The Office of Indigenous Initiatives' Winter Speaker Series 2024 welcomes Emma Stevens, Dr. Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles, and Dr. Edward Doolittle from January to March 2024.
Monitoring and implementing McGill's Truth and Reconciliation 52 Calls to Action
As a national and global academic leader, McGill University firmly believes it has a crucial role to play in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action. McGill is committed to heeding the call of the TRC by engaging and collaborating with Indigenous communities and their Elders to identify, explore and advance ideas, initiatives and plans that will embed Indigeneity in the life and activities of the University while seeking to enhance the presence and success of Indigenous students, faculty and staff at McGill.
To this end, the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) struck a Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education which released a final report in 2017 with fifty-two specific Calls to Action. This is how the Indigenous Initiatives unit came to be.
Roles & ResponsibilitiesThe Office of Indigenous Initiatives is officially tasked with the initiation of the implementation of the 52 Calls to Action from the Final Report of the Provost Task Force, this administrative department plays a much broader role. As the institutional steward of McGill’s vision for Indigeneity, Indigenous Initiatives' multifaceted responsibilities strengthen awareness and alignment of various ongoing Indigenous initiatives touching all dimensions of McGill’s mission as a post-secondary institution.
In addition to its core role in supporting Indigenous student and faculty success and research, the unit ensures that Indigeneity is embedded in all facets of university life. This includes teaching and learning, curricular developments, governance, student life, faculty recruitment and development, human resources, campus space and planning, and research and innovation. Indigenous Initiatives supports the effectiveness of efforts in all these areas through coordination and guidance with Indigenous community advisors and cross-campus liaison.
Flagship Initiatives and ProjectsIn response to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, the Office of the Provost created the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. The unit's oversees and provide checks and balances on the Calls to Action that emerged from the Provost's 2017 Task Force Final Report.
The Report outlines 52 Calls to Action aimed at increasing university access for Indigenous peoples, improving the experiences of Indigenous students, faculty, and staff, and further developing McGill’s relationships with communities in Quebec. One of the Office of Indigenous Initiatives' flagship projects is to monitor how different faculties, departments, and units across the university are implementing the Calls to Action.
View the status of the 52 Calls to Action here.
The First Peoples' House (FPH) is the student-facing unit within the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, overseen by the Associate Director of Indigenous Student Success.
They are the the core of Indigenous student support and wellness at McGill. FPH provides a space for Indigenous students to connect with each other, and offers.a variety of events and cultural programming.
Visit First Peoples' House website.
The Hochelaga Rock is an enduring historical marker of Indigenous history and settler-Indigenous people’s interactions on the island of Montreal and its hinterland. The Rock marks the historical ties and use of the land by Indigenous peoples.
Through a collaboration between Indigenous Initiatives and the Campus Planning and Development Office (CPDO), the Hochelaga Rock was relocated to a more prominent site on the lower campus of McGill in the summer of 2016. The Provost’s Task Force was publicly launched with a ceremony at this site on September 22, 2016. On June 21, 2017, National Indigenous Peoples' Day, there was a ceremony at the Hochelaga Rock to mark the submission of the Task Force Final Report on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education.
Call to Action #18 discusses the design of the landscape around the Hochelaga Rock. The CPDO included this Call to Action in the campus Master Plan (2019). Hochelaga Rock has been identified as a key element of Indigenous representation on campus in line with the Task Force report.
Learn more about physical representation on the Calls to Action page.
In recognition of the importance of building respectful and reciprocal relations with Indigenous nations, the Task Force called on McGill to:
Flying the Hiawatha Wampum Flag, as well as the flags of other Indigenous nations in Quebec, on National Indigenous Peoples' Day and on the day of McGill's Pow Wow is now an established and normalized practice as a symbolic gesture to promote reconciliation.
Read a McGill Reporter article about the flag raising ceremony.
Learn more about physical representation on the Calls to Action page.
Watch the 2023 flag-raising ceremony here:
McGill's Master Plan was adopted by the Board of Governors in 2019. It establishes the principled framework to ensure that the university’s physical resources help further McGill’s priorities and mission.
Indigenous representation is an important part of the Master Plan. McGill acknowledges that the downtown campus is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg nations. It is the intention of the plan to honour, recognize and respect these nations, particularly the Kanien’kehá:ka, as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which the campus is located. The Master Plan supports McGill in building relationships and collaborating with communities, and provising suitable cultural space on campus for Indigenous students, staff and faculty.
Please visit the Indigenous Representation section in McGill’s Master Plan to learn more.
Both the 2017 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education and the 2019 McGill Master Plan have addressed the need and opportunity for Indigenous representation on campus.
The Working Group is tasked with the formulation of guiding principles and best practices to address these imperatives in the context of the large-scale campus development and re-development activities that will take place over the coming years. Such recommendations should reflect feasibility in terms of implementation and long-term sustainability.
Areas of focus include, but are not limited, to the following:
In fulfilling this mandate, the Working Group will consult broadly across the University community and will also engage local Indigenous communities and draw from the experiences and knowledge in this regard of peer institutions across North America. The Working Group will be guided in its task by the:
The Working Group on Indigeneity in Infrastructure Planning and Development will submit its final report to the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) and the Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) by 31 March 2021.
In February 2021, McGill held a roundtable event with other Canadian universities to complement the Working Group's discussions. The Working Group heard presentations from Queen's University, Western University, and the University of Toronto.
The New Vic Project plans to transform a portion of the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital into a hub for innovation in sustainability, education, and public policy. McGill is exploring ways in which Indigenous representation can be part of the New Vic Project.
For more information, please visit the New Vic Project website.
The role of the IAC Steering Committee stems from Task Force’s Call to Action #51, which calls upon McGill to, “create a formal Indigenous Advisory Board or Indigenous Education Council with a defined mandate, whose composition includes community leaders and stakeholders at McGill.”
The McGill IAC will provide advice on matters pertaining to Indigenous educational initiatives and guidance on the University’s relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
The Steering Committee is comprised of a team of Indigenous faculty members, staff and community advisors committed to embodying and employing, in their work and relations with each other and with the wider McGill community, the values of the core cultural teachings of Kah’nikonhri:io (The Good Mind) and the Seven Grandfather Teachings.
For a complete list of the Terms of Reference and more information, please visit this webpage.
In January 2023, a Working Group was formed to guide the development of policies and procedures related to verifying Indigenous citizenship claims in employment-related opportunities at McGill. Over the next several months, the ICVERO Working Group will set out to achieve a draft policy and set of procedures that will guide the University in this process.
This work extends from Calls to Action #44 and #52, outlined in McGill’s Provost Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. These calls, which outline specific targets for increasing the number of Indigenous faculty and staff at McGill, are essential to McGill's response to Truth and Reconciliation. In order to achieve these targets, McGill recognizes the need for an institutional mechanism that both prevents fraudulent claims to Indigeneity and responds to the broader calls of Indigenous Peoples across Canada asking that universities move beyond processes that rely heavily on self-identification in Indigenous hiring.
To learn more about the ICVERO Working Group and its progress, please visit this webpage.
The role of the Indigenous Citizenship Verification for Student-Related Opportunities (ICVSRO) Working Group is to provide strategic advice on the development of policies and procedures related to McGill’s commitment to ensuring that positions and opportunities for Indigenous students are distributed to them as intended.
The ICVSRO sets out to achieve a draft policy and set of procedures that will guide McGill in verifying claims to Indigenous citizenship in student-related opportunities and material benefits.
In achieving this goal, the ICVSRO Working Group will undertake to create a policy that aligns with the Indigenous Citizenship Verification in Employment-Related Opportunities (ICVERO), to not create a double standard, but will also ensure to honor the differences in outcomes.
For a complete list of the Terms of Reference and more information, please visit this webpage.
Facilitating Transactions for McGill Partnerships with Indigenous Partners
In keeping with McGill University’s priority to support reconciliation, facilitate and promote University partnerships with indigenous businesses and community members in order to contribute to the economic development of indigenous communities.
As McGill University seeks to build long-term relationships with indigenous community members and businesses, this project aims to restore, promote, and facilitate the collaboration between McGill University and Indigenous partners by adapting related administrative processes to accommodate the unique circumstances of indigenous partners. This also involves building capacity for compliance with these processes among University community members and indigenous collaborators (existing and potential).
For the last 200 years, McGill University has unequivocally benefited from the dispossession of Indigenous lands and resources in its journey to becoming the world-class institution it is today. In crossing the threshold into its 3rd century of existence, McGill University very earnestly seeks in the spirit of Truth & Reconciliation to renew relationships with Indigenous peoples, in particular the local Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation as well as the ten other nations across the landmass comprising what is now the Province of Quebec. Moving forward together is required in addressing the challenges and complexities of the 21st century.
Office of the Provost- Indigenous Initiatives (OPII) led the planning and programming of Indigenous-related events and projects for the Bicentennial. In alignment with the Bicentennial’s goals, the intended Indigenous components included:
June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples' Day. Since June 2018, McGill has flown the Hiawatha Wampum Belt Flag from the McCall MacBain Arts Building to recognize this day. The McGill Reporter has written articles about the first flag raising and about the 2023 flag raising.
As the McGill Reporter writes, "The flag is a centuries-old symbol marking unity and peace between the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk nations." For more information about the Hiawatha Wampum Belt, visit the Onondaga Nation's webpage.
The Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education included flying the Hiawatha Wampum Belt at McGill in one of the Calls to Action in the 2017 final report.
Watch the 2023 flag-raising ceremony here:
https://youtu.be/1AMBd20yBeoWatch the 2022 flag-raising ceremony here:
Indigenous Awareness Weeks offer students, staff and faculty the opportunity to learn about Indigenous cultures, histories, and communities, promoting greater knowledge and understanding about Indigenous peoples in Canada. They aim to raise awareness and initiate an exchange of ideas on First Nations, Métis and Inuit topics within the McGill community.
Indigenous Awareness Weeks provide a space to amplify Indigenous voices and perspectives on campus.
Since 2011, invited guests have included academics, community members, Elders, and students. Topics have included health, identity, language revitalization, the Indian Act, Residential Schools, Indigenous legal traditions, Canadian policies, education, child welfare, and Indigenous ways of knowing.
View the 2021 Indigenous Awareness Weeks page.
View the 2022 Indigenous Awareness Weeks page.
View the 2023 Indigenous Awareness Weeks page.
As part of Indigenous Awareness Week each year, the First Peoples’ House holds a Pow Wow on McGill University campus to celebrate its Indigenous students and their diverse cultures. The Pow Wow features activities such as traditional dancing and drumming. In addition to watching performances, visitors can browse artisan vendors, learn about student groups, and connect with Indigenous organizations.
The 2023 McGill Powwow will take place on McGill's lower campus on Friday, September 22nd. We hope to see you there!
Watch "Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of McGill’s Pow Wow: Reflections with Ellen Gabriel and others":
Watch the 2020 Virtual Pow Wow:
80. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.
-Call to Action 80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory holiday which gives the public a chance to recognize and commemorate the intergenerational harm that residential schools have caused to Indigenous families and communities, and to honour those who have been affected by this injustice.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which invites people in Canada to wear orange shirts to honour the survivors of residential schools.
View the 2021 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation webpage.
Read the article: Vancouver Island University and McGill Partner to Create Learning and Research Opportunities in Indigenous Studies
"Vancouver Island University and McGill University sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore how the institutions can work together to engage in research and academic exchanges for faculty and students in Indigenous education and Indigenous studies."
Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is a travelling exhibition retracing the steps of the art integration process at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) following a national art competition open to Inuit artists across Inuit Nunangat.
McGill was a proud partner of the exhibition and hosted an installation the Macdonald-Harrington Building from September 8th to October 25th, 2022. For more information on the exhibition's installation at McGill, please visit the Ajuinnata at McGill landing page.
Visit the Partnerships Page to see Community-based Projects and a list of Partners who make these projects a reality.
Celeste Pedri-Spade - Associate Provost, Indigenous Initiatives
Appointed in 2022 as McGill’s first Associate Provost (Indigenous Initiatives), Celeste Pedri-Spade oversees McGill’s ongoing response to the 52 Calls to Action articulated by the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. She likewise works closely with academic leaders across McGill to further define the direction of McGill’s commitment to Indigenous scholars and scholarship, and to greater representation and inclusion of Indigenous peoples within the University community. She plays a critical role in furthering efforts to ensure the success of Indigenous students at McGill, and in building meaningful and active partnerships with Indigenous communities in Quebec and across Canada.
An Ojibwe scholar and artist, Pedri-Spade is from the Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation in northwestern Ontario. She completed her PhD in visual anthropology at the University of Victoria and her MA in Culture and Communication at Royal Roads University.
Celeste Pedri-Spade is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts. Her research interests include Indigenous art and decolonization; settler colonialism and Indigeneity; Indigenous visual/material culture; Anishinabemowin regeneration; and creative Indigenous research methodologies.
Ann Deer - Associate Director, Indigenous Initiatives
Ann (she/her) is a Kanyen'keha:ka (People of the Flint; Mohawk; Wolf Clan) professional, educator, and member of the Akwesasne First Nation. Her passion and work are related to community building and exploring the world through an Indigenous lens to facilitate truth and reconciliation. This involves a deep understanding of power, privilege, racism, and bias from an Indigenous perspective, and the tools to be a changemaker.
Ann previously worked at Queen’s University, where she served in the capacity of Indigenous Recruitment & Initiatives Coordinator at the Smith School of Business. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies and Canadian Studies from Trent University and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from St. Lawrence University.
She is a community builder who combines education, life experience, and research based on the Two Row Wampum Treaty teachings to live side by side as brothers and sisters. Ann is looking forward to helping McGill fulfill its commitments to truth and reconciliation and furthering our relationships with Indigenous communities.
Geraldine King - Senior Advisor, Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy
Geraldine King (she/her/elle/kwe) is Anishinaabe and a member-citizen of Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) located in the Robinson Superior Treaty area of Northwestern Ontario. Geraldine is currently a PhD candidate in the cultural studies program at Queen’s University and completed her MA in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. Prior to joining McGill, Geraldine was a Lecturer in the School of Canadian and Indigenous Studies at Carleton University where she helped advance Indigenous land-based education grounded in Indigenous communities. Geraldine’s doctoral work focusses on Anishinaabe erotics, ethics of intimacy, kinship studies and theories of Anishinaabe phenomenology.
As the Senior Advisor, Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy. Prof. King will provide strategic advice to individual faculty and academic leaders across the university with the goal of supporting meaningful and respectful relations with Indigenous communities, peoples, knowledges, and epistemologies. Prof. King will also hold an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE) in the Faculty of Education where she will focus on developing and delivering land-based education.
Janine Metallic - Academic Lead for the Indigenous Graduate Student Success Pilot Project (AL-IGSS)
Dr. Janine Elizabeth Metallic is a Mi’gmaw from the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation (Listuguj, Quebec). Janine is an Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Her research interests center around Indigenous educational studies and language revitalization. For several years, Janine worked as a Mi'gmaw language consultant in McGill's Department of Linguistics. Janine is currently interested in building Indigenous research capacity by supporting and training Indigenous graduate students and developing research projects related to community-based education and language research.
In January 2023, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives welcomed Prof. Metallic to a new role at McGill as the Academic Lead for the Indigenous Graduate Student Success Pilot Project. In her new role, Prof. Metallic will lead a pilot project aimed at better supporting Indigenous graduate students. As part of the project, she will provide strategic advice to academic leaders, develop workshops catered to Indigenous graduate student needs, and create opportunities for increased engagement in campus life and supports.
Olivia Bornyi - Project and Research Assistant, Indigenous Initiatives
Olivia Bornyi (she/her) is pursuing a Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Development Studies at McGill University, entering her fourth and final year. She joined the Indigenous Initiatives unit in the summer of 2022. Olivia is working to consistently update the ongoing status of McGill's 52 Calls to Action, coordinating Indigenous Awareness Weeks, and assisting with implementing innovative communication strategies in the office. Outside of work, she actively engages with the McGill community and is eager to learn about global perspectives on development.
Rosemary Cooke - Administration & Finance Officer, Indigenous Initiatives
Rosemary Cooke is a McGill retiree who has returned to help the Indigenous Initiatives Unit with administrative and financial management on a temporary basis. She worked at McGill for 27 years in an administrative capacity with different units/faculties, including Graduate Studies, VP Research, and the Office of Technology Transfer. Rosemary retired in January 2020, after eight years, as the Director of Administration for the Faculty of Dentistry. She was a member of Senate for six years and has sat on various University committees. Her background is in finance and law.
Thomasina Phillips - Associate Director, Indigenous Student Success
Thomasina Phillips is Kanien'kehá:ka, a member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawà:ke, where she was born and raised. She has been working and residing in Tio'tia:ke (Montreal) for the past several years. She began her journey at McGill as a graduate of the Master of Social Work program in the School of Social Work and is licensed by the Ordre des travaillers sociaux et des therapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Quebec to practice. After working in a domestic violence rehabilitative setting with couples and individuals, she took the position of Indigenous Case Manager at the Wellness Hub, formally McGill Counselling Services. In her role as a mental health worker, she works with student services leadership, clinicians, and students to deliver appropriate care to McGill’s Indigenous student population, and promote the healthy development of students by fostering and building networks and relationships within and external to McGill’s support services. She offers one on one services to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students as well as occasional group supports. She holds an award from the School of Social Work for excellence in clinical practice.
Thomasina keeps ties to her family circle and larger community in Kahnawà:ke. She has spent many years developing and practicing traditional skills such as raised-style Iroquois beadwork, moccasin making, parfleche, leatherwork, and fan making. She has been designing and making contemporary pow-wow style regalia for the past 5 years. She began dancing jingle with her young daughter as part of her personal wellness journey and as a means of honoring her value of helping others through the healing power of dance.
Matthew Coutu-Moya, Administrative Supervisor, First Peoples' House
Matthew Coutu-Moya is Michif-Chilean from Summerland, British Columbia. His mother was born and raised in the prairies of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Her family has ties to Michif communities of St-Boniface, Petite Pointe du Chênes (Lorette) and St-Laurent in Manitoba as well as St-Paul-des-Métis (St-Paul) in Alberta. His father is from Santiago, Chile and came to Canada as a refugee after the Pinochet coup. Prior to living in Montréal, Matthew worked for three years with immigrants and refugees at Kamloops Immigrant Services. This work would motivate him to return to school. In 2017, Matthew moved to Montréal to study at McGill’s School of Social Work.
Since graduating in 2020, he has been working with Indigenous Access McGill, a program which supports Indigenous students at the School of Social Work. Matthew is excited and grateful to join the team at First Peoples’ House as he hopes to continue giving back to the programs which supported him during his own studies as well as fostering a home away from home for Indigenous students at McGill.
Marlowe Dubois - Indigenous Student Advisor, First Peoples' House
Marlowe Dubois is Cree First Nation, born and raised in Saskatchewan, and is a band member of Ochapowace First Nation. He enrolled at McGill in the faculty of education in 2016, graduating with a Bachelor of Education in 2021. He has a background in both provincial and Indigenous education systems through work as a teacher, creating familiarity with what students require to succeed and what specific roadblocks Indigenous students will face in the university system.
Contact Us:
Indigenous Initiatives: indigenousinitiatives [at] mcgill.ca
Contact information for Indigenous Units at McGill: Directory
