The McGill University Libraries realize that we must move along many simultaneous paths towards reconciliation, journeying form awareness to acknowledgement to atonement to action. We are dedicated to spending time, with genuine interest with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals simply for the relationships themselves and not as a means to an end. We recognize that true partnership and trust grow naturally over time. We strive to act in a way that allow Indigenous people to view the McGill Libraries as allies more than colonizers. The Libraries are committed to working with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives to position the Libraries as a space to explore and work towards reconciliation. Have feedback? Email us at ii.library [at] mcgill.ca (ii[dot]library[at]mcgill[dot]ca).

To guide our work, we created the Indigenous Initiatives Action Plan 2024. In this plan, we chose to build upon past work done in the McGill Libraries on Indigeneity and to focus on advancing our organizational maturity. With this plan as a starting point, we will work incrementally, starting from the most emergent need and building up a pattern of improvement. Over the coming years we will continue to advance these efforts.

Projects

The Libraries have a number of Indigenous Initiatives projects underway, some proposed in our Indigenous Initiatives Action Plan 2024 [Link to action plan PDF], and others created after that time. Here are a few of particular interest, either underway or completed.

  • We have mapped our projects from the 2024 Indigenous Initiatives Action Plan to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action. These projects address parts of 19 distinct Calls to Action.
  • We provide a land acknowledgement on every page of our Web site and are currently examining our practices of using of a land acknowledgement at Libraries’ meetings and events.
  • In September 2024, we welcomed speakers Robert Spade and Carmen Robertson in a celebration of Anishinaabe art, and particularly Norval Morrisseau’s work, as a community-building and awareness-building event. Robert Spade is an Ojibwe artist and part-time faculty at McGill. He discussed his art practice and Norval Morrisseau’s influence on his art and in his community. Carmen Robertson is the Canada Research Chair in North American Indigenous Visual and Material Culture at Carleton University. She has been leading a scholarly investigation into Norval Morrisseau’s output and his legacy in light of recent authenticity claims.  Watch the recording.
  • We are investigating the feasibility of providing tri-lingual welcome signage (in English, French, and Kanien’kéha) in each of our branches. (underway)
  • In the Libraries catalogue, we have mapped American-focused subject headings to subject headings relevant to the Canadian context for Indigenous peoples and history. 
  • We are investigating the feasibility of providing tri-lingual welcome signage (in English, French, and Kanien’kéha) in each of our branches. (ongoing)
  • We have identified key parts of the McGill curriculum and relevant research centres to ensure we can provide excellent support to each. (ongoing)
  • We maintain an extensive list of past EDIA projects completed in the Libraries since 2017. The list currently contains 69 projects organized by 41 different individuals. Projects range from individual public blog posts and research articles by librarians to collection development, public events, and subject guides. (ongoing)