Colleges work to indigenize campuses

As students prepare to go back to school, some postsecondary institutions did preparing of their own to make changes that they say address a legacy of colonialism and respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.

The report, released in 2015, contained a list of calls to action, one of which was a demand that universities and colleges include Indigenous knowledge into their programs and address barriers to Indigenous students’ access to education.

Since then, institutions across Canada have created roles to lead those initiatives on campus, along with hiring Indigenous educators and creating programs geared to Indigenous knowledge and culture.

Olson Crow, an Indigenous student at Toronto’s Ryerson University, said “indigenization” is about “incorporating Indigenous ways of knowledge and having Indigenous community members come into the space.”

This summer was pivotal at the university, which is named after Egerton Ryerson, a pioneer of public education who is also widely believed to have helped shape Canada’s residential school policy. After Indigenous students on campus lobbied the university for years to remove the statue of Egerton, the school instead installed a plaque in July beside the statue that addressed Egerton’s role in “cultural genocide.”

Crow had met with the university’s administration on multiple occasions last school year to discuss the removal of the statue. While he calls the plaque “a great step to raising awareness,” he said he will not stop demanding the statue’s removal. “I don’t think the plaque is a solution and I don’t think it’s an alternative to having the statue removed,” he said.

Ryerson public affairs said the university is open to continuing discussions with students on the statue, but “no decisions have been made.”

This summer, Ryerson launched the Yellowhead Institute, calling it Canada’s first think tank focused on analysis of policy and law that affects First Nation communities.

Ryerson has also started the process of “decolonizing” their library.

The Canadian Federation of Students, the country’s largest student advocacy group, will also be working to increase Indigenous knowledge in post-secondary education.

Shanese Steele, national chair for the organization’s National Circle of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Students, said they will be officially launching a campaign in the fall that will demand universities create Indigenous language programs.

Steele said she hopes institutions will do more to address Indigenous students. She said while Indigenous educators and creating Indigenous leadership roles are important, she hopes student services, such as counselling, and food banks geared toward Indigenous students will also be prioritized.