Braiding

Since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report in 2015, many people have been working to address the Calls to Action and build capacity for learning these truths and engaging in reconciliation. We recognize that Indigenous people continue to face entrenched hurdles, including bias and discrimination that impact their safety, health, well-being and ability to progress.

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We incorporate Indigenous identities, languages, cultures and worldviews across the university. This includes working to dismantle systemic barriers and celebrating the diversity, strength, complexity, resilience and beauty of Indigenous Peoples, cultures, languages and knowledge systems. Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan is a crucial foundation for our next decade.

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1. We support Indigenous-led initiatives, knowledges, communities and research engagement, and take steps to deliver on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, particularly, though not exclusively, in relation to Education for Reconciliation. We adhere to the guiding values and principles outlined in Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan. We are committed to the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges, voices and critiques, as well as physical and intellectual spaces that facilitate a plurality of Indigenous knowledges and practices.
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2. Our research excellence is underpinned by the principle of equity and the practices of inclusion and decolonization. By remaining accountable to these principles and practices, we strive to build a culture where diversity flourishes and where we work in partnership to dismantle systemic barriers with ethical integrity and social responsibility.
3. We support Indigenous-led initiatives, knowledges, communities and research engagement, and take steps to deliver on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, particularly, though not exclusively, in relation to Education for Reconciliation.

Other

• Deep relations with a rich tradition and connections to land. With campuses in both Edmonton and Camrose, and as the geographically northernmost U15 institution, our university offers a unique perspective in connection with a complex, biodiverse land and interconnected peoples. Our location enables us to learn from the rich traditions of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of this place now called Canada, and to integrate those traditions into how we conceive, design and conduct research, recognizing the importance of genuine community engagement and participation at all stages of the process.

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• Demonstrated uniqueness and strength in key areas [including] Indigenous research

We are all interrelated and interconnected, living, learning and working together for a balanced, supportive and healthy community with the land and with each other. An Indigenous worldview is a cornerstone of the action plan that goes beyond the inclusion of people who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit and instead provides a commentary on the vision for a healthy student experience from an Indigenous perspective.

An Indigenous worldview arose out of initial feedback from students that recognized the most positive aspects of the U of A student experience were in harmony with notions of kinship, balance, interconnectedness and community. As feedback grew more analytical, many identified principles of the Cree concepts of Wâhkôtowin and Miyo-pimâtisiwin, which encapsulate notions of healthy communities in the Cree worldview and helped to shape parts of the more multi-national Indigenous worldview sculpted for the plan. The SEAP staff sought feedback from Indigenous leaders on campus through teas, including thoughtful conversations with the Indigenous Advisory Council, which led to insights on ecological balance, ethics and ancestral knowledge that helped to solidify and ground the worldview. An Indigenous worldview affirms the vision and commitment of student experience through an Indigenous perspective familiar to those from Treaty 6, 7 or 8 territory and should resonate across cultures. The vision, commitment and Indigenous worldview statements are underpinned by our three principles (Connections are Fostered, Exploration is Essential and Challenge Accepted!) that emerged after the first cocreation workshop and encompass the desired future state of student experiences at the U of A. We recognize that within these principles, student experiences vary, and for some students, exceptional experiences are only attained after systemic barriers to equity and access are addressed.

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RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Reconciliation refers to a process of building and sustaining respectful, ethical relationships between Indigenous peoples and the rest of Canada based on mutual understanding and respect. Universities across Canada have responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action in ways relevant to their institutional context. The University of Alberta has responded with an emphasis on capacity building and foundational change in support of Indigenous initiatives, programming, and personnel with a vision for making the U of A a welcoming place for Indigenous students, faculty, and staff. The university’s EDI initiatives will endeavor to support the principles of the Indigenous strategic plan and prioritize cross collaboration with it.

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This action plan is built upon existing foundations and was developed with the current context of the university in mind.

Some key foundational pieces underway include: In 2022, the university launched a strategic plan to respond to the calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report. Titled Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan, the plan aims to dismantle colonial structures in the university that have long “disenfranchised Indigenous Peoples of their legal, social, cultural, religious and ethnic rights.”

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As such, A Culture of Care supports the Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan. The five-year plan guides measures to ensure Indigenous identities, languages, cultures and worldviews are reflected in everything the university does. The plan includes concrete measures to reclaim Indigenous identity, languages, cultures and worldviews. Foregrounding the right to self-determination, the plan also makes clear that its goals — along with all Indigenous initiatives at the U of A — must be Indigenous led.

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Significantly, all of our programs will meaningfully integrate our commitments reflected in Braiding Past, Present and Future — including to Indigenous Ways of Knowing, thoughtful community engagement and support for and value of Indigenous research

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This Plan aligns with other institutional strategic plans, including Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact, Braiding Past, Present and Future, and our Strategic Plan for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

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The SEAP was also guided by the many student-focused actions in Braiding Past, Present and Future, the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Strategic Plan.

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• Increased participation in post-secondary education by Indigenous students, helping contribute to reconciliation

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  • Meet or exceed U15 benchmarks – total enrolment and total indigenous enrolment: Undergraduate and Graduate

• Identifying, nurturing and welcoming researchers from historically underrepresented and equity-denied groups, which will better position our academy to explore issues from a broader lens and allow ideas and creativity to flourish through diversity
• Building capacity to support and incentivize community-based research
• (Braiding) - Importantly, our initiatives will meaningfully integrate our commitments reflected in Braiding Past, Present and Future and our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion.

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  • More robust and comprehensive research capacity through the durable embedding of Indigenous community engagement and Indigenous Ways of Knowing into research practices

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More robust and comprehensive research capacity through the durable embedding of Indigenous community engagement and Indigenous ways of knowing into research practices.

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The result will be a prevailing climate of support for researchers and research: one that fosters multidisciplinary engagement; provides safety in the pursuit of various lines of inquiry; integrates principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization and reconciliation; and centres collaboration in the generation and mobilization of knowledge.

• Enhance our research ecosystem to support researchers from equity-denied groups including … researchers from Indigenous … communities

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• Expand collaboration among the Office of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation), the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), colleges and faculties to enhance funding opportunities for trainees and early-career researchers from equity-denied groups to increase researcher and faculty diversity.
• Create new, and engage existing, programs to expand research and training opportunities and communities for equity-denied groups.
• Create strategic workshops and training resources for targeted groups of researchers, including those from equity-denied groups and early-career researchers, to develop and strengthen research leadership and project management skills.
• Through collaborations among the faculties, colleges and centres and institutes, increase the number of university researchers from equity-denied groups who lead or co-lead large-scale, collaborative, funded, interdisciplinary research initiatives.
• Align strategic allocations of Canada Research Chair, Canada Excellence Research Chair and other chair and research professorship positions to increase the number of recipient researchers from equity-denied groups.

Our situation on Treaties 6, 7 and 8 and the homelands of the Métis is fundamental to our identity, and we are deeply committed to building and sustaining relationships of trust, respect and mutuality with Indigenous communities.

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• Proactively engaging with private, public and non-profit partners and with Indigenous communities to identify how our university can best advance the quality of life for all Albertans
• Sustaining and deepening our commitment to Indigenous communities, and embracing our responsibilities under the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Building capacity and incentives for our faculty, staff and students to collaborate and engage with communities, industry and social and cultural organizations

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  • Enhanced relationships and partnerships with First Nations and Métis communities within Alberta and an increase in Indigenous community-engaged research

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Our relationships with Indigenous, rural, Francophone, local and national communities, industry and the land have cultivated innovative solutions to grand societal challenges.

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1.3 Engage and support diverse researchers and research teams from broad research areas and demographic groups to apply for internal and external research awards and expand their national and international research profiles.

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1. Strategically design internal research award processes and policies, incorporating, where applicable, Indigenous worldviews and furthering the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

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2. Recognize, support and celebrate research that is community-engaged, community-led, intersectional, francophone and partnered with Indigenous communities.
3. Establish targeted internal awards to recognize and celebrate Indigenous scholars, scholars from equity-denied groups, research scholarship in the areas of Indigenous-engaged research and research that addresses and/or achieves greater levels of EDI.
4. Strengthen capacity related to national and international research awards, ensuring that engagement and nomination processes are attentive to principles of Indigenous-led and Indigenous-engaged research and EDI.

1.4 Establish an integrated network of research support for Indigenous initiatives and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research and creative activities and in multidisciplinary research initiatives.

1. Create an Indigenous research and innovation centre of expertise in the Office of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation).

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2. In collaboration with the Offices of the Vice-Provost (Indigenous Programming & Research) and the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion), develop and provide training and web-based tools on Indigenous initiatives and EDI to researchers as an integral element of research grant and ethics applications, including multidisciplinary research initiatives.

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3. Formally engage researchers in integrating Indigenous-engaged scholarship, research and relationships in relevant research grant and award applications.

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4. Enhance our research ecosystem to support researchers from equity-denied groups including … researchers from Indigenous … communities

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5. Build and support partnerships with municipal, provincial and national governments, Indigenous nations, not-for-profit organizations and the private sector to collaboratively develop and implement innovative, creative, artistic, entrepreneurial and commercial solutions to shared challenges.

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6. Develop relationships and collaborate with Indigenous, northern and equity-denied communities and civil society organizations to define and stimulate community-driven and community-led research and implementation programs.

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Psychological safety means “a workplace that promotes workers’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health including in negligent, reckless, or intentional ways” (CSA National Standard, 2013). It is “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” (Edmondson, 1999).

• Scarborough Charter*
• Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate

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CULTURAL SAFETY

Cultural safety means an environment where employees can be their authentic selves. Employees should feel safe no matter how they identify as a human. University employees (and students) are diverse in their identities, including, but not limited to: gender, faith, mobility, linguistically and culturally. No employee should have to mask their authentic selves. Every employee should feel accepted and respected for who they are, in all of their complex identities and for the gifts that they uniquely contribute to the workplace.

• Indigenous Strategic Plan
• Strategic Plan for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity

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It is also acknowledged that safety is linked to the university’s infrastructure and its Integrated Asset Management Strategy (IAMS). The integration of initiatives such as the Indigenous Strategic Plan, the IAMS and this action plan will be achieved through the implementation planning process which will occur as the next stage of this project. Implementation of this plan will effectively bridge this gap from physical employee safety to the whole safety of the individual.

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