INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY: Rev. Leigh Kern (MDiv ‘16)

Reverend Leigh Kern was born on the territory of the Anishnawbe, affected by the Rideau Purchase and Treaty 27. Leigh graduated from Yale Divinity School in 2016 and has since been serving as an Anglican priest in the diocese of Toronto. Leigh is the Diocese of Toronto’s Reconciliation Animator and is cross appointed to Toronto Urban Native Ministry. In this role Leigh is a prison chaplain, creates opportunities for public education with Indigenous knowledge-keepers, provides support to those living on the streets of Toronto, and seeks to build solidarity with the resurgence of Indigenous sovereignty and governance. This work has taken Leigh from Standing Rock to the cells of solitary confinement.