Views from GEEC: Indigenous outreach at McGill & how you can get involved!

McGill’s EDI teams are helping to work towards Truth and Reconciliation in our communities – and training students to lead the way

The land on which McGill University is situated was taken from Indigenous peoples, who are still living in Canada today and who are affected by the ongoing reality of colonial history and systemic racism.

Truth and Reconciliation efforts comprise an important aspect of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) activities in universities and workplaces in Canada and around the world. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues investigates how EDI activities and Sustainable Development Goals can be integrated in Indigenous affairs. A total of 20 sessions (2002 – 2021) have discussed several important mandates, ranging from transmission and protection of Traditional Knowledge (Eighteenth Session, 2019) to developing relevant articles in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Ninth Session, 2010), to special themes on Indigenous Women. The Government of Canada is likewise beginning to engage in collaboration and incorporation of Indigenous perspectives, for example, signing Memorandum Of Agreements to advance reconciliation based on shared goals and Treaty 5 Nation priorities. McGill has several initiatives aimed at developing and providing resources for its Indigenous staff, faculty, and students. Presently, 52 such Calls to Action are in effect at McGill, spanning diverse domains such as

• Setting reasonable enrolment and graduation targets,

• Collaborating with services off-campus for R&D, placements and career directions,

• Creating tools for successful transition of Indigenous students from high school and CEGEP to University,

• Foster understanding of respect and Indigenous knowledge in Traditional Lands and Territories

The First People’s House (FPH) offers community for Indigenous students by providing academic and cultural support. The FPH is a meeting place for Indigenous students to talk, discuss, interact, and grow, and offers opportunities for non-Indigenous students to connect to and learn from the Indigenous community at McGill . We encourage you to visit their page to learn more! McGill’s Indigenous Initiatives provides further resources for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to discover the history of Indigenous peoples connected to Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and how Indigenous Knowledge can challenge and enrich our ways of learning today.

Illustration used with permission from freepik.com

Aligned with McGill in this mandate is the Faculty of Engineering’s Engineering Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Advancement (E-IDEA) team! In particular, E-IDEA’s Youth Action & Outreach events brings engineering together with CCP – Connectivity, Collaboration, and Practicality. Through CCP, E-IDEA aims to inform McGill students of EDI issues in communities and workspaces, and provide opportunities to engage and apply EDI in action. One of E-IDEA's focus areas involves partnerships with Indigenous schools in Kahnawake, Quebec. The immediate goal of these partnerships is to engage McGill students to lead workshops with youth in collaborating Indigenous schools, using effective (and fun!) tools of teaching, experimental learning, and community engagement. E-IDEA is working to establish sustainable and inclusive long-term commitments between McGill and partnering community schools. These partnerships aim to converge to a common goal of enriching teaching and learning experiences for youth -- to help encourage positive social impact. At present, E-IDEA works with the Beurling Academy in Verdun and the Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) in Kahnawake, Quebec. Both schools are connected to historically under-represented (at McGill) Black and Indigenous communities. Workshops at Beurling focus on two topics – English: Truth and Reconciliation and Science: Improving the Classroom Environment. Workshops at KSS are aimed for the students to explore different stages of E-IDEA’s “Action by Design Cycle”, which is a modified version of the engineering design cycle intended to encourage imagination, empathy, critical thinking, thoughtful preparation, action, and reflection. E-IDEA’s outreach events also include out-of-class learning opportunities such as “The Sandbox”, where students can apply their learnings from in-class workshops to facilitate skills development.

Views from GEEC is an ongoing series addressing equity issues and initiatives on campus at McGill University. This piece on Indigenous outreach initiatives was authored by Anirban Kundu, Changemakers Liaison.

If you are interested to get involved with outreach and help facilitate E-IDEA's workshops at either Beurling Academy or KSS, reach out to us at equity.geec@gmail.com for more information!