To commemorate Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Indigenous Research, Teaching and Learning (IRTL) at the Faculty of Arts & Science gathered for a panel discussion to report on progress made in answering the calls to action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The work of the IRTL committee connects to the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the testimony of residential school survivors and their families. The event, titled ‘Gathering our little shoes’: Indigenous-led, divisional approaches to reconciliation, was held at the Paul Cadario Conference Centre in University College, and brought together members of the community to learn about the faculty’s response and ongoing efforts to fulfill the university’s calls to action.
“This event today is about us holding ourselves accountable for the work that has been done and for the work that is yet to be done,” said Susan Hill, director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies and professor in the Department of History, and co-chair of the IRTL committee.
“I've seen many segments of our community think through what they can do to meet the obligations our institution committed to [following the final report of U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee], and to think beyond the calls to action in terms of how we actually live the things we've been asked to do. It's about transforming the way we think and do things.”
Since the establishment of an IRTL Working Group in 2016, and the formation of the Dean’s Advisory Committee in 2018, Arts & Science has increased appointments of Indigenous faculty and expanded support for access to graduate education for Indigenous students. In 2019, the faculty also appointed Eileen Antone in a new role of Elder and Special Advisor on Indigenous Affairs to the Dean.
These changes are complemented by elevation of the Centre for Indigenous Studies’ academic status from an EDU:B to EDU:A in 2022 which enables the centre to more fully realize its research and teaching mission, such as enhanced offerings of Indigenous languages instruction.
“We know the reason Indigenous language revitalization was referenced in the TRC calls to action — as well as in U of T’s institutional calls to action — has to do with it being one of the most dramatic impacts of the residential schooling system. That's certainly one of the areas I've enjoyed getting to see being taken up,” said Hill.
Another initiative, an Indigenous Curriculum Review Working Group, was formed earlier this year, guided by a mandate to develop a strategy to ensure course content concerning Indigenous Peoples reflects best practices and contemporary scholarship.
The IRTL committee has also taken part in consultations with the Office of Experiential Learning and Outreach Support to increase opportunities for students to engage first-hand in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
Among the outcomes is a significantly redesigned Indigenous Course Modules program that enables students to travel to an Indigenous community as part of their coursework, allowing for a deeper understanding of Indigenous knowledges, histories, cultures, languages and the impacts of colonization. Through this expansion, nearly three times as many students are expected to participate in the program in 2024-25 as did over the first eight years of the program.
Antoinette Handley, acting dean of Arts & Science and professor in the Department of Political Science, remarked on how the IRTL committee embodies the faculty’s commitment to building respectful relationships with Indigenous communities and the responsibility U of T holds to reflect on its role as an educational institution.
Handley stressed the importance of collaboration along the path to progress, from changes in core academic processes to supporting Indigenous language revitalization and expanding support for the research of Indigenous faculty.
“There is a growing sense of collective responsibility for advancing the Indigenous presence and scholarship in our faculty, and the growing recognition that there is work here for each one of us,” said Handley. “I am really encouraged by the increased collaboration across all of Arts & Science, with the Office of the Dean, our academic units and the colleges all engaged in this ongoing work.”
Illustrative of this commitment, the panel represented different Arts & Science units and included: Sarah Finklestein, professor and chair, Department of Earth Sciences; Susan Hill, associate professor and director, Centre for Indigenous Studies; Vicki Lowes, executive director, experiential learning & professional development; Paul Pritchard, PhD candidate, Department of Sociology; and, Dale Turner, academic advisor on Indigenous research, associate professor in Indigenous studies and political science, and director of the Indigenous Research Network.
The talk was followed by a Round Dance in the Clark Quadrangle, led by Verne Ross, and Brenda Wastasecoot, both assistant professors in the Centre for Indigenous Studies.
Learn more about the IRTL committee and the work being done to advance the Indigenous presence and scholarship in the Faculty of Arts & Science on the A&S website.