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Wilfrid Laurier University celebrates Indigenous History Month and the Indigenous students, staff, faculty and community.
Laurier is proud to foster a community that embraces Indigenous initiatives as part of our institutional identity. Throughout Indigenous History Month and the rest of the year, we invite you to learn about incredible Indigenous students, thoughtful researchers, and supportive staff members. Laurier has been working toward the goal of Indigenization, a term that reflects the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into the daily life of the university.
National Indigenous History Month, held in June, is an opportunity for the Laurier community to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada.
You can support Laurier’s commitment to building capacity in Indigenous education on all of its campuses under the leadership of Indigenous students, faculty and staff, by making a donation in support of Indigenous Initiatives today.
Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair has stated that education is the key to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In recognition of the critical role universities must play in the reconciliation process, Laurier is committed to building capacity in Indigenous education on all of its campuses under the leadership of Indigenous students, faculty and staff.
Support from Laurier donors play a vital role in the university’s ongoing efforts to eliminate barriers for Indigenous learners, and helps to ensure Indigenous students who are studying at Laurier have the resources and support needed to thrive.
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Laurier's Office of Indigenous Initiatives shared a pre-recorded video to communicate truths about the legacy and harms of residential schools. Hear from Associate Vice-President of Indigenous Initiatives Darren Thomas as he interviews Six Nations community member Sherlene Bomberry and PhD candidate in the Department of History at Laurier Cody Groat.
Laurier’s Indigenous Student Centres serve as a place for Indigenous students to connect with services and with each other. At the student centres you can find access to:
Meet the incredible staff at the Indigenous Student Centres who offer support to Indigenous students support at the university.
Indigenous Student Support Coordinator – Waterloo, Kitchener, and Milton
Stephanie (she/her) is Mohawk First Nations of the Haudenosaunee on her father’s side. She was raised in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region and is a Laurier alumna who graduated in 2021 with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biology. In her current role, Stephanie works with students and the university to support students’ needs and helps organize programming for the Indigenous Student Centre.
Manager of Indigenous Student Services
Emily (she/her) is Anishinaabe Kwe with lineage from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. She works to support the Indigenous Student Services team at the Brantford and Waterloo campuses.
Indigenous Student Support Coordinator – Brantford
Jesse (they/them) is Afro-Indigenous. They are Anishinaabeg with lineage from Odanak First Nation on their mother’s side and Trinidadian lineage on their father’s side. A Laurier alum, Jesse graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Social Work. As a student, Jesse worked closely with Margaret Neveau at the Indigenous Student Centre as an assistant. In their current role, Jesse provides support and programming for online and in-person students at Laurier’s Brantford campus.
Learning Consultant, Indigenous Academic Success Program
Shé:kon sewakwé:kon! Zeeta yónkyats, Ononta’kehá:ka nì’i. Ohswé:ken nitewaké:no. Zeeta (akaónha/she/her) is Onondaga from Six Nations. As a learning consultant, Zeeta can meet one on one with students on the Waterloo and Brantford campuses to develop their learning skills and facilitate academic success programming for undergraduate and graduate students.
Indigenous Student Counsellor
Margaret (she/her) is Anishinaabekwe from Batchewana First Nation located on the Eastern shores of Lake Superior. She has over 10 years of experience providing cultural, social, physical and emotional support to students. Margaret’s Anishinaabe name is Neegaabeeshbesingkwe, which translates to mean “water that falls woman.”
The Indigenous Student Centres on the Brantford and Waterloo campuses have both undergone renovations for much-needed enhancements. And there’s more to come! Additional upgrades will continue over the next few years.
In Brantford, the generous support of the Grundy Family helped renovate Onkwehonwè:ne Brantford Campus. This enhanced Indigenous Student Centre creates a larger supportive and nurturing space for Laurier’s growing Indigenous student community, allows for much-needed staff and programming expansion, and increases vital access to academic programs and assistance with career development to further enhance employment options for Indigenous students.
Thanks to generous philanthropic investment, Lucinda House was renovated into an enhanced Indigenous Student Centre on Laurier’s Waterloo campus. This beautiful space provides a place where Laurier’s Indigenous student community can participate in ceremony and activities; where Laurier can demonstrate its commitment to Indigenous culture and learning, and to Indigenous students’ success; and where Indigenous students can find a “home away from home” on Laurier’s Waterloo campus.
Laurier offers gratitude to the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, the Students’ Union, the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association, Mr. Ken Flood and the Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Students’ Association for their significant gifts in support of this project.
Based on the Haudenosaunee creation story, our logo reminds us of how the first seeds of life on Earth were planted on the back of a turtle. The inner segments of the dome represent the Anishnaabe (Ojibway) Seven Grandfather Teachings: love, respect, wisdom, bravery, truth, honesty and humility. The golden rays of the sun symbolize enlightenment, learning and new beginnings. The Métis beaded purple flower represents the gifts of plant life from the Skyworld, which encourage and sustain life. The entire design rests on the waters of life.
Join over a thousand undergraduate and graduate students in completing Laurier’s Student Self-Identification Form. Hosted by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the voluntary form gathers demographic and identity-related information to get a better understanding of Laurier's student community and to identify and address inequities.
Meet Darren Thomas, Laurier’s associate vice-president of Indigenous Initiatives. As Laurier’s most senior Indigenous leader, Thomas provides strategic advice, support and expertise to academic and administrative units across the university to achieve goals related to Indigeneity, including creating an environment of cultural safety for Indigenous faculty, staff, students and visitors. Learn about Thomas and his goals for the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Laurier.
A new training program focused on Indigeneity, truth and reconciliation has garnered high rates of participation among employees at Wilfrid Laurier University. In December 2020, Laurier made the 4 Seasons of Reconciliation course, an online course developed by First Nations University of Canada, available to employees at the Brantford and Waterloo campuses and Kitchener location. More than 550 employees, including all managers and members of Laurier’s executive leadership team, have completed the course to date.
In recognition of Orange Shirt Day and the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, 2021, Laurier’s Faculty of Music held a special Music at Noon fundraising concert for the Woodland Cultural Centre, which serves to promote Indigenous history, art, language and culture. The concert features Indigenous performers Barbara Assiginaak, Sonny-Ray Day Rider, Cara Loft and Rene Meshake.
Gus Hill, associate professor of Social Work and the Lyle S. Hallman Chair in Child and Family Welfare, shares why he wrote his very personal book Indigenous Healing: Voices of Elders and Healers. Hill describes the importance of sharing traditional Indigenous healing practices with mainstream Canadian society.
Miguel Sioui, an assistant professor in Laurier’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, speaks about his book Indigenous Geographies in the Yucatan:Learning From the Responsibility-Based Maya Environmental Ethos. He explains the land ethos of "being part of the land," specifically among the Mayan community of Xuilub (Yucatan), Mexico, and describes "responsibility-based" thinking.
Few summer jobs enable students to make money, accumulate hands-on research experience and prepare themselves for graduate studies, yet eight Indigenous undergraduate students at Laurier had the opportunity to do just that. In summer 2021, they each participated in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) program.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report in June 2019, which included 231 Calls for Justice. In response to Call for Justice 1.1, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commissioned a national action plan. Percy Lezard, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies at Laurier, was selected to lead its development and co-authored the 2SLGBTQQIA+ Sub-Working Group's MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan: Final Report.
In this webinar, Leddy, associate professor of Indigenous Studies, discusses Serpent River First Nation’s resilience in confronting colonial extractive practices during the Cold War period. Relying on oral and archival research methods, she shows how Anishinaabek responses to the devastating impacts of uranium mining in their territory were framed by a powerful understanding of health and homeland. Leddy recently published a book entitled Serpent River Resurgence: Confronting Uranium Mining at Elliot Lake.
In this special edition episode for National Indigenous Month, we welcome Charity Fleming (MSW `09), an Indigenous social worker and an intergenerational survivor of the residential school and sixties scoop programs. She has dedicated her life to aiding the recovery of indigenous people from experiences and impacts of historical trauma.
The Indigenous Knowledge Fund was created to support students learning directly from Indigenous knowledge holders, both inside and outside of the classroom. This form of experiential and engaged learning about Indigenous topics directly from Indigenous people is an invaluable opportunity for the Laurier community and helps to build reciprocal relationships between Laurier community members and Indigenous community members.
Over the past year, 19 speakers on topics such as the Land Back movement, two spirit identities, and the impact of the criminal justice system, were supported by the Indigenous Knowledge Fund.
