In response to the USFA invitation, the President, the Interim Provost, the Vice-Provost Indigenous Engagement, the Vice Provost Faculty Relations and the Associate Vice-President People and Resources met with USFA representatives to discuss the Association’s experiences and the experiences of Indigenous USFA members and to explore ways to work together on solutions.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to help us prepare for this meeting. The points you provided were shared (without attributing authorship) with those attending the meeting, adding to information already shared in our June letter to President Stoicheff. Thank you as well to everyone who wrote to the President directly.

During the meeting, we expressed your frustration that efforts to draw the senior administration’s attention to these matters have appeared to fall on deaf ears. We have seen few attempts to hold administrators accountable for their decisions and actions that have contributed to the negative experiences of Indigenous faculty.

The President expressed appreciation for the information. He committed to ongoing dialogue with USFA representatives and expressed willingness to work together on solutions. The President will be meeting with all Indigenous faculty on campus in small groups and efforts are underway to address issues in one unit where multiple concerning experiences were described.

The USFA Executive Committee is seeking two Indigenous USFA members to be a part of future discussions with the President. Please contact USFA Member Services Officer, Johanne Brassard, via email if you are interested.

Also, if there is interest, the USFA Executive Committee will create an Indigenous Caucus comprised of all Indigenous USFA members who wish to participate. The purpose of this Caucus would be to provide a voice in the Association for Indigenous USFA members to offer feedback and guidance to the Executive. Please let us know in a reply to this email if you are an Indigenous USFA member and interested in participating in this caucus.