in what would be an otherwise inaccessible event. “With the how remote some communities are and how big Canada is, not everybody can bring us out to their communities,” he said.
Another session ran on Jan. 27, featuring experts from Chiefs of Ontario. They spoke about Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, to help students and parents understand the changes education governance and child services in Ontario and how First Nations are impacted.
