REGINA – The University of Regina has announced a new five-year strategic plan and a major focus is incorporating First Nations culture and history into all areas of the university’s growth.
Currently, 11 per cent of the student population self-identifies as First Nation or Metis, but the U of R president wants all students who graduate to be “bi-cultural.”
“If you look at the larger, social inequality it’s with our First Nations peoples and I think it’s a shame and we should be outraged and we should be angry. This university’s committed to make a difference one student at a time,” said U of R president, Vianne Timmons.
Elder Noel Starblanket, the U of R Aboriginal Students Centre cultural advisor is happy to be part of the naming of the strategic plan – peyak aski kikawinaw, which means “We are one with Mother Earth.”
He says he has encountered what he refers to as “intolerance” all of his life, including when he started university in 1967: “They called you by a lot of racist names. There were a lot of misunderstandings. There was taunting.”
Things have improved, but the hope is that a focus on indigenous history will promote tolerance. However, a big challenge to implementing this strategic plan is constrained budgets.
“Things are tough right now,” said Timmons. “(There are) some things we can do based on this plan that will support us fiscally and other things we’re going to have to make choices on.”
Even so, the university says it’s already made some progress.
“Everytime we put up this gift of knowing, the impact is real,” said Shauneen Pete, the executive lead for indigenization.
Other areas of focus for the U of R include research, sustainability and student success. The university will establish concrete targets to meet yearly from now until 2020.
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