U of A Indigenous plan aims to bridge gaps in programming, official says
The University of Alberta formally launched a strategy that aims to bring Indigenous world views, histories and perspectives to every one of its programs Friday.
Titled Braiding Past, Present and Future, the university's Indigenous Strategic Plan comes out of an effort to address some of the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Its development, in the works for more than two years, was led by Florence Glanfield, a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and the inaugural vice-provost of Indigenous programming and research. Glanfield worked with the Indigenous Advisory Council, comprised of 22 First Nations, Inuit and Métis employees from across the U of A.
“This is momentous in the history of the University of Alberta because it's Indigenous-led,” said Glanfield. While some programs, like in the faculty of education, have required courses in Indigenous education, she said it's crucial Indigenous knowledge and perspectives are integrated across departments so that every single university student has a better understanding of historical relationships and colonization.
She said without understanding those experiences, “we can never change as a society, to be the country that we imagine that we're going to be.”
“It doesn't matter where you work, after you leave university, what kind of career, what kind of living you're doing, it's recognizing that, for example, we get to live and work in this place we now call Edmonton because there were agreements signed and treaties signed,” Glanfield said, adding work has already started to help bring Indigenous world views and knowledge systems into new programs.
She said it's important because colonial practices continue, something she noted there are repeated illustrations of. For example, research published in January found First Nations patients who go to emergency rooms are treated as less urgent compared to non-first Nations patients in Alberta.
Glanfield said another big piece of the plan is a commitment to supporting research similarly led by Indigenous communities.
“(It's) that shift from treating Indigenous Peoples and communities as subjects to be studied, which is one way we could look at research, to working with Indigenous communities so that our research actually contributes to what Indigenous communities are wanting,” she said.
The plan includes striking up an implementation team, and Glanfield's office will publish a report every two years, evaluating the institutional, faculty and unit responses to the calls to action.
“All of the vice-presidents have signed on to the plan, saying that they're willing to work with us across the institution, and we're putting in structures in order to be able to not only put these words on paper but to actually implement the recommendations,” she said.
Glanfield said the university had already committed to building capacity, including hiring Indigenous candidates in key roles for recruitment and student support and hiring more faculty members who identify as Indigenous, of which there are now about 50.
“This is extraordinary, and it's one of the highest numbers of Indigenous faculty members at a university in Canada,” she said.
The plan outlines initiatives over five years, until the 2026-27 academic year, but Glanfield noted that her and the community's work isn't expected to be complete by then.
“In an Indigenous world view, you recognize that this work is ongoing,” she said.
The strategic plan also aspires to see graduation rates exceed the proportion of Indigenous Peoples in Alberta, and acknowledges that the university has participated, and participates, in aspects of colonialism deeply harmful to Indigenous Peoples.
“There is a wrong to right. The same power that was employed to disenfranchise Indigenous peoples can now be brought to bear on the education of the students we serve and those beyond the institution,” it reads.
It comes as the country celebrates June as National Indigenous History Month.
“This isn't my work alone, this is the work of a whole community. We really hope that this plan will really be able to affect the experiences of the next generations,” Glanfield said.