UNews - Iniskim Indigenous Relations

In effort to reduce financial barriers, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ waives application fees for Indigenous students

trevor.kenney — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 20:28:45 +0000

Indigenous students applying to study at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will no longer have to pay an application fee as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has introduced new changes to remove financial barriers to participation in university education.

Effective immediately, graduate and undergraduate application fees for self-declared Canadian Indigenous students are waived. In a second policy update, self-identified members of Aamskapi Pikuni, the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, are now eligible to study at ULethbridge paying domestic tuition rates, rather than international tuition fee rates.

The changes represent the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s continued commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, specifically those calling for closing the education attainment, and income and employment disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.

“Our goal is to remove barriers for Indigenous students so they can access this incredible world of education,” says Iikaisskini (Low Horn) Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), vice-provost, Iniskim Indigenous Relations. “Too often we hear of potential students who are wanting to apply but must decide whether they take that chance and spend the money not knowing they will qualify or use that money for necessities in their life. We cannot let that be a barrier for what could be a life-changing opportunity.”

ULethbridge is committed to increasing Indigenous student enrolment and outlined this objective in its 2023-2026 Strategic Enrolment Management plan. The plan calls for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to realize an Indigenous student enrolment rate of 10 per cent of total enrolment by 2026. Currently, Indigenous students represent six per cent of total enrolment.

“It is an aspirational goal, and we believe it is also a very achievable goal,” says Naamoipiiksi (Hummingbird) Shanda Webber (BA ’05), director, Iniskim Indigenous Relations. “It is integral we find ways to work in partnership with the Blackfoot Confederacy and surrounding Indigenous organizations and communities to eliminate barriers for students to access the university and then find success once they are enrolled. These new changes will help us create more pathways for Indigenous student success.”

Information on how to apply can be found online: undergraduate students (ulethbridge.ca/future-student/indigenous-student-application); graduate students (ulethbridge.ca/future-student/graduate-studies/indigenous-student-application).

Blackfeet students in Montana have traditionally been welcomed at Iniskim but with international tuition fees in place, few have accessed a ULethbridge educational experience.

“There is no contrived international US-Canada border on the ancestral lands of the Sisksikaitsitapi, we are all part of the Blackfoot Confederacy and now our university recognizes this through this change that opens the door to Blackfeet students who may live in Montana,” adds Little Bear.

More information on the Blackfeet International Student tuition fee can be found online (ulethbridge.ca/sites/default/files/2024/09/blackfeet_waiver_pdf.pdf).

Shanda Webber named to new role as Director, Iniskim Indigenous Relations

trevor.kenney — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 19:29:59 +0000

An experienced administrator with a proven track record of developing new and innovative Indigenous cultural programming and supporting environments dedicated to truth and reconciliation, Naamoipiiksi (Hummingbird) Shanda Webber (BA ’05), has been named Director, Iniskim Indigenous Relations.

Shanda Webber brings over 18 years of experience with a focus on Indigenous education and support services.

The new position reports directly to the Vice-Provost Iniskim Indigenous Relations, Iikaisskini (Low Horn) Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), and plays an integral role in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s commitment to advancing Indigenization, decolonization and reconciliation, supporting strategic leadership and providing operational leadership for institutional Indigenous strategic initiatives at Iniskim.

“The search and hiring process was extensive and we had many very worthy candidates. I’m excited to welcome Shanda to this very important role,” says Little Bear. “Shanda brings over 18 years of experience within the post-secondary environment with a focus on Indigenous education and support services. Her experience from both Lethbridge Polytechnic and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, recently including her leadership with the Mastercard Foundation EleV partnership, will be especially valuable.”

Webber earned a ULethbridge Bachelor of Arts in 2005, graduating with Great Distinction and earning a spot on the Dean’s List. Her honour’s thesis: What is “Indian”, Anyways? was an analytical analysis of the construction of First Nations peoples’ identity and how this image is differently perceived and projected in various contexts and circumstances.

She began her professional career at the then Lethbridge College (now Polytechnic) as an Aboriginal Educational Liaison Officer in 2006, and advanced her career in numerous positions concluding in the role of Manager, Indigenous Services before leaving to join ULethbridge in 2021. During her time on campus, Webber has been a key contributor in developing Indigenous learning and was most recently working as Director, Strategic Indigenous Learning Initiatives.

As the strategic lead for the MasterCard Foundation EleV Project, Webber collaborated with internal and community partners in the enhancement of existing programming and the development of new programming to equip, support and enable Indigenous youth to access and be successful in attaining a post-secondary education. In addition, Webber has worked closely with executive level management in the development of institutional key performance indicators, goals and measures; developed Indigenous learning strategies, including the design, delivery and deployment of creative learning opportunities; analyzed and evaluated current operational processes and performances; and contributed to ULethbridge’s short-term and long-term operational plans across campus to identify Indigenous students’ learning and support needs — making Indigenization a priority on campus.

Webber was inducted into the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Honour Society in 2018. She considers herself a very humble Indigenous woman who is continuing to learn her Ojibway history and culture, of which her father is from the Brokenhead First Nation, located in Treaty 1 territory near Winnipeg, Manitoba, and her mother is of settler origin.

“I am truly honoured to have been chosen for this important role,” explains Webber. “As a guest to Blackfoot territory where I have made my home for the last 23 years, it is my commitment to continue to be an ally, working in partnership with the Blackfoot Confederacy and surrounding Indigenous organizations and communities to build relations in a good way and to continue to make Indigenous education a priority by increasing access to education and meaningful employment for all First Nations, Métis and Inuit students.”

“This position will work out of the Iniskim Indigenous Relations Office and most extensively with both the Blackfoot Confederacy and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge leadership, faculty, staff, Elders and community members to co-create pathways for Indigenous student success,” adds Little Bear. “I am very much looking forward to working with Shanda in this new position.”

Webber will begin her role in October.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers to collaborate on projects funded by Partnership Grants

caroline.zentner — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:59:54 +0000

Several ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are collaborating on recently announced projects funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grants.

“ULethbridge researchers involved in these projects are contributing their expertise to studies that have an impact across Canada and around the world,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president research. “Many research projects have an increasingly broad scope and depend on collaborations with researchers at other universities in Canada and abroad. These collaborations transform individual insight into collective knowledge and generate discoveries that a single researcher might not uncover alone.”

Dr. Lisa Starr, dean of the Faculty of Education, and Dr. Kaylan Schwarz, a professor in the School of Liberal Education, are involved in a project called TRANSFORM: Engaging with Young People for Social Change. The project is supported by a $2.5-million Partnership Grant from SSHRC and over $3 million in in-kind and cash contributions from partner universities and organizations.

The project is led by Dr. Claudia Mitchell from McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. The researchers will study how young people are pivotal agents of change in gender equality, particularly through visual arts. Using diverse art forms, such as photography, filmmaking, cellphilming (video shot on a cellphone or tablet camera), performance art and textile production, the TRANSFORM project will empower and champion youth-led agendas for transforming gender norms and inequalities. The study has field sites in Africa, South America and India.

Dr. Olu Awosoga, a Faculty of Health Sciences professor with expertise in quantitative research methods, is a co-applicant on a $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant to improve the well-being of Black children and youth in Canada. The project is led by Dr. Bukola Salami at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. The project focuses on experiences with the justice system, the education system, the child welfare system and immigration and settlement. Researchers will conduct a national survey focusing on Black children and youth in Canada — the first of its kind — to gather data on the lived experiences of Black youth.

Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA’71), DASc ’04), vice-provost of Iniskim Indigenous Relations, is collaborating on a project led by Dr. Shalene Jobin of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. The Critical Approaches to Indigenous Relationality project is supported by a $2.5-million Partnership Grant.

A further project funded by a Partnership Grant and involving ULethbridge researchers is the already announced Gatherings: Archival and Oral Histories of Performance project.

In addition, Dr. Kara Granzow, a sociology professor, is a co-applicant on a SSHRC program called the Reconciliation Network in Response to Call to Action 65 led by Dr. Vanessa Watts at McMaster ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. This joint initiative between the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and SSHRC supports the establishment of a national research program to advance the collective understanding of reconciliation. The project Re-Neighbouring as Reconciliation: Indigenous Stories of Resistance was awarded more than $975,000 over five years.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge becomes first post-secondary school to sign on as supporter of Buffalo Treaty

trevor.kenney — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 18:05:05 +0000

What began as conversations between a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate student and Blackfoot elders more than a decade ago came full circle Wednesday when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ became the first post-secondary institution to sign on as a supporter of the historic Buffalo Treaty.

ULethbridge President & Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon signs the historic Buffalo Treaty.

President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon, signed the treaty as part of ULethbridge’s annual Indigenous Awareness Week activities, joining the City of Lethbridge, with members of city council and Mayor Blaine Hyggen, and the Piikani Nation, represented by Chief Troy Knowlton and members of council, as signatories.

“The name of our university is Iniskim, which means sacred buffalo stone, and why we were given that name by Elder Bruce Wolf Child in 2001 relates to the historical relationship between where the university is located and the sacred buffalo stone,” says Mahon. “For us to be here today to sign on to the Buffalo Treaty is very important and exciting because it continues to build upon the efforts and traditions this university has undertaken for many years in its relationship with the Blackfoot and all Indigenous Peoples.”

The Buffalo Treaty, a treaty of cooperation, renewal and restoration, was born out of graduate research work Paulette Fox (MSc ’05) was conducting in environmental science. Her conversations with elders included the issue of the buffalo and its importance in Indigenous culture.

“The elders were saying how important the buffalo is for our land and our culture, songs, stories and ceremonies. And they talked about how our youth hear these stories and sing the songs and even participate in the ceremonies but when they look outside, there are no buffalo to be seen,” says Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), ULethbridge’s Vice-Provost Iniskim Indigenous Relations. “We wanted to bring the buffalo back so our youth could make those connections again.”

The Buffalo Treaty was first signed on September 24, 2014, at the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, to honour, recognize and revitalize the time immemorial relationship with buffalo. It was initially signed by four American and four Canadian First Nations, the first treaty to be signed between Indigenous Peoples in more than 150 years. In the years since, nearly 50 First Nations have been added as signatories.

“The treaty itself speaks to conservation, culture, education, health, economics and research — all things we can work on together — with the buffalo in the centre. This will be the portal through which cooperation and relationships can be built,” adds Little Bear.

While only sovereign entities can sign treaties, the elders who created the Buffalo Treaty understood there were various organizations and individuals who could and would support the vision of the treaty and work to restore the environment through the buffalo. They were invited to sign as supporters for all the ideas and concepts within the treaty.

“The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge signing on as a supporter shows they agree to work towards the ends that the Buffalo Treaty speaks to through education, research and cooperation,” says Little Bear. “It is a momentous day and very fitting that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is the first university to sign on because the very beginnings of the Buffalo Treaty happened right here, on Blackfoot territory.”

UNews - Iniskim Indigenous Relations

In effort to reduce financial barriers, ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ waives application fees for Indigenous students

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