Welcome to ISCEI!
The Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative is supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is designed to support the growth of the Indigenous Studies Program. ISCEI is based in the Faculty of Arts and aims to build and expand on existing Indigenous initiatives on and off campus; to help provide a nexus for Indigenous scholarship and community-building; to generate new cross-University synergies and community partnerships; and to add to strategic capacity building in areas where McGill University can have the greatest impact.
About our logo: The ISCEI logo was designed and beaded by Catie Galbraith, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma majoring in History and Geography and minoring in Indigenous Studies at McGill. The graphic logo is a digitized version of the flat-beaded design that Catie made. ISCEI asked Catie to bead our logo because beading is important to the Indigenous community at McGill, connecting people through the act of creating together. Beading is also quite accessible to Indigenous peoples outside of McGill, and those new to McGill, who might be looking for a sign of community and inclusion.
Catie says: "I was inspired by the idea of planting roots with this piece. I wanted to bead a garden to represent the community engagement aspect of ISCEI, and the relationships we are trying to cultivate in our communities. I also wanted to incorporate the strawberries as McGill is located on Haudenosaunee territory. Strawberries are important to Indigenous communities across North America, but especially to the Kanien’keha:ka, where they are symbolic of life and health."
