About Understanding our Roots
Understanding our Roots - Nestimuk tan wtapeksikw is a report of the Task Force on Settler Misappropriation of Indigenous Identity.Â
The purpose of this task force was to make recommendations surrounding the disruption of false claims of Indigenous identity, membership, and citizenship at ÍøºìºÚÁÏ. The task force sought to centre the voice of Indigenous people who have lived experience and expertise with this issue.
This report is intended to serve as the basis for future ÍøºìºÚÁÏ policies related to the verification of Indigenous identity, citizenship, or membership.
Memos and updates
One of the recommendations of the Task Force on Settler Misappropriation of Indigenous Identity was to publish a five-year progress report on each of the recommendations made under the ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Indigenous Strategy no later than December 2023.
¸é±ð²¹»å:ÌýIndigenous Strategy progress update - February 2025 [PDF - 341 kb]
The Indigenous Strategy was created by the Indigenous Advisory Council at ÍøºìºÚÁÏ in 2018 to align with the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) Report published in 2015. It lists 37 recommendations for the university.
The information compiled in this Progress Report provides a brief description of the advancements ÍøºìºÚÁÏ has made on the recommendations between 2018 and 2023. The information collected shows that, while progress on the 37 recommendations is at varying stages, it is intentional and ongoing. Some progress began before the Indigenous Strategy Report was published in 2018 and some was a direct result of the Indigenous Strategy recommendations. This update also demonstrates that we continue to have a lot to do.
Providing a progress update on the university’s work on the Indigenous Strategy is an important part of ÍøºìºÚÁÏ’s governance oversight. Our work to produce this report has served as a needed reminder that we need to be explicit about how we adopt strategies and how we ensure accountability and transparency on progress against those strategies. Work towards reconciliation is happening across many levels and units in the university. Therefore, this list is not exhaustive. Â
Thank you to the academic and administrative units who provided information for this update, the Director of Indigenous Community Engagement and Office of Equity and Inclusion, as well as the Academic Leadership Certificate Team whose Action Leadership Project on the Indigenous Strategy informed this work.
If you would like to see additional items captured in this progress update, please email vpei@dal.ca.ÌýÌý
MEMORADUM
To:          The ÍøºìºÚÁÏ University community
From:       Frank Harvey, Provost and Vice-President Academic
Date:       Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Re:         Update on the Understanding Our RootsÌý°ù±ð±è´Ç°ù³Ù
Post-secondary institutions across Canada are engaged in important conversations to address legitimate concerns related to the misappropriation of Indigenous identity, membership, and citizenship. In October, the report from the Task Force on Settler Misappropriation of Indigenous Identity, titled Understanding our Roots (Nestimuk tan wtapeksikw), was shared with our Dal community. ÍøºìºÚÁÏ's policies and processes were not designed to address such a complex set of issues, and we remain fully committed to remedying this with ongoing guidance from Indigenous nations, especially the Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkati.
Again, I want to thank Task Force members — Dr. Brent Young, John R. Sylliboy, Elder Catherine Martin, and Elder Ann Labillois — for their important work. This report was designed to provide thoughtful guidance to ÍøºìºÚÁÏ in navigating these complex issues, and it is the culmination of multiple engagement sessions that involved representatives from several Indigenous governing bodies and organizations. Many Indigenous people at the university also took advantage of the opportunity to share their perspectives with t