EDMONTON — The University of Alberta has launched a report detailing its progress on the Calls to Action issued by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).
The report, called the TRC Report to Community Dashboard, tracks the U of A’s response to calls specific to post-secondary institutions — ranging from Indigenous-focused teaching and research to community engagement.
The Final Report of Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released in 2015 with 94 Calls to Action, after the commission heard testimony from over 6,800 residential school survivors across the country. The calls include tackling educational and employment barriers and educating people about the history and legacy of the Indian Residential School System. The landmark report noted that universities are “uniquely and powerfully positioned” to support reconciliation.
“Since the TRC issued its report, the University of Alberta has begun implementing the Calls to Action in thoughtful, meaningful and sustainable ways,” says Florence Glanfield, vice-provost, Indigenous programming and research, adding the university has only begun to “truly carry out the full scope of a journey that will take a substantial amount of time and effort, as there is so much work yet to do.”
She says the report is clear in the U of A’s acknowledgement that it has participated – and participates – in aspects of colonialism that were, and are, deeply harmful to Indigenous Peoples and that there is a wrong to right. The resulting report reflects work at the university to “remediate the erasure and exclusion of Indigenous knowledges, histories and knowledge systems,” says Glanfield.
Included in the report is the U of A’s progress on:
- Offering programs related to Indigenous-focused teacher education and leadership, and supporting Indigenous student recruitment and retention.
- Supporting community-led Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
- All new courses and programs put forward now require a review of Indigenous content to address the curricular gap named in the Calls to Action; this ensures that Indigenous-focused competencies in education and research are part of the curriculum. Quality Assurance processes also review existing courses with this lens.
- Sharing archives and collections related to the residential school system through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s network of Canadian post-secondary institutions.
- Increasing the numbers of Indigenous faculty and staff across the institution, including creating two new leadership positions — assistant dean, First Nation, Métis and Inuit Students in the Office of the Dean of Students; and assistant registrar, Indigenous enrollment management in the Office of the Registrar.
In 2022, the U of A released Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan, which outlines goals and strategies to ensure Indigenous identities, languages, cultures and worldviews are reflected in everything the university does. It also makes clear that its goals – along with all Indigenous initiatives at the U of A – are Indigenous-led in the right to self-determination.
The university’s new institutional plan, Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact, builds on those commitments to enable transformative institutional practices. Throughout consultations on the new strategic plan, indigenization was identified as a key priority. Shape makes clear that there is a deep commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous initiatives and one that represents the collective vision of the U of A community.
The TRC dashboard follows two years of broad dialogues with representatives from across the university in colleges, faculties and portfolios as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit faculty and staff, nations and organizations. It is based on data from U of A faculties, units within faculties, affiliated colleges and vice-presidential portfolios, and reflects activities undertaken between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2022. An updated report will be published every two years so the community can see the university’s continued progress.
More information can be found here. Quotes from Dr. Florence Glanfield can be used from this video. To schedule an interview with Dr. Glanfield please contact: Sarah Vernon | University of Alberta communications associate | svernon@ualberta.ca