Indigenous Students’ Council urges members to stop taking part in university reconciliation efforts

An organization representing about 2,500 Indigenous students is blasting the University of Saskatchewan’s “stale” reconciliation efforts, which it says have “yielded little practical results,” and urging its members to stop participating in them.

In a statement this week, the Indigenous Students’ Council said it is “tired of being taken advantage of ” and will no longer “toe the line” of reconciliation on campus.

“We have not seen any real systemic change occur on campus. We are controlled, regulated and limited in our ability to govern and develop the solutions our Indigenous students need,” the ISC said in the unsigned statement.

The statement alleges reconciliation is benefiting “individuals well embedded” in the university but not Indigenous students, and calls on its members to resign from committees and councils.

“We feel that (the) administration is benefiting from Indigenous student labour to consent and agree with the colonial paradigms of administration. Indigenous students are looked upon as an economy to generate profit, they are making money off our presence,” it states.

ISC representatives were not available for comment.

The university’s vice-provost of Indigenous engagement, Jackie Ottman, said in a prepared statement the university is aware of the ISC’s statement, and held a meeting with the council this week.

“We have been and continue to be committed to listening to students’ voices and those of our Indigenous faculty, staff and the broader community as the university responds to the (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) Calls to Action,” Ottman said.