This blog is no longer being updated and is maintained for archival purpose only. Visit the Indigenous Affairs Office for resources and information about current Indigenous initiatives at UFV.

Welcome to our Indigenizing the Academy website.

As summer turned into fall of 2012, 275 delegates from 33 post-secondary institutions came together at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Aboriginal Gathering Place. The purpose of the gathering: to discuss indigenization – a way of making universities welcoming for indigenous cultures, knowledge, learners, faculty, and staff.
Those who came to the gathering overflowed out of the UFV Longhouse/Gathering Place; they listened with their eyes, their ears, their spirit, and their hearts.
And in exchange, the keynote speakers, the guest speakers and visiting dignitaries spoke from the heart: shared their thoughts, and engaged in dialogue, speech and conversations that “needed to be had.”
The ceremony, the sweats, the food, and the sharing created an environment in which all speakers and listeners could reach down deep into themselves to bring renewal, understanding, and transformational growth to each other.
To find the notes from our Gathering, click on Resources. At this same tab, you can find videos from the Gathering, other Gathering resources, information on the Gift of Cedar, and more videos and resources that for you to browse.

To continue discussions started at the Gathering click on Dialogue. You can search the blog entries by category and comment on the entries. The collated discussions can also be found in Resources.
Future events can be found under Events

Recent Postings

Outcomes Report for the Indigenizing the Academy Conference August 26-28 2012

Outcomes Report for the Indigenizing the Academy Conference August 26-28 2012 Summary Report on Outcomes ITA   Dr. Ken Brealey, Associate Dean of Faculty, College of Arts University of the Fraser Valley, October 8 2013 Introduction   The Indigenizing the Academy Conference (ITA) was held at the Gathering Center at the new Canada Education Park […]

Blood Tears Alex Janvier 2001

Indigenization in Motion: Indian Residential School Day of Learning at UFV

On September 18, 2013, a day-long collection of learning events, on-going displays, and interactive activities was held at UFV in conjunction with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) national event in Vancouver, which ran Sept. 18–21. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has a federally assigned mandate to learn the truth about what happened in the Indian […]

Ms. Widia Larivière on Indigenous Youth and Self-determination

Credits: UNDESA – DSPD Published on May 1, 2015 Widia Lariviere is Anishnabe from Timiskaming First Nation in Quebec, Canada, and has spent her entire life in an urban setting. She holds a degree in International Studies and Modern Languages from Laval University and a certificate in Immigration and Inter-ethnic Relations from the University of Quebec […]

NADA National Aboriginal Day of Awareness at UFV June 17

Everyone is welcome to join in at the National Aboriginal Day Awareness Event. Wed, June 17 10 am–2 pm UFV Abby New Student Union Building — Great Hall (rooms S1114/1116) 33844 King Road, Abbotsford Agenda (please visit website for up to date activities): 10 am Welcome 12 pm Slahal demonstration 2 pm Closing Remarks Other […]

Mt. Thurston

Tl’o Tem Wiyothtset: It’s Always Our Time at S’eliyemetaxwtexw

S’eliyemetaxwtexw — new name for UFV Art Gallery By Anne Russell on September 18, 2014 In celebration of UFV’s 40th anniversary, the Visual Arts department presents a new title for the gallery space at the Abbotsford campus. The new name, S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, will be officially recognized on Tues, Oct 16 at noon in Abby […]

UFV Theatre Department, UFV Indigenous Affairs and Stó:lō in partnership: staged reading of The Berlin Blues

UFV and Stó:lō team up to offer staged reading of The Berlin Blues By Anne Russell on September 16, 2014 The University of the Fraser Valley Theatre department, Stó:lō Nation, and the Stó:lō Research & Resource Management Centre are co-presenting  staged readings of Ojibway playwright Drew Hayden Taylor’s play The Berlin Blues as part of […]

UFV Faculty on Shaping Identity: Land, People, Systems at the Society for Intercultural Education, Teaching and Research (SIETAR 2014)

  SIETAR 2014 Congress Video Sts’ailes Written By Shirley Hardman, Indigenous Affairs Senior Advisor, and  Marcella LaFever Ph.D Holland, Germany, Australia, and from across the United States; these are just a few of the places that scholars traveled from to share their knowledge and to learn about “Shaping Identity: Land, People, Systems”the theme of the […]

Indigenizing and Internationalization

  Shirley Hardman welcomes Mr. Sharma Pres. of SD College Chandigarh & Mrs. Sharma to Sto-lo territory at CEP’s gathering place. Indigenization and Internationalization of the Academy are both elements that contribute to the richness of the Academy. The visit of the President Sharma from India and the welcome to the Sto-lo territory by Indigenous Affairs Senior Advisor Shirley Hardman […]

Indigenous Perspectives on the Natural World

2014 greenSPEAK Seminar Series Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Shirley Hardman, Senior Advisor Indigenous Affairs  and Chantelle Marlor offered a joint Seminar Indigenous Perspectives and understanding biological or ecological knowledge. More and more work is being done to tie together Resource Management, Environmental Studies, and Aboriginal Ecological Knowledge, so that balanced relationships with their environments facilitate comprehensive understanding of […]