{"id":422,"date":"2013-06-28T13:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T20:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/indigenizingtheacademy\/?p=422"},"modified":"2013-08-08T11:55:23","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T18:55:23","slug":"making-universities-more-welcoming-for-aboriginal-peoples-previously-published-in-skookum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/indigenizingtheacademy\/2013\/06\/28\/making-universities-more-welcoming-for-aboriginal-peoples-previously-published-in-skookum\/","title":{"rendered":"Making universities more welcoming for Aboriginal peoples (previously published in Skookum)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WecomingIndigenizing the Academy \u2014 Making universities more welcoming for Aboriginal peoples<\/a><\/h1>\n
By Anne Russell<\/a> on May 6, 2013<\/abbr><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

For anyone new to academia, there\u2019s a bit of confusion and trepidation.<\/p>\n

Why do the professors wear those gowns<\/a> at Convocation? How do you know when and where to apply for a scholarship? What\u2019s a graduate degree?<\/p>\n

For Aboriginal students, the gap between their worldview and mainstream academic culture can be even wider. Throw in\u00a0decades of systemic racism within Canadian society; the devastating experience of many families with residential schools, foster care, and adoption outside of their communities; and the misrepresentation and stereotyping of Aboriginal people in the dominant historical narrative, and you have a lot of reasons for them to be wary of post-secondary education.<\/p>\n

A growing number of universities and colleges are recognizing the need to make their campuses welcoming places for Aboriginal cultures, their knowledge and their learners. The formal name for the process is indigenization, and UFV is playing a key role in it.<\/p>\n

As the academic year launched in late summer 2012, UFV hosted S\u2019iwes Toti:lt Q\u2019ep<\/a> \u2014 Teaching and Learning Together, a conference with an Indigenizing the Academy<\/a> focus, at its brand new longhouse-themed Aboriginal gathering place <\/a>on the new Chilliwack campus at Canada Education Park. Over 275 participants from 33 post-secondary institutions across Canada attended.<\/p>\n

Keynote speakers included well-known Aboriginal educators Joanne Episkenew<\/a><\/strong> and Eber Hampton<\/a><\/strong>, and the conference dinner was graced with an informal visit and talk by then\u2013Lieutenant Governor Steven Point<\/a><\/strong>, a local St\u00f3:l\u014d person and UFV alumnus and honorary degree recipient<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The conference grew out of several years of development and activities aimed at indigenizing UFV,\u00a0many of them inspired by the 2006 Indigenizing the Academy report authored by St\u00f3:l\u014d educator and consultant Mark Point<\/strong> after he consulted with the Aboriginal and UFV communities.<\/p>\n

The report outlined a desire for UFV to develop an Indigenous Studies program<\/a>, enhance Aboriginal research capacity, boost Aboriginal enrolment and improve retention and success of Aboriginal learners. It led to the creation of the senior advisor on indigenous affairs position, held by Shirley Hardman<\/a>, who had previously been Aboriginal access coordinator.<\/p>\n

UFV, located on traditional St\u00f3:l\u014d territory, has made it a formal practice to recognize and respect indigenous ways of knowing, and many public events are opened with a statement reflecting this. Nearly five percent of UFV\u2019s student body self-identify as Aboriginal people<\/a>. UFV\u2019s Aboriginal Access Services<\/a> department provides culturally appropriate delivery of services for current and prospective students, including an Elders-in-Residence program<\/a>. The Senior Advisor on Indigenous Affairs provides leadership for the development of indigenous programs, the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal faculty and staff, and the development of strong links with Aboriginal communities.<\/p>\n

Even prior to 2006, UFV had significant links with its local Aboriginal communities. It hired Theresa Neel<\/strong> as First Nations Access coordinator in the 1990s, opened its Aboriginal Access Centre in 2002, had an Aboriginal Community Council since 1997, and worked with the St\u00f3:l\u014d community on partnerships and programs since the 1970s. (In a coming-full-circle aside, Neel, who started out as a UFV student, then worked for UFV advising Aboriginal students, is now one of UFV\u2019s elders-in-residence.)<\/p>\n

Mark Point\u2019s 2006 report inspired the UFV Aboriginal Community Council to develop a strategic plan for Aboriginal relations at UFV entitled Indigenizing Our Academy. In October 2008, the UFV Board received three goals and accompanying actions. The plan itself is built around core values that were identified by the local community as values that guide a \u201cgood life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"indigenizing-the-academy-ufv-3-goals\"<\/a>The three goals are to:<\/b><\/p>\n