EDI

Dr. Evan Adams is a household name in Indian country, and his alias Thomas Builds-The-Fire captured our collective attention and imagination with his catchphrase, “Hey Victor!” This simple phrase reignited deeper conversations in our communities about who we are and where we come from, about storytelling, memory, reconciliation, and the irony and sincerity of our relationships to one another as Indigenous peoples. Evan and his extraordinary determination are an equal measure of inspiration and admiration for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Indigenous peoples to take up the call to come to terms with each other, to heal with each other, to hold each other up, and to anchor our identities to a meaningful purpose. 

Dr. Adams has been instrumental in creating and leading processes of transformative change in health systems and related services for Indigenous peoples. He has been key in advising leadership in B.C., across Canada, and around the world on how to prioritise and advance Indigenous health and related services. Evan is instrumental in leading The Conversation, an empowering docuseries where substance use survivors, their families, and their friends engage in raw and emotive conversations about their lives, addiction, and how they found a pathway to healing. 

We are honoured and thrilled to welcome Dr. Evan Adams to the Indigenous Speakers Series for this inspiring and insightful conversation. We’ll talk about his life and the pride he has for his family and community, and his career that has emboldened us as Indigenous people to define the significance of empowerment, pride, and resilience. We will talk about what he’s currently doing and what he has planned for the future, and what his past has meant to him in an era of telling our many truths and reconciling the many relationships in our lives, as Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.