Widening the Circle: Indigenizing Universities and Academic Research
Feb 23, 2024 — 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued its 94 Calls to Action in 2015, most Canadian universities have committed to “Indigenization,” including the University of Ottawa through its Indigenous Action Plan, and Transformation 2030 strategic plan. The impact of this pledge, however, has been quite limited, higher education institutions having tended to approach Indigenization as “conditional inclusion” (Gaudry & Lorenz 2018). From this perspective, Indigenous perspectives are to remain excluded, or forced into existing academic disciplines, so as to consolidate instead of disrupt Euro-Canadian philosophies’ claim to universality (Battiste 2013) and institutional whiteness (Ahmed 2012).
Description
In this workshop, we will first draw on our own experience in Indigenizing research on implementing an Indigenization initiative in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Social Sciences, to identify some of the challenges face while attempting to promote a more decolonial form of Indigenization, one anchored in Anishinaabeg territory and sovereignty. As a way to provide you with a hands-on experience of the sharing circle as an Indigenous research methodology, we will then invite participants to share how our observations resonate with their own experiences. In doing so, we will encourage our colleagues and students to reflect on the differentiated responsibilities we are all called upon to assume from our diverse positionalities to further the decolonization of academia.
Registration is mandatory.
Speakers: Catherine Dussault (PhD candidate in Sociology, Université Laval), Marc Molgat (Professor, School of Social Work, University of Ottawa), Mona Tolley (Lead Indigenous Education Advisor, University of Ottawa), and Karine Vanthuyne (Associate Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa).