Reconciliation

Jesse Wente, an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, speaker and arts leader, shares his perspective on Canada’s truth and reconciliation process during VIU’s sixth annual Indigenous Speakers Series on Wednesday, November 25.

Jesse Wente is taking a harm reduction approach to the truth and reconciliation process by amplifying the voices of Indigenous peoples.

Dr. Deb Saucier, VIU President and Vice-Chancellor since July 2019, was formally endowed with the powers and responsibilities of office in a ceremony at the Snuneymuxw First Nation Longhouse in Cedar on November 15.

A regional institution such as Vancouver Island University (VIU) can change what it means to be a university, challenge longstanding perceptions on who goes and what can be taught there, and redefine how we understand and value people.

Max FineDay, Executive Director of the Canadian Roots Exchange, will share his perspective on what reconciliation looks like during VIU’s fifth annual Indigenous Speakers Series on Monday, November 25. 

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When Max FineDay graduated from university in 2015, his grandmother sat him down and told him he had a duty to explain Indigenous peoples to the rest of Canada by telling the kinds of stories that change people’s hearts and minds.

An innovative learning partnership headquartered at VIU is starting to take root. It’s been two years since EleV, a collaboration between VIU and Indigenous communities that is supported by the Mastercard Foundation, launched.

Dr. Pam Shaw and Dr. Ralph Nilson are being recognized for the outstanding contributions they have made in their fields and to Canadian public life.

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Two accomplished Vancouver Island University (VIU) leaders are being welcomed into the highly respected 2019 class of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). 

The ḥaahuupa Summer Camp took place on Newcastle Island from July 2-5 with youth from Gold River, Zeballos, Nanaimo and Kyuquot.

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Shannon Frank can’t remember a time in recent history when she’s laughed as long and as loud.

The Gold River Secondary School graduate was attending the haahuupa Summer Camp on Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park) from July 2-5 with nine other youth she’d just met from Gold River, Zeballos, Nanaimo and Kyuquot.

In recognition of the longstanding relationship Vancouver Island University (VIU) has with two of its Indigenous partners – Snuneymuxw First Nation and Métis Nation – flags for each of these Nations were raised at the Nanaimo Campus on National Indigenous Peoples Day (Friday, June 21, 2019).

The Snuneymuxw and Métis flags joined the national, provincial and VIU flags already flying in the Royal Bank Plaza in the heart of campus, symbolizing VIU’s ongoing commitment to nurturing and maintaining these relationships.

The Indigenous Perspectives Learning Circle group, made up of 10 Indigenous, five international and five non-Indigenous students, met monthly over the school year to discuss how to better incorporate Indigenous perspectives into their work, studies and personal lives.

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The more Evangeline Clifton talks with others about her people's experiences, the more she realizes that further awareness building is needed.

Long before British Captain George Henry Richards named Mount Arrowsmith in the late 1800s, the largest mountain on southern Vancouver Island had many distinctive titles given to it, depending which side the 1,819 metre peak was viewed from. In 2000, the Arrowsmith moniker was used in the designation of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR), a UNESCO recognized biosphere reserve.