Past Event

The Carleton University Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Committee (CUISIC) was formed last fall to re-energize relationships with Indigenous communities in the region and across the country.

As a result, CUISIC co-chairs Jerry Tomberlin, Kahente Horn-Miller and Benny Michaud have been working to bring together a broad representation of people from both our on-campus and off-campus communities. The committee is comprised of First Nations, Métis and Inuit members from local communities, as well as Carleton faculty, professional services staff and students. The committee has been meeting regularly since December.

Out of those meetings, we’ve developed a list of engagement themes and detailed questions that we have been discussing with various groups of people. By early fall, we hope to have a draft report, which will include Carleton-specific recommendations as part of an institutional response to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our goal is to ensure that these recommendations create spaces for dialogue and relationship-building.  Carleton University is fully committed to ensuring that the final recommendations are implemented in order to support positive long-term changes on our campus.

The themes of engagement we would like to discuss include:

• Community Engagement
• Ways of Teaching and Learning (Indigenous Knowledge/Awareness)
• Indigenous Student Support: Academic and Cultural
• Carleton University’s Culture, Systems and Structure
• Research and Innovation
• Student Experience (Recruitment, Retention and Graduation)

In a nutshell, we want to know how we can do better.  How we can better support our current and future Indigenous students?  How can we be more inviting and a welcoming space for Indigenous students, faculty and staff?

We look forward to holding a consultation session at Kitigan Zibi on May 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. Your feedback and comments will help to inform our Indigenous strategy.

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