Join us in conversation as Alyssa Gray-Tyghter and Carrington Christmas draw from their family stories, lived experiences, and graduate research to explore the histories and identities of Afro-Indigenous communities.

In this webinar, we will unpack the complexities of Afro-Indigenous identity and the diversity that shapes the ways Afro-Indigenous peoples connect to culture, community, and land. Through storytelling and discussion, we will examine the intersections of Black and Indigenous histories, the ongoing impacts of colonial erasure, and the importance of reclaiming and uplifting Afro-Indigenous voices.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize the historical and contemporary relationships between Black and Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Understand the diversity within Afro-Indigenous identities and how history has shaped these experiences.
Explore the impact of colonial erasure on Afro-Indigenous communities and the importance of storytelling in reclaiming histories.
Identify at least one way to uplift and amplify Afro-Indigenous voices.

Meet Alyssa

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter (she/her) is an educator, academic, storyteller, wife, and mama bear to 4 (yes, she's just as exhausted as she sounds). She comes to her work as a descendant of both African and North American Indigenous Peoples (Choctaw, Mvskoke Creek Freedman & Mi’kmaq). She was born and raised in Ontario, with deep family connections to Five Mile Plains, Nova Scotia a site where Afro-Indigenous families have lived for centuries since their arrival following the War of Independence.

She holds a Master of Education in Critical Studies where her work focused on anti-Black racism and Indigenous epistemologies in Mi’kma’ki. She is currently completing her PhD in Social Justice Education at OISE – University of Toronto. Her dissertation explores how multiracial women engage in placemaking, identity, and belonging through archival photographs and counterstorytelling. She seeks to examine how familial counterstorytelling challenges the singularity of identity politics.

For Alyssa, education is a transformative practice—one that fosters critical consciousness, amplifies underrepresented stories, and reimagines systems in ways that honour diverse ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Meet Carrington

Carrington Christmas (Black Scotian-Mi’kmaw and German) is a neurodivergent aunty, stepmom, dog mom, storyteller, and gamer extraordinaire. A member of the urban Indigenous community of Tkaronto, she was born and raised in Mississauga and has deep family connections to Springhill and Digby, Nova Scotia, and Herbert, Saskatchewan. These places and the stories they hold are integral to her sense of identity and belonging and the interwoven histories that inform her work and worldview.

For Carrington, education is a continuous act of care that nurtures relationships, cultivates learning, and paves the way for our collective liberation.

Join the meeting on Microsoft Teams

Meeting ID: 294 479 543 462

Passcode: CR3kC3bi

Braided Histories: Exploring Afro-Indigenous Identities

Braided Histories: Exploring Afro-Indigenous Identities

Event Info

Hosted By:

The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging