Shirley Hardman remembers the shock she felt when a government clerk asked: “And what kind of Indian are you?” “How do you know I’m an Indian?” replied Shirley, whose Stó:lō name is Swelchalot. “I can tell just by looking at you,” replied the clerk. The thing is, at that point in her life, Shirley wasn’t […]
Local Indigenous youth transformed cedar trees into repurposed materials while learning about their culture recently at UFV’s Gathering Place. The participants used coffee grinders to process cedar leaves into powder for medicine, and their families will receive wood from the trees for firewood. The tree gives up its life so that we can sustain ours […]
Kindness and acceptance. Sometimes it seems these themes of Pink Shirt Day are lacking in our society. So when UFV Visual Arts student Chantelle Trainor-Matties designed her vision of a pink shirt for the anti-bullying effort, she looked to animals for her own inspiration. Pink Shirt Day is coming up on Wed, February 27, and […]
Sitting among a village of gum-dropped, mostly European-style gingerbread houses, an austere cookie structure stands out, more distinct than its flashy candy counterparts. The tiny home is an artistic interpretation of a traditional Coast Salish dwelling, similar to abodes that were built for thousands of years along the banks of the Fraser River and its […]
As the Witness Blanket exhibit at the University of the Fraser Valley draws to a close, the artist who created it will speak about his inspiration. Artist Carey Newman (Ha-yalth-kingeme) will visit UFV for the closing ceremony of the Witness Blanket exhibit, at 6 pm on Wed, Nov 8. The presentation will take place in […]
Like many Canadians, Shelagh Rogers lived much of her life largely unaware of the Indian Residential School system and the suffering of those subjected to it. While hosting a CBC series called Our Home and Native Land, Rogers interviewed people from several generations of an Indigenous family from Nanaimo, and subsequently befriended them. Through getting […]
Mark Point has been appointed Chair of the newly formed Indigenization Committee of Senate at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). The prominent Sto:lo member, educator, and author has been involved with Indigenization of the curriculum and the culture of UFV since 2005. UFV Indigenous studies professor Wenona Victor has been named Vice-Chair and […]
Dr. Gwen Point will be the new Chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley. Point will take over from Dr. Brian Minter, who was UFV’s first Chancellor and served two terms stretching from 2008 to 2014. She will be installed as Chancellor at a ceremony in the coming months. The new Chancellor-select has a […]
The University of the Fraser Valley has teamed up with the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology to enable participants in an NVIT diploma program to earn a Bachelor of General Studies degree. NVIT is a British Columbia public post-secondary institution governed by the Aboriginal community and serving primarily Aboriginal students. Graduates of the three-year Chemical […]
Hope has emerged from a recent report on Aboriginal news coverage featuring UFV social work and human services instructor Robert Harding. Conducted by Journalists for Human Rights, which has trained more than 12,000 journalists in 21 countries to report ethically and effectively on human rights issues, the report — Buried Voices: Media Coverage of Aboriginal […]
“Children are supposed to grow up with their parents and families.” — Dr. Eric Davis It sounds like a basic human right, but for several generations in Canada, it was a right that was denied to most Aboriginal people, as children were forcibly taken away from their families to attend church-run residential schools. It was […]
When you’re handed a Wednesday in September without your usual classes it might seem like a bonus day off, but UFV didn’t suspend regular programming for a day so that students could sleep in or go to the beach. UFV is transforming the curriculum for this one day because the legacy of the Indian […]
