Opinion: A seeming intent to continue Indigenous Studies: Genuine or just more PR spin?

By Dr. Mary Ann Corbiere

In a fresh communique, 11:56 a.m. Thursday, May 6, 2021, Laurentian University states: “Through engagement with the Laurentian University Native Education Council (LUNEC), discussions are ongoing with respect to additional Indigenous Studies courses that may be developed and offered by Laurentian in future, in addition to the existing programs and courses that currently exist.” If Laurentian University President Dr. Robert Haché means the full range of Indigenous Studies programming that the University of Sudbury has been offering — specialization, concentration, several minors, and the various courses needed for each – several full-time faculty would be required if Laurentian University is to do justice by this discipline.

In 1989, my first year with the department, there were six full-time faculty delivering a three-year B.A. in Native Studies (as the program was called then), and most or all of its courses were offered just on-campus, not by distance. Now, there is a four-year B.A. in Indigenous Studies (IS) and several minors in such areas of focus as Indigenous Healing and Wellness, and Indigenous Environmental Studies, and about triple the number of courses that existed in 1989. Many are offered both on-campus and by distance. Clearly Laurentian University would need to have at least six full-time faculty if it is going to offer an Indigenous Studies program that is on par with the discipline as it has evolved across Canada over the past three decades.

A substantial full-time faculty complement is even more vital if Laurentian University wants to develop additional INDG courses, a possibility noted in the May 6 press release. Developing courses, especially if they are to be offered in distance learning mode, is not among part-time (sessional) faculty members’ responsibilities. There needs to be a department to craft proposals for new courses as well as to review applications for any new faculty positions. Who at Laurentian University would be able to carry out these tasks? The small number of Indigenous faculty left at Laurentian University after the en masse termination of dozens of faculty recently are in diverse departments and must attend to responsibilities associated with their particular disciplines. Laurentian University does not have – and never has had – an Indigenous Studies Department.

If Laurentian University is serious about offering high calibre Indigenous Studies programming, it need not start from scratch. There is a cadre of eminent scholars at the University of Sudbury that has delivered the Indigenous Studies programs for years. These professors are demonstrably qualified to deliver the IS programs that Laurentian University now seems willing to offer. One need only look at their records of engagement in Indigenous community-based research to see the enormous talent they possess. Ignoring such talent and experience would suggest that ongoing discussions with LUNEC are simply another bit of PR spin in Laurentian University’s ongoing attempts to maintain the façade that it is committed to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Students who may take Indigenous Studies in the future, should Laurentian University indeed offer such a program, deserve no less than what students up to this year have been able to get from the University of Sudbury.