Challenges and Opportunities: Perspectives on Indigenizing and Decolonizing the Social Sciences in Higher Education

This session, organized by the Decolonization Subcommittee, was held as part of the 2022 Canadian Sociological Association Conference / Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Congress.

This panel will bring together academics and administrators working towards Indigenization and/or decolonization across their varied fields and units as well as sociopolitical contexts. Panelists will speak to both the challenges and opportunities associated with effecting meaningful systemic change within their units, and offer critical perspectives on these discourses as they relate to higher education more generally.

Watch the recording

Co-Moderators:

Yvonne Sherwood, University of Toronto and Rochelle Côté, Memorial University

Panelists and Presentations:

Maggie Walter, Palawa and descendant of the Pairrebenne People of the North East Nation of Lutruwita/Tasmania

Maggie Walter is a Commissioner at the Yoorrook Truth and Justice Commission and Distinguished Emerita Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Her research is focused on race relations, inequality, research methodologies and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Professor Walter is passionate about challenging systemic injustice and changing the dynamics of race relations in Australia.

Presentation Title: Indigenizing the Curriculum at the University of Tasmania and the structural elements to guide that work.

Michelle M. Jacob, Yakama Nation

Michelle M. Jacob loves imagining a future in which kindness, fierceness, and creativity saturate our lives and institutions in delicious and inviting ways. Michelle advances this vision through her company, Anahuy Mentoring, and in her roles as Co-Director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program and Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Oregon, United States. Professor Jacob also serves as Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies and Affiliated Faculty in the Environmental Studies Program. Michelle enjoys drawing from her Yakama Indigenous cultural teachings to encourage and support educators and students in developing clear visions that bring about radical and sustainable social justice changes that help us become stronger individuals who contribute to our communities. Michelle is a proud Auntie of six nephews and one niece.

Presentation Title: Auntie Love + Social Science = Excellence