Indigenization at the Departmental Level: Stepping Up and Taking Responsibility for Action by Adam Gaudry

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Full Abstract
This presentation explores the central role of academic departments in realizing Canadian higher education's calls for Indigenization and reconciliation. As the core element of a university, departments are where some of the most consequential decisions are made. It’s here where curricula are developed, courses taught, and programs of study designed. While most Indigenization strategy originates in central offices, rarely do systematic approaches to Indigenization succeed in the transformative. Offices of VP-Indigenous around the country are often small, underfunded, and tasked with responsibilities beyond their capacity to manage. This strategy of centralizing Indigenization was to create a systematic approach to reconciliation and Indigenization, but this hasn't always led to systematic change. Likewise, many VPs feel they are facing an uphill battle in motivating leaders across campus to adopt these strategies in frontline academic units. While central Indigenous leadership is vital, it is academic departments that must do the heavy lifting for Indigenization and reconciliation to succeed on campus. In this presentation, Adam Gaudry will examine how good departmental Indigenization strategy rooted in a commitment to Indigenous leadership, community collaboration, and a deep commitment to reconciliation can help universities live up to their commitments: to create academic space for Indigenous students designed and delivered by Indigenous faculty, to build dynamic learning opportunities to educate good citizens and treaty partners, while also realizing good relations between universities and Indigenous communities to make educational and governance decisions together.

Following the presentation, Adam Gaudry will facilitate a workshop for the Department of Anthropology to identify strengths and opportunities for Indigenization. Using the three approaches to Indigenization framework developed by Gaudry and Lorenz, this workshop is intended to expand conversations on Indigenization in the department. With the Department’s support, the workshop will encourage program development and relationship building in order to support Indigenous faculty, staff, students, and communities in achieving their learning and research needs.

Short Bio
Adam Gaudry, Ph.D. is Interim Dean of the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. He is Red River Métis and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. His Métis family moved to the Lake-of-the-Woods in Northwestern Ontario from the Red River Valley early in the 20th Century. He grew up in Hamilton.
Adam received his Ph.D. from the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Victoria and completed his MA in Sociology and BAH in Political Studies from Queen’s University. He is a past Henry Roe Cloud Fellow at Yale University. He has published extensively on Métis history and governance, Indigenous-Canada relations, Indigenous research methodologies, and Indigenization policy in Canadian higher education.