Working Together Working Group

To drive forward the Working Together Indigenization Plan, there needs to be a ‘boots on the ground’ approach, which is what will be addressed in this section. To build on what has been previously mentioned about how Indigenous colleagues and knowledge keepers are stretched incredibly thin and have limited capacity, there must be an exploration into a centralization of efforts for all involved in this work. Currently, staff within the office of Indigenous education who identify as Indigenous, each sit on an array of committees and are individually asked to “represent a pan-Indigenous perspective” for these committees. Further, anyone seeking to progress “Indigenization” through individual efforts (such as faculty looking to bring an Indigenous perspective into their courses) has limited resources to whom they can turn, for support. It was discussed how problematic this is because often they can only turn to one or two individuals because:

One person can only represent their perspective as one individual. As such, they cannot be expected to act as a pan-Indigenous voice for the 35 nations that NIC seeks to serve.
There is so much to do toward Indigenization, and it is marvelous to have so many individuals eager to step into this work. However, there is simply not the capacity to support these individuals or departments through their Indigenization efforts on top of existing workloads in the Office of Indigenous education. This is a recipe for burnout, which would result in less resources on the ground for NIC to draw from.

Therefore, the solution emerged to create a “Working Together Working Group” (WTWG), and the 'Working Group' section of the website will detail precisely how to implement such a group.

(Not a Terms of Reference)*

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*In Lieu of a terms of reference (which was determined to be a colonial approach), the Symposium Participants worked collectively to create this image to act as a guiding document for the Working Together Working Group

Purpose

The purpose of this working group is multifaceted:

To act as an “avant guard” for reconciliation. To hold the institute accountable to the Working Together Indigenization Plan through ensuring and driving forward the many action items outlined in the report.
Taking action to address the gaps in the Indigenization Plan, as identified by participants at the Symposium.
To act as a centralization of efforts by relieving Indigenous staff and faculty from the burden of sitting on many committees and feeling the expectation of needing to act as a ‘pan-Indigenous’ voice. If a committee needs consultation on something in relation to Indigenous perspectives or input, the committee can then write to the WTWG for the group for discussion at their next meeting.
To act as a resource for faculty and staff to turn to in their own Indigenization efforts. For example if a faculty member is looking for support on how to “Indigenize” their course, they can contact the WTWG for guidance.
To act as a liaison for connecting faculty and staff to relevant knowledge keepers in community. To build on point #3, if a faculty is seeking to “Indigenize” a course, the WTWG can connect this faculty member with relevant knowledge keepers in the community that the course is offered out of, and help to facilitate a healthy (and compensated) working relationship.
To act as a central hub for Indigenization efforts in order to reduce institutional siloing. For example, if there is an instructor working on an Indigenization project similar to that of another instructor, the WTWG can connect the instructors to allow for them to work together and learn from one another’s efforts.
To act as an advisory group for the Curriculum Committee, regarding course or program changes related to Indigenization or Indigenous-led education. The WTWG will make recommendations to the Curriculum Committee to adopt without question, as the Curriculum Committee does not have the necessary expertise to question any course or program changes related to Indigenous knowledge systems
To act as advisory group on policy review, to ensure a pan-Indigenous perspective is incorporated into any policies at NIC, both for the creation of new policies and the revision of existing policies. The WTWG will make recommendations to Education Council to adopt without question, as Education Council does not have the necessary expertise to question any policy changes related to Indigenous knowledge systems.

Composition

The WTWG will be comprised of the following members:

The Executive Director of Indigenous Education
The Indigenous Education Facilitator
The Manager of Indigenous and Community Partnerships
The Indigenous Education Navigators
The NIC Elders
Aboriginal Scholars (Indigenous students that are chosen specifically to be mentored in the ways of NIC governance in relation to decolonization)
A NICFA representative (selected by members 1,2,&3)
A CUPE representative (selected by members 1,2&3)
A NISU representative (selected by members 1,2&3)
An administrative assistant for the purpose of minute taking, meeting organization and other administrative duties
A CTLI Indigenization Specialist (refer to recommendation #2)

A note on continuity and mentorship: the WTWG will operate with weight on the importance of continuity for this work. Therefore elections will not be held for this group, and in lieu of elections, mentorships will take place for any new member entering into the WTWG. This is to ensure that the important work of the WTWG will not be disrupted by the inevitable turnover of staff. Additionally, an onboarding package will be put together by the administrative assistant and provided to any mentees as they seek to begin working with the WTWG. This onboarding package will be built with the intent to ensure that mentees will have the necessary context of the WTWG to be able to carry on the important work of the group without disruption or a change or priorities or direction.

Positioning within the Institute & Relationship to IEC

As the WTWG is a ‘working group’, they will not hold decision making power on funding allocation. Instead, they will turn to the Indigenous Education Council for final decisions and approval on directions taken. The IEC will determine exactly how the Council wants to interact with the WTWG, and as such, this section will be further defined in the upcoming September 2022 IEC meeting. While the WTWG will not hold decision making power on funding allocation, they will be viewed within NIC as subject matter experts on all topics relating to Indigenization and Decolonization. As such, their recommendations will not be questioned by the colonial governing bodies of the institute, such as the Education Council and the Board of Governors.

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Scheduling

The WTWG will meet the third week of every month on Tuesdays, from 1pm to 4pm. The group will meet via a hyflex model, with members either joining in person or via video conferencing. Additionally, the WTWG will attend seasonal retreats to allow for their work to take place on the land and in the communities of the different regions that NIC serves. Each season, the WTWG will rotate location between Port Hardy, Campbell River, Courtenay, Port Alberni, and Uclulet. These retreats will involve connecting with and learning from different knowledge keepers from each location. To attend a WTWG meeting, complete the form located on the 'connect' page.

Funding

As aforementioned, this capstone project will not address funding related discussions, as this topic could be an entire capstone project in itself. However it is important to note that funding will need to be sourced for the WTWG, specifically to cover travel and accommodation for retreats and meetings, honoraria for any work with knowledge keepers not employed by NIC, and what ever other additional costs may surface through the work of the WTWG. It is suggested that this funding be sourced through the Aboriginal Service Plan and Office of Indigneous Education budget for the 2022/23 academic year, and then for the funding to transition to a base funding model. t is recommended that a base funding model be built through the contributions of each department at the institute, as each department will benefit from and utilize the time and energy of the WTWG.

Possible Future Directions

It has been discussed that in order to engage the entire institute in this work, and to distribute workload, a future direction of the WTWG might be to oversee departmental "pods" that act as extensions of the working group. These pods would be responsible for contextualizing Indigenization and decolonization for their specific department or area of expertise. They would report back to, and take direction from the WTWG. They might be comprised on non-Indigenous staff and faculty who are enthusiastic about reconciliation and eager to progress the initiatives outlined in the Working together Indigenization Plan. However to ensure that this possible next step of the WTWG is rolled out appropriately, it will be up for discussion with the IEC and the current proposed WTWG what this might look like and how it might be enacted.