Media releases

• Brock Pow Wow to highlight ‘brilliance and beauty’ of Indigenous cultures

  Wednesday, January 08, 2025 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – January 8, 2025 – R0002

  A powerful community-building tradition will return to Niagara next week as the second annual Pow Wow gears up to bring a vibrant celebration of Indigenous music, dance and art to Brock University.

  Hosted by the Brock Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre, in association with the Office of the Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, the free public gathering will take place Friday, Jan. 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the University’s Ian Beddis Gymnasium.

  “The Pow Wow is an opportunity for the Brock and broader Niagara community to come together and celebrate the brilliance and beauty of Indigenous cultures,” said Robyn Bourgeois, Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement.

  This one-day, non-competition event builds on the momentum from the first Pow Wow held at Brock last year. It brought more than 2,500 people of all nations together to deepen their understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ history, traditions and enduring contributions. The family-friendly event also expresses the creativity of Indigenous people in a fun, welcoming and healing environment.

  The Grand Entry and Opening Ceremony will take place at noon, signalling the official start of the event. The Opening will be led by Head Elder Abiidaasmosede (Peter Beaucage), who will carry Niiganninaatig (Brock’s Eagle Feather Staff), a traditional sacred symbol from Anishinaabe culture which embodies a living spirit. Veterans and leaders will then carry flags into the event, which will be followed by drumming and singing.

  This year, the featured Head Dancer is Notorious Cree (James Jones), a global advocate for Indigenous empowerment with more than six million followers on social media. The event also welcomes Grammy-nominated Bear Creek as this year’s Head Drum as well as Canadian Champion Jingle Dress Dancer Marley Fairfield. Traditional Indigenous food will be available, as well as Indigenous craft vendors and information booths.

  The Pow Wow is open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, staff, faculty and community members.

  Pow Wow Co-ordinator Crystal Lavallee said it has been an honour to head this year’s event alongside a “strong, diverse team, dedicated to ensuring a fun and seamless day for all.”

  Pow wows are meaningful cultural and spiritual celebrations and guests are encouraged to come eager to learn and participate respectfully.

  Guests are reminded to not touch drums, regalia and feathers that dancers and some participants may be wearing. The Master of Ceremonies will also clearly communicate when certain cultural elements are occurring, when everyone is invited to participate in dances and other activities and when it’s appropriate to take photos.

  Cindy Biancaniello, Director, Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre, said she is “filled with pride to bring this amazing event to the University again.”

  “This Pow Wow is a celebration of resilience and revitalization of our traditions; it wasn’t that long ago that Indigenous people were not allowed to attend university and look at us now — hosting a Pow Wow at Brock,” she said. “For many spectators, this is the first time engaging in such a wealth of First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures. We want to represent all Indigenous students in everything we do.”

  Lavallee is also looking forward to welcoming the community to the event.

  “The Head Staff — those invited to facilitate the Pow Wow — are bringing their good medicine of respect, love and humour, so grab a friend and join in the fun,” she said. “This will be a memorable community celebration to kick off 2025.”

  Anyone interested in volunteering for the Pow Wow is encouraged to sign-up to attend volunteer information sessions on Thursday, Jan. 9 and 16. For more information, email brockupowwow@gmail.com or visit the Pow Wow website, Instagram and ExperienceBU page.

   For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• U.S. surgeon general calls for cancer warnings on alcohol, Brock expert says it’s not that simple

  Tuesday, January 07, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – January 7, 2025 – R0001

  With “Dry January” underway, encouraging people to consider reducing their alcohol consumption, the United States’ top doctor has also issued a call to label alcohol as cancer-causing.

  But Brock University Professor of Health Sciences Dan Malleck says there needs to be a more nuanced approach to discussions regarding alcohol consumption before people rush to chucking their wine collections in the bin for good.

  “The anti-alcohol perspective is our default setting,” he says. “We are too willing to accept research showing it’s bad and be skeptical of evidence that says otherwise. This is a problem.”

  U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s advisory, which was released onFriday, Jan. 3, warns that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer and that an updated health warning label is needed on alcoholic beverages to identify that risk.

  These advisories are typically reserved for issues deemed to require immediate awareness and action and can be associated with major changes in a nation’s health habits. The surgeon general’s 1964 report on smoking is one such example.

  Malleck, who is also the Director of Brock’s Centre for Canadian Studies and studies alcohol in the social and cultural environment, says similar calls were made by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) two years ago. This followed the release of new alcohol consumption guidelines in the country, which Malleck also reflected on at the time.

  “As with the CCSA guidance, the initial response from the surgeon general lacks any attempt at balance,” Malleck says. “It’s as if we all agree that alcohol is bad — we just need the right evidence. This is common temperance research methodology. He is cherry-picking the evidence to advance an anti-alcohol agenda.”

  That is problematic, Malleck adds, because it does not give the public a complete understanding of the effect of alcohol on health and longevity.

  “Although drinking may slightly raise the risk of certain cancers, they are not the most lethal forms of cancer,” he says. “Moreover, some cancers, such as breast cancer, have complex causations that cannot be reduced just to how much alcohol you have consumed.”

  But most troubling, Malleck says, is that “evidence consistently shows that moderate drinking is still protective against cardiovascular disease, the single biggest cause of premature deaths in Canada and the United States.”

  A detailed report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, released in December — but not referenced by the surgeon general — concludes that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of all-cause mortality.

  “Those risks include cancer,” Malleck says. “In other words, moderate drinking results in better health outcomes than abstinence.”

  He also cautions the public to “pay attention to the use of cancer” as a type of scare-tactic, since it can distort understandings of risk.

  “Unlike cancer risk, which gets instant panic responses, talk of cardiovascular disease risk gets little traction,” he says. “Is this just playing on broad cultural fears? Why is reducing risk of some forms of cancer that are not related to large numbers of deaths more important than reducing cardiovascular disease risk?”

  Brock University Professor of Health Sciences and Director of the Centre for Canadian Studies Dan Malleck is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases