5. Building Capacity and Human Resources - Achievements

The Task Force calls on our University to enhance reporting on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to Indigenous student admission, retention and success, and the recruitment and retention of Indigenous faculty and staff, through:

• Improved data collection, monitoring, analyses and reporting; and
• Formal reporting to Senate and the Board of Governors on KPIs related to Indigenous representation.

Progress

• The Indigenous Initiatives unit is working on public and internal accountability for the growth of Indigenous Initiatives at McGill, including the 52 Calls to Action.
• A student assistant position was filled in 2022 and 2023, tasked with updating the 52 Calls to Action. 

The Task Force calls on our University to create a coordinated communications strategy on Indigenous initiatives, programs and people. This can take the form of an online hub or occur via print materials.In this connection, the Task Force further calls on our University to explore and develop systematic modes of increasing general awareness and understanding of Indigenous topics and of incentivizing participation in education initiatives by all members of McGill’s community.

Progress

• During Fall 2022-Winter 2023, the OII had several meetings with McGill's CER unit to address increasing internal and external communications from the Indigenous community at McGill. The OII launched several tools, including: 
  • A weekly OII update in form of a newsletter to McGill-wide Indigenous faculty and staff (and their allies) to keep members abreast of McGill Indigenous information; 
  • A centralized OII e-calendar with internal and external Indigenous-led or focused events; 
  • A quarterly OII newsletter, highlighting Indigenous Initiatives news and events across campus. 
• Teaching and Learning Services staff contributed to an email circulated by the Dean of the Desaultes Faculty of Management on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30th). Shared initiatives amongst staff members include, but are not limited to: the 2022 Spirit Walk benefitting the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, and the Projections: Kwe exhibit in the Faculty of Engineering.
• The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group has engaged in co-learning discussions after engaging with podcasts such as Voices from the Footnotes: Finding where we belong – Indigenous perspectives at McGill, and articles including Dr. Gabrielle Iakotennikonrare Doreen’s Greetings.
• The Faculty of Education continues to hold an annual We Will Walk Together event on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This year's event focused on Indigenous education and included Indigenous vendors, and participants. 
• In 2022-23, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives continued to carry out and support events that amplify Indigenous voices and perspectives on campus, including weekly newsletters, quarterly gatherings and planning for Indigenous Awareness Weeks.
• In January 2023, the OII team met with with team members from the Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative (housed in the Faculty of Arts) to better coordinate institutional communications related to Indigenous events and initiatives within and beyond McGill.
• The OII has hosted two quarterly gatherings since Fall 2022 with Indigenous faculty and staff to enhance communications and relationship-building across the university. The attendance at the Winter gathering (30 individuals, February 2023) doubled the attendance of the session held in Fall (November 2022), signaling a growth in interest and engagement.

The Task Force calls on our University to establish new partnerships, and strengthen existing partnerships, with Indigenous communities, through:

• Creating a formal Indigenous Advisory Board or Indigenous Education Council with a defined mandate, whose composition includes community leaders and stakeholders at McGill;
• Creating more opportunities for the McGill community to visit, experience and learn from Indigenous communities;
• Collaborating with local, provincial, national and international Indigenous scholarly, community and student service organizations to create opportunities for networking and sharing resources and best practices; and
• Developing a procurement strategy that supports the Indigenous economy (ex: catering companies, artists, consultants, etc.) and that is respectful and understanding of Indigenous business protocols.

Progress

• The Indigenous Initiatives unit is advancing a partnership with Vancouver Island University, and exploring other potential partnerships.
• The Faculty of Engineering's Youth Action and Outreach Program creates connections that draw explicit pathways between higher education and high schools, including the Kahnawà:ke Survival School. Multiple opportunities for engagement are offered to McGill undergraduate and graduate students of diverse identities, including Indigenous students from AISES.
• The New Vic Project team hired Acosys in 2021/2022, an Indigenous-owned consulting firm in order to facilitate engagement with Indigenous communities and support inclusion of Indigenous physical representation in the project design. Over 50 internal and external Indigenous community members engaged in dozens of activities including from bilateral meetings and workshops to validate representation proposals based on Indigenous community input.
• The Indigenous Studies Program is moving forward with discussions surrounding future collaborations with Atikamekw and Kanien’keha:ka communities regarding curriculum development and development with language reclamation programs with Cardiff University, School of Welsh. Conversations are continuing about future collaborations with Ionkwahronkha’onhtie’, including community-based courses in linguistics and language documentation and integrating community needs into current linguistic courses at McGill.
• Procurement Services is working with Indigenous suppliers and partners to give them the possibility of self-identification on a voluntary basis. The advantages for self-identification include: 
  • Being promoted as Indigenous suppliers on the McGill Market Place (MMP) online purchasing system.
  • Permanence in the purchasing / order system
  • Immediate payment in collaboration with Financial Services. 
• The Office of First Nations & Inuit Education started two new partnerships with the Naskapi Education Committee/Central Quebec School Board, and the Kanehsatà:ke Cultural Centre/Mohawk Language Custodian Association.
• Enrolment Services expanded the Pick Your Path program for Indigenous youth, giving high school and CEGEP students the opportunity to gain paid work experiences from February to April 2022. 
• Teaching and Learning Services at the Office of Science Education contributed towards the development of FSCI 198: Climate Crisis and Climate Actions, including continued consultation with Indigenous colleagues locally (Kevin Ka’nahsohon Deer) and further afield (Stryker Calvez, University of Saskatchewan) in its development. In March 2022, the Student Learning and Development (SLD) team invited Dr. Gabrielle Iakotennikonrare Doreen to present two sessions related to Indigenous pedagogies, epistemologies, and assessment strategies. 
• The Office of Indigenous Initiatives commenced discussions with McGill Procurement Services to strengthen relations with Indigenous businesses and service providers while building the Indigenous procurement provider list at McGill. Meanwhile, Procurement Services drafted a Doing Business with Indigenous Suppliers guide, pending review from the Quebec Government's newly developed parameters on purchasing from Indigenous vendors.
• An initial meeting related to the development of the Indigenous Advisory Council (comprised of stakeholders and community leaders at McGill) was held with First Peoples Group, an Indigenous-owned firm specializing in relationship-building with Indigenous peoples and their respective communities and Nations. FPG submitted a proposal to support OII in the establishment of an Indigenous Advisory Council with a 12-month time frame and in Spring 2023, the proposal was finalized.

Next Steps

• By Spring 2024, OII anticipates that a formal Indigenous Advisory Council comprised of community leaders and stakeholders will be operational.