How do I get started?
As you begin and continue your journey, it is important to listen, to be open to learning, and to be prepared to challenge your personal and academic views, knowledge, and past interactions/experiences.
While in academia we are often encouraged to speak up and out, it’s important that we listen twice as much as we speak when doing this work and give space for reflection and for Indigenous folks to share their truths.
To get started, we encourage you to read and familiarize yourself with the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP) and reflect on your role in regard to Truth and Reconciliation. You might also want to ask people within your department about the broader goals of the ISP that will be implemented within your context.
The creation of the ISP was a collective effort with significant contributions from the Musqueam and Syilx Okanagan Nations and Indigenous Elders, faculty, staff, students and community members. It was created in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ 231 Calls for Justice, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The UBC Indigenous Portal has curated a list of internal and external professional development opportunities that you can use to support your learning. Some UBC-specific professional development and learning opportunities include:
- Weaving Relations, a UBC self-directed course created by the Faculty of Applied Science and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. The course explores Indigenous histories, peoples, and contexts, as well as settler colonialism in Canada.
- Events, workshops, and drop-in sessions organized and facilitated by the Indigenous Initiatives team at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) who support the UBC community in their Indigenous-focused learning path and provide excellent professional development opportunities for faculty.
- Attending workshops and exploring resources from the Classroom Climate Series and the What I Learned in Class Today project. These would be a great place to start.
- UBC-generated resources including Indigenous Foundations, Time and Place at UBC: Our Histories and Relations, and the Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education MOOC (offered 1-2 times/year).
The Pulling Together series guides are also excellent BC-related resources for personal and collective learning. We suggest checking out the Foundations Guide as you get started and then move to the Teachers and Instructors Guide.
