We developed a survey to gather the knowledge, experiences, and opinions of Indigenous faculty staff working within Canadian universities with existing Indigenous Content Requirements for students. Questions ranged from broad opinions of Indigenous Content Requirements to more specific questions about how mandatory courses are constructed at their institution.
The survey was distributed in April of 2023. The survey was sent to relevant Faculty and staff at four Canadian universities that have mandatory content requirements: University of Winnipeg, Lakehead University, Trent University, and University of Prince Edward Island. All information gathered and displayed is anonymous, however, survey respondents were offered a chance to share their contact details if they wished to receive the results of the survey. In total, we had 6 participants.
Summary of General Themes
There was a wide diversity of opinions on the use and implementation of ICRs in Canadian universities. Noticeably, the results revealed a sense of cautious optimism about the use of mandatory content requirements to promote understanding and broader learning about Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism. However, it is clear that Indigenous faculty have been subject to various forms of harm in the delivery of mandatory requirements. Despite this, only one of the six respondents concluded that mandatory Indigenous content should not be implemented. Rather, most participants believed that strong implementation of carefully curated content distributed by skilled and trained instructors can manage the harm involved, and ensure the positive outcomes outweigh the inherent harms involved in delivery mandatory content.
Based on the responses, an area of further research could be to look at what makes some instructors excel at delivering mandatory Indigenous content in order to develop insights about how these success and strategies can inform others.
Indigenous Content Requirements in Canada 