Indigenous Campus Network

The Branches team is looking for students interested in mentoring Indigenous high school students this summer! Pick Your Path is an online career exploration and mentorship program for Indigenous youth happening from August 2nd to the 13th. Here you will have the chance to share your experiences with and support a high school student in figuring out their next steps in their education. For your time and effort, you will receive monetary compensation.

If you are interested, you can read more and apply at the following link: https://bit.ly/PYP2021Mentors. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 28th.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send an email to mayela.lozanoalanis@mcgill.ca

This month, Richard Budgell was featured in the CBC First Person series. The First Person section features personal stories and experiences of Canadians, in their own words. This is intended to showcase a more intimate storytelling perspective, and allow people from across the country to share what they have lived through

In addition, Budgell was also featured in “Let’s Go” with Sabrina Marandola, a radio show also hosted by the CBC. Let’s Go celebrates local stories, explores a range of perspectives and shines a light on people making a difference in the community.

Click here Richard’s article and listen to his segment on Let’s Go.

The Douglas Mental Health University Institute is looking for Inuit individuals willing to participate in a study to test heart rate variability and other physiological responses to two stimuli in virtual reality. Researchers will eventually use this data to help build novel medical applications, specifically, an automatized and remote virtual reality treatment. 

Inclusion criteria: 

• Healthy adult between 14-60 years 
• Identifies as Inuk 

Exclusion criteria: Risk for epilepsy, current abuse of alcohol or drugs, changes to medications in the past 4 weeks 

Study involves: 

• One meeting at Douglas, in total 60 minutes 
• Wearing sensor to measure physiological response during two VR exercises, a relaxation and a height exposure 
• A survey asking for anxiety symptoms, previous traumatic experiences and supporting factors

 

For more information or to participate in this stidy, please contact Maharshee Karia/Quinta Seon:

maharshee.karia@mail.mcgill.ca

quinta.seon@mail.mcgill.ca 

 

On May 13th from 4-5pm, join in on an online panel discussing the Evolution of McGill’s Eagle Spirit Science Futures Camp.

During this moderated panel, two Eagle Spirit Science Futures Camp founders, as well as a past camp participant (and current coordinator), will discuss the camp’s beginnings and its legacy. Together, we will explore the role the camp plays in helping to empower Indigenous youth and encourage them to consider careers in the health sciences.

This panel is moderated by Dr. Kent Saylor, and panelists include: Paige Isaac, Waneek Horn-Miller and Alex Allard-Gray.

Register for the panel here. 

The Ingram School of Nursing of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is seeking applications for a tenure-track position in the area of Indigenous Health. This tenure-track position is open for appointment to the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. Job duties: The successful candidate will be expected to develop an independent research program  and to contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching for our diverse student body.  The successful incumbent will also be expected to contribute to service activities within the School, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the University and the wider scholarly community. Examples include revising curricula to ensure inclusion of Indigenous ways of knowing and mentorship of faculty regarding optimal teaching and learning strategies regarding Indigenous Health for students. Lived experience in Indigenous communities or with Indigenous populations in urban settings is expected. Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to – and in accordance with circumstances, a track record in – equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in such contexts. In accordance with McGill’s responsibilities in relation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and in response to commitments made in McGill’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education preference will be given to candidates of Indigenous identity in filling these positions. For more information and to learn more on how to apply, view the full job description here.

Indigenous Staff, Faculty and Students are invited to visit Caroline Monnet’s exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and free tickets are being offered. Due to some restrictions with COVID, rather than a group visit, there are two time slots remaining that individuals can sign up for:

Friday May 7th – 11am (1 spot remaining)

Friday May 7th – 3:45pm  (4 spots remaining)

These tickets are intended for those who are over the age of 21, as anyone under can access the museum and the exhibit for free. As well, these tickets also allow for visitors to access the permanent collection in addition to Caroline’s.

To reserve a spot, please email vanessa.racine2@mcgill.ca

 

Museum Protocol:

• Visitors must arrive 10 minutes before time slot
• There is no coat-check, so if you have a backpack you must wear it in front of you (not on your back).
• Masks are mandatory, distancing is also mandatory when inside the exhibit

 

If there is a high demand to see the exhibit, additional dates can be made.

The McCall MacBain program is the first comprehensive leadership-based scholarship for master’s and professional studies in Canada, created by John McCall MacBain and his wife, Dr. Marcy McCall MacBain, through a historic $200-million gift to McGill University in 2019.

In the upcoming Fall semester, 20 scholars will begin their fully funded master’s or professional degree in five faculties at McGill, while connecting with mentors and participating in an intensive leadership development program.

One of the twenty students, Josh Swain, is finishing his studies at the University of Winnipeg, where he has engaged with his Métis heritage by helping run a campus group that supports Indigenous students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He has also helped teach biology and financial literacy to Indigenous students.

To read the full article, click here!

For this year’s 2021 Margaret A. Gilliam Lecture in Food Security, join Jacquelyn Wright (President and CEO, Canadian Feed The Children); Glenn Checkley (Program Manager, Canadian Feed The Children); Glenna Cayen (Food Forest Project Coordinator, Canadian Feed The Children); and Ernie Bussidor (Project Leader, the Seal River Watershed Initiative) for a four-part presentation on Supporting Indigenous Food Sovereignty: A Community-led Approach to Reclaiming Food Systems & Nourishing Communities.

Click here to register 

The nomination period for the Indigenous Community Engagement Award for graduating students is open!

This award is to recognize a dedicated and passionate undergraduate Indigenous student at McGill University who has shown distinguished leadership and involvement in an Indigenous community, organization, and/or community based-initiative. All activities on or off-campus and paid or volunteer will be considered. The award is valued at $500 and is designed for a graduating student.

The deadline to apply is May 1st. Please send applications to indigenous.studies@mcgill.ca.

Caroline Monnet’s exhibition, Ninga Mìnèh, opened on April 21st at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

For students under the age of 21, this exhibit is free to visit. For those over 21 and would like to visit the exhibit, stay tuned for upcoming time slots for McGill Indigneous staff, faculty and students, free of charge. 

The works in Ninga Mìnèh, some of which are very recent, evoke both metaphorically and materially the inequalities in living conditions experienced by Indigenous communities in Canada. In most cases, reserve housing was hastily built with cheap materials: from the outside, they often appear shoddy or uncompleted. Families are crammed together, without the barest of comforts. The exhibition Ninga Mìnèh (Algonquin for “promise”) is a call to authorities to finally offer First Nations people decent, dignified, pleasant living conditions.

Native Montreal is working with other Indigenous organizations, the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal as well as the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal to offer a specific vaccination campaign specifically for Indigenous people.

Phase 1 of this vaccination campaign will be from April 23rd to May 14th. This campaign targets Indigenous people living in the Greater Montreal Area. For any Indigenous staff, student, or faculty member who has not yet been vaccinated and meets the criteria below, you will be eligible to book an appointment.

Criteria:

By appointment only

All Indigenous persons that are 18 years or older are eligible

To ensure that all elders are able to get vaccinated, an Indigenous person can register family members who live with them

Non-Indigenous members of your family bubble, living with you are also eligible. Only an Indigenous person who also registers themselves for the vaccination can register their non-Indigenous family members.

Click here for more information and to make an appointment through Native Montreal.

Through ISCEI, McGill students, staff, and faculty members are invited to apply for seed funding to support meetings and visits with Indigenous community organizations; bringing community members to McGill; experiential learning opportunities for students on and off campus; and other creative partnership opportunities for Indigenous community support on and off campus.

The deadline to apply for Summer funds is May 15th. Students, staff and faculty can submit an application through our website, or directly apply here.

Requests for funding will be reviewed by an internal committee three times per year, listed below. Funding can be used within 12 months of the review date.

Check out a new Indigenous Spotlight Series that highlights some of the work done by both Indigenous staff and faculty at McGill. Our first installment of the series features Alex Allard-Gray from the Indigenous Health Professions Program.

Stay tuned for more videos of our community at McGill!

McGill is currently looking for an Associate Director (Indigenous Student Success). The Associate Director will provide strategic leadership in enabling Indigenous student success and retention through relevant planning, policy development, programming, and overall responsibility for Indigenous Student Affairs at McGill.

Minimum Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s Degree 5 Years Related Experience /

Hours per Week:

33.75 (Full time)

Supervisor:

Dir Indigenous Initiatives

Click Here to View the Full Position Summary

On April 7th, Naomi Sayers will join Chadwick Cowie’s course, POLI 372 (Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian State), as a guest lecturer. Sayers is an Indigenous lawyer with a trauma-informed practice based out of Ontario, serving both Ontario and Alberta, Canada. Additionally, her practice is broad and has particular focuses on Indigenous law, administrative law (regulatory law), environmental, energy and mining law, criminal law, and corporate law.

Position Summary:

The Indigenous Studies Program is seeking to expand its Indigenous language research capacity and offer opportunities to students to work in areas of Indigenous language reclamation in community. Under the supervision of Professor Noelani Arista, the RA will be asked to collect information on Indigenous language programs and research labs at Canadian Universities, as well as survey important indigenous language reclamation programs in the Eastern U.S. as a way to understand the current context and climate of research in Indigenous languages today.

 

Responsibilities:

Conduct a survey of Indigenous language programs in Canada.

Collect program data: Indigenous language focus, minor/major, departmental or institutional affiliations, size of program, number of faculty, instructors, and collaboration with community.

Collect information on infrastructure and facilities.

Organize the data collected and report to supervisor (Noelani Arista)

 

Experience:

• Previous research and data collection experiende useful
• Preference for students who have taken courses in Indigenous Studies prior to applying for this position
• Preference for students with a demonstrated interest in, or existing connection to, Indigenous languages

 

Hours: $18/hour, total number of hours and weekly schedule is flexible

Interested students should send a resumé and short statement of interest to Prof. Noelani Arista: noelani.arista@mcgill.ca

Caroline Ennis, organizer of the 1979 Tobique Women’s March to Ottawa, will deliver a talk on how she and other Wolastoqiyik women of Tobique First Nation organized to stop gender discrimination in the Indian Act on Wednesday, March 31 at 6:30pm (Eastern Time) on Zoom. Please note the event information below is stated in Atlantic Time.

Watch on Zoom here. 

Watch on Facebook live here.

Stayed updated/spread the word on Facebook.

Caroline Ennis was a student at St. Thomas University when she organized a historical march from Tobique to Ottawa to end gender discrimination in the Indian Act in 1979.

Two participants will win a copy of Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out by Janet Silman, courtesy of Canadian Scholars/Women’s Press.

What is a tertulia? A tertulia can be described as a kind of philosophy café where participants talk about big thinkers, artists and ideas. This winter, Tertulias Fredericton has put together a series on activists and social movements that have shaped our lives and allowed us to imagine a better future.

Tertulias Fredericton is supported by the NB Media Co-op, publisher of videos of the Tertulia talks, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network, book publishers Fernwood, Between the Lines, Verso and Canadian Scholars | Women’s Press.

On March 31st from 1-2:30pm, join in on a reading and discussion event organized by Indigenous students and professors from the Faculty of Law. Inspired by the fabled meeting place in ancient Rome, the CHRLP Forum Reading Group on Power, Mobilization, and Change is founded on the principles of inclusive citizenship and deliberative democracy.

This forum will be led by students Simon Filiatrault, Poonam Sandhu, and Sayre Potter in conversation with Professor Aaron Mills. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Omar Farahat.

This panel will raise and attempt to address the following questions: how do students’ experience of learning about Indigenous sharpens their sense of social justice? How does studying Indigenous law inform the duty to give Indigenous peoples their rightful place in Canada?

Event details:

Date/Time: March 31st, 1-2:30pm EST

Price: Free

Event link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/88094696717

Suggested readings are made available on the official event page.

 

 

 

The Indigenous Health Professions Program will be hosting the second installment of their Student Workshop Series on March 22nd from 5-7 PM. The discussion topic for this event is “Navigating Anti-Indigenous Racism at Work and in the Classroom”. Dr. Kent Saylor, Thomasina Phillips, and Erin Patton will lead discussion based on their experiences, followed by a Q&A and case discussion. For more information, contact indigenous.health@mcgill.ca. This event is open to all Indigenous students.

Use this link to register.

Every other week, meet an Indigenous student in our spotlight series! This week’s student spotlight features Leon Picha, and the initiatives he is currently part of:

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself? What are you studying at McGill?

My name is Leon Picha, and I am Coast Salish from the Kwantlen First Nation in British Columbia. I currently work for the Branches Program within Enrolment Services at McGill to help deliver various programming and provide outreach and support to prospective Indigenous students which has been enjoyable and a very fun way to compliment my studies. I’m in my U1 year where I am working towards a Bachelor’s of Commerce in the Desautels Faculty of Management. I am majoring in strategic management with a concentration in information systems on top of a minor in Indigenous studies.

How did you get involved with Branches?

I got into working with Branches after I met Jeffrey Morneau, who works in Indigenous Recruitment at the McGill Pow Wow back when I was fresh and new and McGill. We kept in contact, I shared my ideas for the future of McGill, and the Branches Program had introduced a new position which they had referred me to. One thing led to another, and now I can say I’m loving the work I’m doing, I’m meeting super cool people, working with people I admire, and things are continuing to amaze me day-by-day.

Are there any projects you guys are working on that you’re particularly excited about?

Something I’m definitely excited about is the Soup & Bannock Podcast. That’s the main project I’ve been working on, where we have a nice time to talk about Indigenous futures, and the present in a given industry. We have a podcast coming up soon where we’re focusing on the mental health field – it is super exciting with just as exciting guests!