News Stories
Indigenous Students Embrace Success in EleV Partnership
October 17, 2018
By Jenn McGarrigle Last fall, VIU became part of EleV, a new collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, the Rideau Hall Foundation, Yukon College and Indigenous communities. The first of its kind in Canada, this learning partnership aims to better support Indigenous learners in their post-secondary educational journeys and beyond by removing barriers and providing wrap-around support... Read more
New Lecture Series Explores Reconciliation
October 16, 2018
A free monthly lecture series that aims to stimulate community dialogue about the relationship between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples launched at VIU last December. Delivered through VIU’s Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation, the series has included talks by Dr. Judith Sayers, President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Adjunct Professor at the... Read more
VIU and McGill Partner to Create Learning and Research Opportunities in Indigenous Studies
October 16, 2018
A deep and shared commitment to supporting the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) have led McGill University and Vancouver Island University (VIU) to form a unique collaboration to create new opportunities in Indigenous studies. On Monday, October 15, 2018, Prof. Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal Academic, McGill University, and Dr. Ralph Nilson,... Read more
VIU Fulbright Canada Jarislowsky Foundation Visiting Research Chair Focuses on Aboriginal Learning
August 16, 2018
Vancouver Island University (VIU) welcomes Dr. Virginia Drywater-Whitekiller, the Fulbright Canada Jarislowsky Foundation Visiting Research Chair in Aboriginal Studiesfor 2018. “I feel very humbled,” says Drywater-Whitekiller. “It seems surreal that I have been honoured to contribute in this way.” “I am excited to welcome Virgina Drywater-Whitekiller to Vancouver Island University as the... Read more
VIU Supported Business Program Inspires Indigenous Youth
August 15, 2018
As the only Indigenous student in his university undergraduate and graduate classes, Bernard Gilbert struggled to find connection to campus life. “There were times where I felt I did not belong in university,” says Gilbert, whose traditional Nlaka’pamux name translates to “Running Elk.” He is Shuswap from the Secwépemc territory. In high-school, he developed a crippling fear of failure, and... Read more
VIU English Professor Explores Inter-cultural Dialogue with Play Collaboration
August 3, 2018
Dr. Nelson Gray and renowned Métis playwright Marie Clements tackle one storyline from two different perspectives How we perceive the world through our cultural beliefs can vary so much that if two people are asked to recount the same event, the result can be two radically different stories. That is certainly true in Vancouver Island University (VIU) English Professor Dr. Nelson Gray’s latest... Read more
VIU Program Trains First Nations in Resource Management
July 4, 2018
The community-based First Nations Stewardship Technicians Training Program developed to meet needs identified by different Nations A unique program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) is helping First Nations communities monitor their lands and waters. The First Nations Stewardship Technicians Training Program provides specialized training to work in the field of resource management. Designed... Read more
VIU Hosts Three Summer Camps for Indigenous High School Students
July 3, 2018
Free camps held at the University’s Cowichan, Powell River and Nanaimo Campuses Making the transition to university can be scary if you don’t know anybody there and you’ve never stepped foot on a university campus before. Three free summer camps for Indigenous high school students being organized by students in Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) ‘su’luqw’a’ Community Cousins Aboriginal... Read more
VIU Awards Honorary Degree to National Reconciliation Leader
June 1, 2018
Chief Dr. Robert Joseph recognized at the June 4 Convocation ceremony “Let us find a way to belong to this time and place together. Our future, and the well-being of all our children, rests with the kind of relationships we build today.” -Chief Dr. Robert Joseph For world-renowned speaker for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, changing the way people perceive and... Read more
Snuneymuxw First Nation Member Returns Home to Teach at VIU
April 24, 2018
Collette Jones, now part of VIU’s Department of Studies in Women and Gender, happy to be teaching in her own territory For Snuneymuxw First Nation member Collette Jones, teaching at Vancouver Island University (VIU) represents a homecoming. Jones, who grew up on her Nation’s reserve in south Nanaimo, started as a sessional instructor in VIU’s Department of Studies in Women and Gender last August... Read more