Indigenous

Dr. Laura Cranmer reawakens Indigenous languages through powerful play

The VIU Honorary Research Associate’s play urges reflection on Canada’s collective history and colonial impacts.

Warning: Scenes from the Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Reawakening Hul’q’umin’um’, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwak’wala Languages contains scenes, imagery and language that can be intense and activating. Attendees are encouraged to do what is best for their mental health, including leaving the theatre to decompress or not attending if they have concerns about their well-being. Mental health support workers will be available for Survivors and audience members.

Indigenous speaker elevates the voices of the “Reconciliation Generation”

Riley Yesno will deliver the keynote address at VIU’s Indigenous Speakers Series event on November 22.

Riley Yesno is part of a generation of Indigenous youth who have grown up with the term reconciliation occupying an ever-increasing share of Canada’s national dialogue.

VIU News & Experts: October 6, 2023

Grocery store prices, land stewardship and more 🌏

VIU is excited to introduce DiscoverFest, a new, free community event that includes live music, an artisan market, science demos, expert talks, campus tours, activities for kids and teens, food trucks, a beer garden and much more. DiscoverFest is for:

Province, First Nations and VIU announce new funding and training for Indigenous guardians protecting coastal lands and waters

Partnership between Nanwakolas Council nations and Vancouver Island University
addresses urgent need for more Indigenous Guardians across BC

VICTORIA, B.C. (Oct. 4, 2023) - An agreement signed today by Nanwakolas Council and Vancouver Island University (VIU) and supported with funding from the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, will provide new Indigenous Guardians with the skills they need to protect the fragile lands and waters of Vancouver Island and the central BC coast.

VIU hosts summer camp for Indigenous students

The camp is organized by the ‘su’luqw’a’ Community Cousins Indigenous student mentorship program.

Making Indigenous youth feel like they belong at university is the goal of a seven-day summer camp taking place at Vancouver Island University (VIU) this August.

Artist raising awareness about colonization’s impact on Indigenous women

Tags: Indigenous , Art and Design

Atticus Mercredi doesn’t remember his mother. 

What he knows, he learned from his siblings. His mother Glenda Faye Ledoux, from the Mistawasis Cree First Nation, was a resilient woman. She was tough, tenacious and wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. She was a residential school Survivor and struggled with addiction because of colonial trauma. Her 12 children were taken from her by social services, and she fought to get them back up until her death in 1999. She died from complications of stomach cancer at 41.

Indigenous speaker shares story of fight for the return of traditional lands

Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn), a Squamish Nation Councillor and Spokesperson, will deliver the keynote address at VIU’s Indigenous Speakers Series event on March 20.

Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn) grew up without knowledge of his culture or history.

His parents, both residential school survivors, did not talk about any element of their First Nations background and it wasn’t until Sxwíxwtn was in his twenties that he began to get more connected to his Nation and cultural roots.

VIU experts appear live on CBC Nanaimo broadcast

Several shows were broadcasting from Serious Coffee on Hammond Bay Road

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched its permanent bureau in Nanaimo on Friday, January 27 with a special live broadcast in the Harbour City that featured several experts from Vancouver Island University.

The Nanaimo bureau “will focus on telling stories from the mid-and-north Vancouver Island region” states a CBC news story. Listen to VIU experts talk about their research into various aspects of Nanaimo’s history and culture.  

Encouraging the next generation of Indigenous leaders

Tags: Education , Community Cousins , Indigenous

Growing up, Hayden Kenneth Taylor remembers hiding his identity as a member of the Haisla Nation because of how other people viewed Indigenous peoples. Fast forward to today and Hayden, who is in VIU’s Master of Education program, is researching ways to incorporate more Indigenous culture and knowledge into BC’s public-school curriculum. He has also taken a leading role in encouraging Indigenous youth to connect with culture.

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