Aboriginal Initiatives at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

Over the past decade, progressive initiatives have been formed at UBC to respond to the ways in which insufficient education and professional training regarding Indigenous topics and issues manifest in classroom discussions and campus operations. In 2007, students Amy Perreault and Karrmen Crey from the First Nations Studies Program created What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom to stimulate dialogue concerning challenges and needs associated with cross-cultural conversations.

This project led to the creation of Aboriginal Initiatives, a program committed to helping instructors and staff better understand the dynamics of working within diverse spaces, and effectively incorporate Indigenous perspectives and content in their pedagogy and curricula. Aboriginal Initiatives has operated as a partnership between the UBC First Nations House of Learning, and the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT) since the fall of 2009.

We consult and collaborate with faculty, staff and graduate students to provide a yearlong Classroom Climate Series through which pedagogical experiences and tactics are exchanged. To build specific programming that addresses different classroom needs and issues involving Indigenous content, we work with units, instructors, and groups across campus to identify and support their ideas and concerns.

Another pillar of our work is the creation, advancement, and maintenance of academic resources. All of the research projects we support, which you can access through our webpage, happen to be initiated by UBC students. These projects are inspiring examples of how effective teaching and learning can lead to transformative change on campus.

On behalf Aboriginal Initiatives, I invite you to connect with us to learn more about the services and resources we provide. We have many amazing colleagues at CTLT whose work may support yours as well. You can browse our revamped webpage or arrange to meet with us at our location on the second floor of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

Many thanks,
Sarah

Amy Perreault
Coordinator, Aboriginal Initiatives
amy.perreault@ubc.ca

Sarah W.Y. Ling
Graduate Academic Assistant, Aboriginal Initiatives
aboriginal.initiativesgaa@ubc.ca

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Sarah Ling provides administrative and logistical support for the Coordinator of Aboriginal Initiatives. She assists with the creation and distribution of program documentation and resources for students, administration, faculty, and staff to better understand the dynamics of classroom discussion of Aboriginal issues in a multicultural environment. She collaborates with campus units, Musqueam community members and students to develop resources that value, recognize, and acknowledge place regarding the unceded Musqueam territory that UBC is located on. As an MA student in the UBC Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program, Sarah is documenting the rich history of Chinese market gardens on the Musqueam reserve.