91社区

The Task Force calls upon our University to review and adapt as necessary research expectations for faculty and students who undertake community-engaged research, given that this type of research commands more time to conduct and disseminate than traditional forms of scholarship. To this end, 91社区 is encouraged to recognize explicitly alternate, unorthodox modes of knowledge translation and sharing that depart from standard, text-based output.

The Task Force further calls for revisiting the notion of 鈥減eers鈥� in academic research contexts. Indigenous scholarship maybe best evaluated by individuals in community who hold knowledge and who understand whether and how the research concerned is likely to affect or benefit Indigenous communities, peoples, territories and knowledges.

Progress

• The Senior Research Equity Advisor from the Office of the Provost is supporting Equity Diversity Inclusion components of the Canada Research Chair awards process.
• The Office of VPRI聽organized a webinar on "The First Nations Principles of OCAP庐" on November 25th, 2021 to promote community awareness on聽OCAP庐聽and distinction based RDM approaches for Indigenous-led and Indigenous-partnered research with the Digital Research Services Hub (DRS).
• The Office of VPRI is collaborated with the聽聽(FNIGC) to organize a 2-Day deep-dive, hands-on workshop on The First Nations Principles of OCAP庐聽in February 23-24,聽2022.聽

Next Steps

• The DRS continues to partner with FNIGC to provide additional research data management trainings involving Indigenous data on a regular, ongoing basis.聽

Last Update: 11 November 2022

The Task Force calls upon our University to establish internal funding awards to support 91社区 researchers and students who undertake Indigenous-led or Indigenous-partnered research that exhibits a full commitment to the First Nations Principles of OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) and protocols advanced by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the TRC鈥檚 Calls to Action, the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS), and the Research Protocol of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec & Labrador (AFNQL).

Progress

• The Indigenous Initiatives unit has funding discussions with partners standing by to resume.
• A grant proposal is in the works to promote a series of interactive and iterative forums with regional and local Indigenous communities to strengthen Indigenous research, process, and capacity at 91社区.聽

Last Update: 11 November 2022

The Task Force calls upon our University to develop partnerships with Indigenous communities where 91社区 faculty and students may undertake research, with a view to formalizing OCAP principles. Such partnerships may take the form of memoranda of understanding or agreement between Indigenous communities and 91社区. Partnerships should be premised on allowing Indigenous communities to advise the 91社区 research community about the most pressing questions within their communities that require investigation. Consideration should also be given to the creation of a bank of research questions or topics formulated by communities, which 91社区 students can be invited to pursue through independent or graduate research projects. This type of initiative reflects the partnership model toward which 91社区 should be striving, allowing research inquiry to originate within and ultimately serve to benefit Indigenous communities.

Progress

• Mellon Fund has begun seed funding for community engagement initiatives through the Indigenous Studies & Community Engagement Initiative.
• Senior members of 91社区 Athletics and Recreation have been in touch with Indigenous leaders from both present, and alumni members of the community to further educate current staff about the importance of celebrating and respecting Indigenous cultures.聽

Next Steps

• The Indigenous Studies & Community Engagement Initiative will plan to have a call for proposals.

Last Update: 11 November 2022

The Task Force calls upon our University to establish explicit requirements for 91社区 researchers (including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and research associates and assistants) who take up work that engages with Indigenous peoples, communities, histories or knowledges, including:

• The creation of a course on Indigenous methodologies, histories and experiences developed and led in collaboration with Indigenous community members, which must be taken by any 91社区 researcher whose work engages with Indigenous peoples, communities, histories or knowledges;
• Developing a mandatory research protocol premised on OCAP principles for studies that involve data collection and use deriving from research with Indigenous communities and peoples;
• Revising 91社区鈥檚 research ethics criteria and review processes to ensure all research affecting Indigenous peoples aligns with UNDRIP, the TCPS, the AFNQL protocol, and OCAP principles, while also in compliance with Indigenous community ethics boards;
• Ensuring that all members of 91社区鈥檚 research ethics board have the training necessary to review research proposals affecting Indigenous peoples; and
• Requiring any 91社区-based researcher who seeks to conduct research within an Indigenous community to demonstrate compliance with any applicable community-based research ethics requirements before the research can be approved by a 91社区鈥檚 research ethics board.

Progress

• A major goal of the Indigenous Studies & Community Engagement Initiative's planned May 2020 Mellon retreat was to consult on the need for an Indigenous Research Protocol, perhaps linking it to an Indigenous Community Engagement Protocol.

Next Steps

• The Mellon Committee is planning to continue this consultation virtually. Summer research assistants will be working to benchmark with other universities in Canada, and working together with the Office of the Provost team, the hope is to have a draft in the fall for circulation.

Last Update: 11 November 2022

The Task Force calls upon our University to set a target of at least 35 Indigenous tenure-track or tenured professors for appointment by 2032 (approximately 2% representation within 15 years). Strategies for meeting this target must be established both centrally and within Faculties:

• Centrally:聽Initiate a cluster hire led by the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) that seeks, over the next three years, to hire 10 new faculty members in the tenure stream who have lived experience and expertise in Indigenous knowledges, epistemologies, methodologies, histories, traditions, languages, or systems of laws and governance. These positions should not be concentrated in one unit or Faculty; the goal must be to deepen Indigenous expertise across the campus. The Task Force further urges the allocation, within this cluster hire, of three Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) in the areas of Indigenous Sustainability Sciences, Indigenous Health Sciences and Indigenous Humanities.
• Within Faculties:聽Require the articulation of local targets for Indigenous hires in the next five, ten and fifteen years, with Faculties regularly reviewing their progress and reporting to the Provost annually on this issue in the context of yearly reporting on equity in academic recruitment.

While taking up this call to recruit Indigenous tenure stream faculty in the most robust way possible, the University is also urged to explore the potential to recruit Indigenous academic staff to posts outside the tenure stream, such as Professors of Practice or ranked Contract Academic Staff. Contracted Academic Staff (CAS) employed continuously for 6+ years are appointed to indefinite term positions at 91社区, with appointments to be submitted by August 22, 2022.聽 聽

Progress

• Indigenous hires:聽in Fall 2018, the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) announced six special provostial licenses dedicated to hiring Indigenous tenure-track professors, distributed across four faculties including Arts, Medicine, and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
• The Office of the Provost has taken the lead in supporting Indigenous recruitment: standard search processes have been tailored for Indigenous academic hiring.
• The Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) has appointed an ad hoc special advisor for Indigenous academic recruitment and retention (Hudson Meadwell) for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
• Each of the search committees for the special provostial licenses included a provostial representative appointed by the Associate Provost. A research assistant has been provided by the Associate Provost to support these searches.
• The Department of Political Science and Department of History/Classics in the Faculty of Arts have filled two provostial licenses.
• Independent of the provostial licenses, three Indigenous tenure track hires have been made since the submission of the Task Force Report in the departments of Anthropology, Art History and Communication Studies, and Linguistics (Faculty of Arts).
• Independent of the provostial licenses, one other Indigenous tenure track hire has been made since the submission of the Task Force Report in the department of Biology (Faculty of Science).
• Independent of the provostial licenses, two other Indigenous tenure track hires have been made since the submission of the Task Force Report in the Faculty of Law.
• Independent of tenure track hiring, Indigenous Casual Academic Staff hiring has also occurred, usually in support of specific programming, in the Indigenous Studies Program (Faculty of Arts), the School for Continuing Studies, and the Indigenous Health Professions (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences).
• While hard targets have not been met, the Faculty of Law continues to actively recruit Indigenous candidates.
• As of the May 2021 Report to Senate, there are 15 Indigenous professors at 91社区, up from 7 in 2019聽/senate/files/senate/10_d20-60_biennial_report_on_employment_equity.pdf聽(slide 10)
• In 2022-23, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives participated in the launch of a targeted Indigenous rank CAS cluster hire to encourage Indigenous faculty recruitment from local or proximate territories.

Next Steps

• The most pressing resource need is in the ranked academic complement. We need a plan that distributes positions widely but that recognizes areas of growing excellence. But that plan needs to be explicit, and "live" - renewed on a regular, ongoing basis.
• Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) will continue providing both general and tailored training sessions for units, faculties and search committees that are making Indigenous academic hires. The more educated the cultural environment, the more comfortable new hires will feel. This will improve recruitment and retention.

The Task Force calls upon our University to establish and support active, innovative and equitable recruitment strategies that respect and support Indigenous peoples, such as:

• Mandatory training for academic search committees in equity and proactive recruitment methodologies to ensure that processes reach and resonate with prospective Indigenous candidates;
• Establishing training for all faculty, staff and students regarding the TRC and related proximate Indigenous territories and communities, designed to illuminate how 91社区鈥檚 efforts to recruit, 19 support and retain Indigenous faculty are part of its commitment to reshaping its relationship with Indigenous peoples,
• Bearing in mind the importance of Indigenous connections to land and community, encouraging faculty recruitment from local or proximate territories;
• Encouraging search committees, chairs and deans to explore terms for appointments that allow Indigenous professors carrying out community-engaged research to spend blocks of time in their communities, even where the latter are not proximate or local (e.g., condensed teaching in one term, allowing an academic term to be spent in community); and
• Allowing search committees to recruit and appoint to tenure-track positions candidates transitioning from 91社区 postdoctoral or PhD programs. Indigenous talent exists among our Master鈥檚 students and doctoral and postdoctoral candidates. These young researchers may wish to stay at our University, which may also be close to their home communities. Their ability to do so should not be barred by norms against hiring from our own doctoral or postdoctoral pools. These students might also have mentorship and support networks at 91社区, and will not be well served by being expected to leave these behind as they embark on an academic career.

Progress

• Dr. Celeste Pedri-Spade was appointed to the Associate Provost role in Fall 2022.
• Mandatory training for academic search committees in equity and proactive recruitment methodologies to ensure that processes reach and resonate with prospective Indigenous candidates is currently included in the mandatory workshop for academic search committees:聽/apo/equity-and-inclusion-academic-search-process.
• Bearing in mind the importance of Indigenous connections to land and community, encouraging faculty recruitment from local or proximate territories is currently included in the mandatory workshop for academic search committees.
• Encouraging search committees, chairs and deans to explore terms for appointments that allow Indigenous professors carrying out community-engaged research to spend blocks of time in their communities, even where the latter are not proximate or local (e.g., condensed teaching in one term, allowing an academic term to be spent in community) is currently included in mandatory workshop for academic search committees.
• Allowing search committees to recruit and appoint to tenure-track positions candidates transitioning from 91社区 postdoctoral or PhD programs is currently a recommended practice.
• The Equity Office recommends and supports the development of Indigenous Tenure Track positions at 91社区. So far, there has been a job posted.聽
• In 2023, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives led a Working Group on Indigenous Citizenship Verification for Employment-Related Opportunities, which sought to collaborate聽on the development of an Indigenous citizenship-verification policy.

Next Steps

• Continue to recruit and support Indigenous faculty. There are currently 21 Indigenous tenure-stream faculty out of a target of 32 total by 2032.聽
• OII is currently in the community consultation phase of developing a 91社区-wide policy on Indigenous Citizenship Verification for Employment-Related Opportunities. This is anticipated to be implemented by 2024.

The Task Force calls upon our University to support the retention of Indigenous faculty through:

• Adapted and more flexible academic expectations, given the extensive service work done by Indigenous faculty that is not adequately recognized or supported (e.g., mentoring, supporting and recruiting students and junior faculty and consultation on various Indigenous committees and undertakings). This may occur, for example, through adjusted teaching loads and/or expectations regarding what counts as research and research dissemination;
• Rethinking the traditional tripartite academic role of teaching, research and service to better reflect Indigenous approaches to scholarship;
• Valuing community-or land-based activities (e.g., outreach activities, youth mentorship, recruitment) as part of a professor鈥檚 teaching, research and/or service record;
• Creating opportunities for collaboration among faculty, academic administrators and 91社区鈥檚 Association of University Teachers (MAUT) to reach an understanding of the flexibility needed to ensure the successful trajectories of Indigenous faculty members;
• Ensuring that community service is not subjugated in importance to research; and
• Developing a mentorship program open to all tenure-track professors.

Progress

• The Office of the Vice-Provost is working on the co-development of programming with the Employment Equity Advisor. In Summer 2021, a mentorship program open to all tenure-track professors was launched. See program details:聽/equity/mentorship.

The Task Force calls upon our University to recognize explicitly that many Indigenous academics will hold a life-long commitment to their communities. These colleagues will thrive, and the University will thrive, if they are not made to choose between their duties to their communities and the requirements of an academic career. Academic appointments, and standards for assessing academic performance (e.g., for merit, renewal, tenure and promotion), must be flexible enough to cultivate the success of Indigenous scholars pursuing community-based research. Understanding how the University might recognize and reward community-based work as teaching, research and service calls for sustained and open dialogue with Indigenous colleagues.

Progress

• The Office of the Vice-Provost and Equity are working on nominations to submit for Equity & Community Building Award.