Flagship and Partnership Initiatives

Monitoring on Implementation of Calls to Action

In response to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, the Office of the Provost created the Indigenous Initiatives Unit to implement and track McGill's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action. The 2017 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education set out 52 Calls to Action aimed at increasing university access for Indigenous peoples, improving the experiences of students, faculty, and staff, and further developing McGill’s relationships with communities. One of the Indigenous Initiatives unit’s flagship projects is to monitor how different faculties, departments, and units across the university are implementing the Calls to Action. To that end, Indigenous Initiatives has created a webpage where users can explore the status of each Call to Action, and read about the progress being made in different areas.

View the Calls to Action page here.

First People's House

The First Peoples' House is at the core of Indigenous student support and wellness at McGill. It provides a space for Indigenous students to connect with each other, and it offers a variety of events and cultural programming. You can visit the First Peoples' house website here.

Indigenous Education

The Indigenous Education Program provides Indigenous-specific programming and opportunities for bridge-building among all groups in the McGill community. The IEP’s goals are to increase knowledge of Indigenous history and current issues amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples at McGill. It also seeks to integrate Indigenous history, culture and perspectives into existing academic curricula and campus life.

The IEP offers a vast array of events throughout the school year, where McGill students, staff, and faculty can come together and build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. These events include an annual Indigenous Awareness Week an Indigenous Educational Series, training workshops and local community based programming.

For more information contact Janelle Kasperski, Indigenous Education Advisor: janelle.kasperski [at] mcgill.ca

Physical Representation

The Indigenous Initiatives unit is collaborating with the Campus Planning and Development Office (the CPDO) to increase the physical representation of Indigenous peoples on McGill campus. The CPDO has successfully relocated the Hochelaga Rock to a prominent spot on the lower campus. The Rock commemorates the site of the Iroquois village of Hochelaga, and it represents the history of First Nations peoples and settler-Indigenous relations in this area. As well, the Indigenous Initiatives unit had a flag raising for the Hiawatha Wampum Belt flag. The flag represents peace and unity between the five nations which make up the Haudenosaunee Confederacy: the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Kanien’kehá:ka nations. The University will now fly the Hiawatha Wampum Belt flag on National Indigenous Peoples Day and during the McGill University Pow Wow.

Learn more about physical representation on the Calls to Action page.

Working Group on Indigeneity in Infrastructure Planning (WGIIPD)

The 2017 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education presented the University with 52 calls to action, among which were 11 that addressed physical representation and symbolic recognition on campus. In particular, the Task Force called on the University “to ensure that McGill’s public spaces reflect McGill’s commitment to Indigenous education through the display of Indigenous art and culture on our two campuses,” and to “ensure that the provision of space dedicated to Indigenous persons and groups is integrated into all aspects of University planning, including plans for the Royal Victoria Hospital site.”

The 2019 McGill Master Plan likewise addressed the need and opportunity to include Indigenous representation on the University’s campuses: “Specifically, the plan seeks to recognize and respect the specific and diverse cultural practices of Indigenous members of the community by providing interior and exterior spaces that serve their needs.”

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:

mechanisms for ensuring the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives across planning processes;
criteria for identifying opportunities for Indigenous representation in the design, use and naming of physical spaces;
means of engaging Indigenous communities and service providers in campus planning.

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 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, the McGill Master Plan, the Final Report of the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming, the Final Report of the Principal’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion, and the International Indigenous Design Charter.

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.

Sustainable Procurement

Facilitating Transactions for McGill Partnerships with Indigenous Partners

Vision:

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.

Project Description:

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).

Project Objectives:

Identify and define the different categories of indigenous community members and businesses (i.e. Lecturers, Presenters, Supplier of goods and services, etc.)
Identify and adapt processes for each category of indigenous community members and businesses, as deemed relevant.
Develop and communicate guidelines for collaborating with Indigenous community members and businesses.
In compliance with McGill’s existing policies and governmental regulatory requirements, streamline, when feasible, the remuneration/payment processes in order to accelerate payment and enable the monitoring of payment.
Obtain tangible commitments from key stakeholders (HR, Financial Services, Procurement Services) as well as other process owners, faculties, units and senior administrators of the University, where relevant, to communicate, build capacity among University community members , in support of indigenous community members and businesses.
In collaboration with Indigenous Initiatives, develop a communication plan to promote this initiative.

Expected outputs:

Institutional Guidelines (including commitments / raising awareness for all McGill community members
Training material (presentation) to be given to Procurement Services / HR / Financial Services Staff and other McGill staff.
Outreach to existing and potential Indigenous partners.

Indigenous Faculty Recruitment

Call to Action #44 from the 2017 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education called for an increase in the number of Indigenous professors hired at McGill. The Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) has been working to implement this Call to Action in partnership with various faculties across the University. The Office has announced six provostial licenses dedicated to hiring tenure-track Indigenous professors. Independent of the provostial licenses, several tenure-track Indigenous professors have been hired in departments in the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Law. Additionally, the Office of the Provost has developed the search processes for Indigenous hiring, and has appointed Hudson Meadwell as an ad hoc special advisor for Indigenous academic recruitment and retention.

Learn more about Indigenous hiring on the Calls to Action page.

Bicentennial

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.

Indigenous Initiatives, Office of the Provost, is leading the planning and programming of Indigenous-related events and projects for the Bicentennial. In alignment with the Bicentennial’s goals, the intended Indigenous components include:

Cultural inclusion and visibility in the launch day programming
Acknowledging the traditional territories of McGill’s physical footprints
An overview of the University’s history of interaction with Indigenous peoples
Highlighting the Indigenous community bonds McGill has made and is making
To celebrate the growing numbers of Indigenous scholars, including a Homecoming event to honor Indigenous alumni and acknowledge their contributions
Highlighting how Indigenous research methodologies and ethics are being integrated
Indigenous place-remaking in McGill’s third century: Indigeneity in infrastructure projects, including Bicentennial sculpture; growing the Indigenous Studies Program from a Minor into an Institute
Visioning the growth of Indigenous people at McGill in the next 50 years with a goal to reach proportional representation at the university as is in Canada (presently 4.9%)

Indigenous Awareness Week

National Indigenous People's Day

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. The Canadian Constitution recognizes First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as Aboriginal peoples, also known as Indigenous peoples.

Starting in June 2018, McGill flew the Hiawatha Wampum Belt Flag from the McCall MacBain Arts Building to recognize National Indigenous People's Day. The McGill Reporter has articles about the first flag raising and about the 2020 flag raising.

As stated in the first article, "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 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.

Pow Wow

link to FPH page

Institutional Partnerships

Vancouver Island University

READ: 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."