As part of its ongoing Indigenization efforts, the University of Ottawa announces a full tuition waiver for Indigenous students from the Algonquin Anishinàbeg Nation, whose unceded territory the university sits on.
Beginning in the fall of 2025, uOttawa will cover full tuition fees for Indigenous students who are members of the Algonquin community to help facilitate their access to higher education.
This initiative is one more step in the institution’s Indigenization efforts embedded in the University of Ottawa’s Indigenous Action Plan (IAP) - initially launched in 2020 and recently updated - which serves as the framework for institutional efforts toward decolonial Indigenization and meaningful engagement.
Grounded in the teachings of the wiigwaam—an Anishinaabeg dwelling—the Plan is organized around four central “hoops” to structure the University’s approach to transformation: institutional change, academic innovation, spatial inclusion, and community engagement.
“This tuition waiver is another important stride in the university’s indigenization efforts,” explained Jacques Frémont, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Ottawa. “It is one more step in our work to embed Indigenous priorities into uOttawa’s governance, infrastructure, pedagogy, and decision-making.”
By reducing financial barriers to higher education, the University is showing its support of Indigenous students in their academic pursuits.
“Since the IAP’s origins in 2017 and looking beyond 2025, we are encouraged by the growth and dedication of the university community to the Indigenous file,” added Tareyn Johnson, Georgina Island First Nation, Director of Indigenous Affairs at the University of Ottawa. “Genuine and reciprocal relationships and consultations with the Algonquin Nation, and the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities in Ottawa and the surrounding region, is key to a future on campus of reconciliation and partnership.”
The University of Ottawa currently has five faculty academic programs with an Indigenous focus, a dedicated admission process for Indigenous students in the faculties of Law, Medicine and Education, and an Institute for Indigenous Research and Studies. As well, there are three mentorship programs, dedicated Indigenous cultural places on campus such as the Mashkawazìwogamig Indigenous Resource Centre and the Nidjìnawendàganag Living and Learning Community, as well as Indigenous art installations and gardens.
“I hope such efforts will contribute to a university where Indigenous students, faculty, and staff feel supported, and where reconciliation is reflected not only in words but in measurable outcomes,” concluded President Frémont.
This latest initiative will begin in fall 2025 and affect current and incoming students who are members of the Algonquin community, whose traditional territory is spread mainly across parts of western Quebec and Ontario.