Save the date: Indigenous Council hosts Community Engagement Session, April 16

Members of the Indigenous Council of York University invite community members to participate in the council’s second Community Engagement Session on the Indigenous Framework. The theme of this Community Engagement Session is Research and Knowledge Gathering.

The event will take place on Tuesday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Centre at the Keele Campus Second Student Centre, 15 Library Lane.

Carrie Bourassa. Photo: CIHR website

As part of the event, Professor Carrie Bourassa (Métis), Department of Community Health & Epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and the scientific director of the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health. Bourassa will be speaking on the importance of community and institutional support for Indigenous Research.

In November 2017, York University and the Indigenous Council released the “Indigenous Framework for York University: A Guide to Action.” The Indigenous Framework builds on the University’s distinct values, traditions, history and vision. Specifically, it addresses the University Academic Plan and its call for a pan-university Indigenous strategy. The framework also echoes broader initiatives within the post-secondary educational system in Ontario and Canada, including the Principles on Indigenous Education developed by Universities Canada in 2015.

The 10 principles of the Indigenous Framework are:

1. Expand the role of the Indigenous Council.
2. Increase the number of Indigenous Faculty.
3. Enhance the recruitment and academic success of Indigenous students.
4. Expand Indigenous programming and curricular offerings which explore Indigenous life, cultures and traditions.
5. Facilitate research that is relevant to Indigenous life, and respects Indigenous approaches to knowledge and learning.
6. Engage with Indigenous communities to enrich the learning process.
7. Establish spaces for Indigenous cultures and community within the University.
8. Ensure that the perceptions and experiences of Indigenous community members are reflected in the classroom, on campus and in university life.
9. Develop and expand educational opportunities for Indigenous communities.
10. Ensure the process for developing, implementing and evaluating this framework involves Indigenous community members, both within and outside the University.

To assist with planning for the event, organizers request that those community members interested in attending should submit their RSVP as soon as possible.