In honour of National Aboriginal Day on Sunday, June 21, Trent University recognizes and celebrates its history as a leader and innovator in Indigenous education.

Trent’s deep and unique history of embracing aboriginal cultures, knowledge’s, and teaching and learning methods dates back to the University’s beginnings. In 1969, Trent University became the first university in Canada, and only the second in North America, to establish an academic department dedicated to the study of aboriginal peoples. Co-founded by Dr. Harvey McCue of the Georgina Island First Nations, and Trent’s first president, Dr. Tom Symons, the Indian-Eskimo Studies Program (now known as Indigenous Studies) led the way for other programs in Canada. Trent’s incorporation of Indigenous teachings and history into the framing of its interdisciplinary academic programs, such as Canadian Studies, has been critical in the development of the University.

Leadership in Indigenous Education

• New B.Ed. Program in Aboriginal Education: At a time when issues concerning people of Aboriginal origin dominate, Trent University announced it’s launching a unique Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Aboriginal Education program in the fall of 2016 that will put Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives at the forefront of teacher training. Learn more about the program.

• Partnership Creates Pathways for Aboriginal Learners: Building on an ongoing partnership between Trent University, Confederation College and First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI), the three institutions recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formally recognize an ongoing partnership, the only one of its kind in Ontario, which creates pathways for Aboriginal learners Learn more about the partnership.

• Indigenous Environmental Studies: Trent is the only university in Canada to offer this unique program bringing together principles of both Indigenous knowledge and western science in a unique and collaborative approach to learning designed to give students the necessary skills and knowledge to work in the growing field of Indigenous environmental issues. Learn more about the Indigenous Environmental Studies program.

• Ph.D. Program in Indigenous Studies: Trent’s Indigenous Ph.D. program seeks to ensure that Aboriginal knowledge, as reflected in traditional and contemporary world views and expressed in practice, are articulated, discussed, documented, recognized and experienced. Learn more about the Ph.D. program in Indigenous Studies.

Faculty Expertise and Achievements

• Preserving Indigenous Languages: Dr. Shirley Williams, now professor emeritus at Trent,  experienced first-hand the alienation of being cut off from her community and being forced to deny her language and culture, when she was placed in the residential school system as a ten-year old girl. She never forgot her father’s parting words to both “remember who she is” and to “remember her language,” and has spent much of her career working to preserve and revitalize her mother tongue from the Wikwemikong First Nation. Learn more about Prof. Williams and her feelings on the recent Truth and Reconciliation Report.

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Dr. John Milloy, director of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent, and former special advisor (history) to the commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), is an expert on residential schools including their creation, conditions and the harm done and the ways in which the legacy is being addressed. In advance to Prof. Milloy’s role as a special advisory to the TRC, he was the director of research. During his time in this role, he became associated with a project to document every child who died or went missing in residential schools going back to 1879. Learn more about Prof. Milloy.

• Urban Aboriginal Communities: Mino-bimaadiziwin is an Anishinaabe phrase that means fostering a good life. The concept provides a research framework for the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network (UAKN), formed to explore how Aboriginal people are building and living fulfilling lives in urban settings. Trent University received $2.5 million over five years from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) to fund the initiative, spearheaded by Professor David Newhouse, chair of Trent’s Department of Indigenous Studies and the lead researcher for UAKN. SSHRC appointed Dr. Newhouse to serve on its Aboriginal advisory committee and he has recently been instrumental in helping to develop a definition of Aboriginal research and guidelines. Learn more about Prof. Newhouse’s research and his role with SSHRC.

 Student Success Stories

• Convocation Spotlight: Recent graduate Lauren Smart's first experience with Trent University began when she was only about 4 or 5 years old. Years later, she has graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies. Listen to her story here.

• Trent a Family Experience for Inuit Student: Following in the footsteps of her mother and her aunt, both graduates of Trent, Jukipa Anrango Kotierk made the decision to pursue her academic journey in the Foundations of Indigenous Learning Diploma program at Trent – the same program her mother attended. Read more about Ms. Kotierk time at Trent.

Community Engagement and Events

• Elders and Traditional Peoples Gathering: The annual Elders and Traditional Peoples Gathering, hosted each year at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University, is a communities-wide gathering of elders and youth, created in the 1970s to bring elders from coast to coast to share their wisdom and stories. The gathering provides an opportunity to share indigenous knowledge through a series of workshops, presentations and gatherings. Learn more about the event.

• TRACKS Youth Program: Conceived by First Nations community members and Trent faculty, staff and students in the Indigenous Environmental Studies/Science (IES) program, TRACKS operates under the umbrella of the Kawartha World Issues Centre as a distinct program guided and led by Indigenous community partners and University representatives. Recently TRACKS announced its recent acceptance of two new grants to assist with staffing the program, recognizing TRACKS’ innovative approach and unique contribution to the ongoing promotion of science among youth. Learn more about the program.  

Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015.