51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ

Significant actions to date

• Improving Indigenous faculty representation. SFU’s special program application with the B.C. Office of the Human Rights Commissioner for an additional targeted hiring of Indigenous faculty is in progress.Continued emphasis on scholarship programs, such as the Aboriginal Student Entrance Award and the Langara Admission Pathway, which has five dedicated awards.
• Establishing new Indigenous leadership positions to meaningfully include Indigenous voices in decision-making at SFU.  Work is underway to support new senior leadership positions within the President’s Office, Provost and Vice-President Academic and Vice-President, People, Equity and Inclusion portfolios. These new roles will work in partnership with each other, collaborating with the 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏcommunity and strengthening relationships with Host Nation communities to collectively support and advance Indigenization and Reconciliation initiatives at SFU.
• Implementing the recommendations from the Pathways Report, including developing a new Indigenous leadership roles, investing new resources in bursaries and awards for Indigenous students and building a permanent home for the Indigenous University Preparation Program.
• Strengthening Indigenous staff recruitment and retention. The B.C. Human Rights Commissioner recently approved SFU’s Special Program application to conduct a limited and preferential hiring of at least 15 Indigenous staff.
• Continuing on the path to deepening our relationships with local First Nations. 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏentered a Memorandum of Understanding with Tsleil-Waututh Nation and renewed the university’s agreement with Squamish Nation.
• In 2022 we welcomed Chris (Syeta’xtn) as Director, Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation. In consultation with Indigenous students, faculty, staff and Host Nations, Lewis has proposed an Indigenous governance structure for SFU. We are now working towards implementation of the structure to ensure that Indigenous perspectives and ways of being are represented in every aspect of our work at the university.
• Construction of the First Peoples’ Gathering House (FPGH) is underway. Design of this new safe and welcoming space to celebrate Indigenous knowledge and culture is led by an Indigenous architect and 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏIndigenous leads in collaboration with Indigenous students, faculty, and local First Nations. The FPGH is funded by the 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏAboriginal Strategic Initiative, provincial and municipal Government partners and other 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏsources.
• Informed by existing Indigenous naming protocols and processes, various revitalization projects related to Indigenous naming  are now underway at 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏand being steered by the Indigenous Naming Committee (INC). In 2023, the INC completed survey to inspire the addition of Indigenous campus names.
• Opening of newly expanded Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) spaces: 3000 level of the Burnaby campus, as well as expanded space at the Surrey campus with Vancouver campus space is in progress. These spaces support Indigenous student success through new work and study spaces along with fostering opportunities for cultural connections.
• SFU's new Indigenous Garden and Outdoor Classroom is a welcoming place-based learning space for all 51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏstudents, staff and faculty at the Burnaby campus that honours Indigenous pedagogy. The Garden is for learning, reflecting, and healing. It has been created in honour of residential school survivors, intergenerational survivors, their families, and communities.
• The (ICRC) space opened in Spring 2023. The Centre supports decolonizing and Indigenizing pedagogy and curriculum and comprises of both a physical collection of resources to lend and an online resource guide for instructors.
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis knowledge systems and perspectives will be embedded throughout SFU’s new medical school. Based in Surrey, the Medical School will have strong connections to remote, rural and Indigenous communities.
• Indigenous language curriculum is expanding through the approval of a new master’s program in Indigenous Languages and Linguistics and the creation of a in Nanaimo.