Special Advisor to MSVU on Indigenous Affairs - Annual Report 2021

ANNUAL REPORT 2021 SPECIAL ADVISOR TO MSVU ON INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Courage | Humility | Honesty | Love | Respect | Truth | Wisdom

LOOKING BACK - MOVING FORWARD The Special Advisor position was created and staffed in September 2017. The first two years the focus was on the four pillars that were already in place: Pillar 1: Increase Indigenous awareness on campus Continue to build upon what was already in place, i.e.; Aboriginal Student Center, Wikoum, External & Internal Aboriginal Advisory Committee’s, Aboriginal Student Coordinator, continue to promote work..

Pillar 2: Enhance Indigenous Community engagement Ensure that the voice of the communities were heard and to have continued collaboration with the student’s home communities. Usage of External Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Pillar 3: Support Indigenous Students Provide strategic advice, advocate, liaison, counselling as required. Be in tune with students needs in order for them to excel with their studies. Help throughout the student’s time on campus by providing necessary resources, i.e.; tutoring, food, shelter, counselling, understanding university writing & research and so forth.

Pillar 4: Indigenize the curriculum Work with faculties to help with the process of understanding Indigenous worldviews and ways of knowing.

Then how to incorporate this new knowledge within courses.

Provide strategic advice to the Office of the President and to the Leadership Team and to the overall campus as required/needed.

LESSONS LEARNED •Reconciliation – building relationships – “Working together” (preferred from First Nation audience) •All Senior Leadership, faculty and staff on campus should have at least one action within their performance management agreement that focuses on reconciliation.

•Campus Strategic Plan should reference reconciliation efforts in collaboration with First Nation community input.

•Work with First Nation interests i.e.; L’nu College, cohort interests •Is reconciliation fading – transformational change takes time – changing of a culture – different perspectives – there is a disconnect as First Nations think the process of reconciliation is going too slow, whereas too fast for non-Indigenous people (faculty).

•Once World Views are understood – this will pick up the pace of decolonization •Biases need to be known in order to understand World Views

6 AREAS TO ADVANCE RECONCILIATION AT MSVU I was fortunate to attend the Reconciliation Summer Institute in Whitehorse, Yukon, in August 2019.

Approximately 50 Presidents and their reconciliation leads from universities / colleges from across Canada attended. There was agreement that there needed to be an overall approach to address reconciliation on campuses. The areas that were agreed upon were: Spaces, Services, Programs, Research, Governance and Policy. When I returned to the Mount, I took these 6 areas and fleshed them out with what is happening on at the Mount. This report is an evergreen document and will continued to be updated with new initiatives. I have used multiple documents (appendix I, II, III), organizations, faculties, individuals to update this report.

1. Spaces • Indigenous Student Centre • Wikoum on campus • Library – MMIWG display • Library – Indigenous space allocation initiative • Mi’kmaq flag on campus, • Indigenous Garden, • Mid-Winter Feast – annual • Places to smudge 2. Services • Aboriginal Student Coordinator, • Special Advisor to MSVU on Indigenous Affairs – Counselling available • Nancy’s Chair • Strategic Plan (2021 – 2028) Theme 4 - Truth & Reconciliation • On-going presentations to MSVU, other universities and government departments • Indigenous Scholars on campus – 3 - need for more • Leadership Team needs Indigenous presence • Mi’kmaq conversation course offered 2018 – working for fall 2021 with other HRM campuses, • Blanket Exercises, • Elder to be used in Halifax Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Center (MNFC) / MSVU Aboriginal Academic Access to Post-Secondary (AAAPS) program, • Orientation Day – annual every fall • Indigenous Student Guide

TD Bursaries – first access November 1, 2019 1 Master of Arts (Child and Youth Studies) 2 Bachelor of Arts (Child and Youth Study) 1 Bachelor of Education 1 Bachelor of Science (Psychology) 1 Bachelor of Science in Applied Human Nutrition 1 certificate in Non-profit Leadership 1 Non-degree (Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre) 2020 recipients: Bachelor of Arts (General Studies) Bachelor of Arts (Family Studies) Bachelor of Education Master of Education (Lifelong Learning) 2021 – November 5th deadline to apply

TD announcement - June 20, 2019

3. Programs • Indigenous content within courses – on-going • Creation of core Indigenous Studies Course – Bachelor of Education • Indigenous Course, Special Topic – Masters of Education • Anti-oppressive training, • Orientation day – annual fall event • Education, MNFC / MSVU – Aboriginal Academic Access to Post-Secondary (AAAPS) program • Education Needs of the Mainland Mi’kmaq (consultation report), • Mini-Mount Camps (annually), • Two-Eyed Seeing camps in collaboration with Pictou Landing First Nation, Acadia First Nation & Sipekne’katik First Nation, • Discussions around a Mi’kmaq cohort Masters of Education • Discussions around a Mi’kmaq cohort Kinu Tourism Program • Exploratory talks of an Indigenous cohort – Bachelor of Public Relations • Summer Institute on Indigenous Contemporary Issues – to be annual 4. Research • The Mi’kmaq Community Development Program X 2 (Martha Walls, Corey Slumkoski), • Elder’s Life of Courage, Determination and Love (Mary Jane Harkins), • Warriors of the Red Road at Sea & Building Boats; Changing Lives (Shane Theunissen), • Dismantling Stigma: Exploring Experiences of and Views on Food Insecurity, social exclusion, and shame among women through Participatory Action Research (Patty Williams), • Atlantic Indigenous Mentorship Network (Patty Williams and Brenda Gagne), • Indigenous Health Research Network (Jessie-Lee McIssac), • Two-Eyed Seeing Camps (Shannan Grant and Tamara Franz-Odendall).

5. Governance • MSVU Leadership Team wants change based on reconciliation, and this is reinforced in the new Strategic Plan (2021 – 2028) • L’nu Advisory Circle – Provide strategic advice to the campus. Recent work over the summer 2021 helping the Sisters of Charity with their apology and the Mount’s apology/ceremony • Support for TRC Calls to Action, • Focus Group on MMIWG recommendations – partnership with Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association (NSNWA) 6. Policy • Finance working with Indigenous student realities • Students that were in foster care – tuition to be waived • Accommodating Indigenous student needs • Smudging and ceremony • TD Bursaries – community attachment needed Other duties: • Committee’s & other activities: • Indigenous Recruitment & Retention – collective agreement (completed) • Pandemic Equity Advisory Committee (PEAC – completed) • Member of L’nu Advisory Circle • Member of Indigenous Student Advisors Network (Atlantic) • Member of Regional Indigenous Post Secondary Education Committee • Strategic Advice: provided to the overall campus and includes numerous presentations to faculties.

• Oversee AAAPS program with Dean, Arts & Science • Oversee student placements at the Aboriginal Student Center • Committee member on Indigenous Masters Student thesis (successfully defended) • Helping to publish paper with Public Relations professors

APPENDIX l MSVU Strategic Plan - 2021 to 2028 - Strength through Community Below is an excerpt from the plan: Theme 4 - Truth and Reconciliation MSVU is committed to Truth and Reconciliation and to promoting Indigenous worldviews in the work of the institution. A focus on women and girls is critically important to this work.

Objectives: 1. Ensure that MSVU’s policies, practices and procedures are aligned with the principles of Truth and Reconciliation.

2. Actively recruit and retain Indigenous faculty, staff and students and provide a welcoming, supportive and safe campus environment for Indigenous peoples.

3. Be a national leader in providing education and awareness about Truth and Reconciliation, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), 2SLGBTQIA+, and about the issues and root causes of the violence they experience.

Strategies: 1.a) Review and scrutinize all university policies, practices, procedures and academic offerings and revise them according to Truth and Reconciliation principles. b) Engage the L’nu Indigenous Advisory Circle and the Special Advisor to MSVU on Indigenous Affairs in making recommendations about changing university policies, practices and procedures to align them with the principles of Truth and Reconciliation.

2.a) Develop robust hiring and retention strategies and increase support systems for Indigenous faculty, staff and students with an emphasis on women and girls. b) Continue to develop appropriate spaces, services and programs that support Indigenous populations, especially Indigenous women and girls.

3. Develop and implement a university and public education awareness program on Truth and Reconciliation, MMIWG and 2SLGBTQIA+.

Indicators of Success: For the theme: Be a national leader in Truth and Reconciliation.

For the objectives: 1. Increased consultation with Indigenous faculty, staff and students regarding university policies, practices and procedures.

2. Be recognized as a national leader in the implementation of postsecondary institution-related recommendations contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Report.

3. Increased proportion, and increased retention, of Indigenous faculty, staff and students at MSVU. 4. Increased number of courses that meaningfully engage students in incorporating information about Indigenous knowledge, and knowledge about Truth and Reconciliation, MMIWG and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.

APPENDIX ll Universities Canada principles on Indigenous education June 29, 2015 Universities Canada represents 96 universities across Canada, which educate more than a million students each year. Indigenous students continue to be underrepresented in Canadian higher education institutions and our universities are committed to do their part to close this education gap, recognizing the urgency of this issue for the country. Closing the gap will strengthen Indigenous communities, allow Indigenous peoples to continue to strive for self-realization, enhance the informed citizenship of Canadians, and contribute to Canada’s long-term economic success and social inclusion.

There are many reasons to close the education gap. A university education is a transformative experience, expanding knowledge, nurturing critical thinking and inspiring new ideas, creativity and innovation. Closing the education gap will benefit not only Indigenous graduates, but their communities and Canada as a whole.

Beyond these social and cultural imperatives, there is also a clear benefit to Canada’s economy.

Canada needs more university graduates to meet labour market demands. Indigenous people can help meet this demand. They are a fast-growing segment of the Canadian population, yet only 9.8 percent of Indigenous people in Canada have a university degree, compared to 26.5 percent of nonAboriginals. Canada’s universities recognize that tremendous opportunities exist – for Indigenous people and for the country – if we increase access to university education for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. With a university degree, Indigenous people in Canada can earn 60 percent more than their peers with a high school diploma. They experience longer and greater participation in the workforce.

As it continues to advocate for more funding to Indigenous students, Universities Canada and its members are committed to ongoing communication and collaboration with Indigenous communities.

Higher education offers great potential for reconciliation and a renewed relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. Universities benefit from the presence of Indigenous students and their cultures, making our campuses more open places with wider sources of discovery and knowledge. Mutual respect for different ways of knowing and recognizing the intellectual contributions of Indigenous people is essential to building trust, understanding, and sharing. The cohabitation of Western science and Indigenous knowledge on campuses has the power of opening a dialogue among cultures and enhancing our shared knowledge.

In the spirit of advancing opportunities for Indigenous students, the leaders of Canada’s universities commit to the following principles, developed in close consultation with Indigenous communities.

These principles acknowledge the unique needs of Indigenous communities across Canada and their goals of autonomy and self-determination, as well as differences in jurisdiction among provinces and territories, institutional mission among universities, and the authority of appropriate university governance bodies in academic decision-making.

Principles 1. Ensure institutional commitment at every level to develop opportunities for Indigenous students.

2. Be student-centered: focus on the learners, learning outcomes and learning abilities, and create opportunities that promote student success.

3. Recognize the importance of indigenization of curricula through responsive academic programming, support programs, orientations, and pedagogies.

4. Recognize the importance of Indigenous education leadership through representation at the governance level and within faculty, professional and administrative staff.

5. Continue to build welcoming and respectful learning environments on campuses through the implementation of academic programs, services, support mechanisms, and spaces dedicated to Indigenous students.

6. Continue to develop resources, spaces and approaches that promote dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

7. Continue to develop accessible learning environments off-campus.

8. Recognize the value of promoting partnerships among educational and local Indigenous communities and continue to maintain a collaborative and consultative process on the specific needs of Indigenous students.

9. Build on successful experiences and initiatives already in place at universities across the country to share and learn from promising practices, while recognizing the differences in jurisdictional and institutional mission.

10. Recognize the importance of sharing information within the institution, and beyond, to inform current and prospective Indigenous students of the array of services, programs and supports a vailable to them on campus.

11. Recognize the importance of providing greater exposure and knowledge for non-Indigenous students on the realities, histories, cultures and beliefs of Indigenous people in Canada.

12. Recognize the importance of fostering intercultural engagement among Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

13. Recognize the role of institutions in creating an enabling and supportive environment for a successful and high quality K-12 experience for Aboriginal youth.

Recognizing that other stakeholders have a role to play – governments, businesses, Indigenous organizations – university leaders also commit to the following actions to bring these principles to life: • Raise awareness within institutions about the importance of facilitating access and success for Indigenous students on campus.

• Raise awareness among government partners and stakeholders of these commitments and the importance of investing in sustainable initiatives that advance higher education opportunities for Indigenous youth.

• Raise awareness in public discourse of positive Indigenous students’ experience in university and their contributions to Canadian society.

• Develop partnerships with the private sector to foster opportunities for Indigenous people.

• Continue to listen to and collaborate with Indigenous communities.

APPENDIX lll TRC Calls to Action - Education for reconciliation 62. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to: i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students. ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms. iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms. iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.

63. We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including: i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.

Ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history. iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect. iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.

64. We call upon all levels of government that provide public funds to denominational schools to require such schools to provide an education on comparative religious studies, which must include a segment on Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices developed in collaboration with Aboriginal Elders.

65. We call upon the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, post-secondary nstitutions and educators, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its partner institutions, to establish a national research program with multi-year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.

86. We call upon Canadian journalism programs and media schools to require education for all students on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations.