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What's New in Indigenous Initiatives
 
Indigenous Initiatives Newsletter - December 2025
With exam season under way we are sending out our best wishes to everyone busy studying and marking. We hope that you have a restful and relaxing holiday season and look forward to connecting in the new year! ♥

 

 

 

What's New in Indigenous Initiatives

  1. Upcoming Events
  2. Kinship Corner
  3. At The Intersections
  4. Across Our Desks

 

 

 
Upcoming Events
Approaches to Supporting Indigenous Student Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Classroom. Image: Water covering rocks with water with more rain falling
We are excited to be hosting special guests Hali McLennan and Anne Sinclair from Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing (IMHW), and Gloria Cardinal from the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVRPO) for an opportunity to learn about Indigenous student mental health and wellbeing in the classroom. Within this session, facilitators will share about the important work they do to support Indigenous students, explore common issues in the classroom that can impact Indigenous student experiences and approaches to mental health and wellbeing from each of their respective offices. 

Date: January 15, 2026
Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Location: Zoom
Register
From Reverence to Erasure to Queer Indigenous Joy: Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Realities Over Time. Image of pride flags painted in front of UBC Nest
Often when discussing the representations and realities of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer (2SIQ) people, there is a focus on the history and attempted erasure of gender and sexual diversity within Indigenous communities. However, that attempt was not successful. While we have been left with complexities to address and untangle, the stories and kinship practices have not only survived they have flourished anew.

Added to this complexity is the new reality of learning and connecting with one another online as we attempt to locate resources and transfer cultural knowledge in a virtual world. Join us for this session as we explore where we have been and shift our focus into contemporary spaces and embodiments of queer Indigenous joy and surthrivance.

Date: January 22, 2026
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall
Register
Indigenous Initiatives Evaluation Series. Image: A hillside with trees covered in snow, water at the bottom of image, fog
What does it mean to design evaluation in ways that center community accountability, build trust, and challenge colonial assumptions? The Indigenous Initiatives Evaluation Series is a three-part interactive workshop series hosted by CTLT Indigenous Initiatives. This series invites UBC faculty, staff, and students to reimagine how we assess success and impact; moving towards more relational, community-centered approaches to evaluation.

Over three interactive sessions, you‘ll be guided through deep self-reflection, hands-on activities, and conversations that support the development of your personal decolonial evaluation practices.

If you are unable to participate during the outlined dates or are interested in a future offering, please fill out this form.

Date: February 3, 10, 24 2026
Time: 9:30am - 12:30pm
Location: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall
Apply
Measuring and Fostering Psychological Safety in Classrooms Through the Lens of Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning. Image: hands holding pieces of yarn connected by a central ball of yarn
This session is designed to assist in competency and capacity building around cultures of belongingness, affect in the classroom, and engaging diverse communities through principles of inclusivity and psychological safety in the classroom. This session will be grounded in the foundational principles of anti-racism, to facilitate learning and discussion about the framework of psychological safety. As we move through the session, participants will develop tips, tricks, and tools to identify, assess/measure, and plan for psychological safety proactively and iteratively in your classroom climate. By the end of this session, it is hoped participants will be able to differentiate a psychologically safe learning environment focused on fostering belongingness from learning environments that may unintentionally foster racial harm.  

Date: February 26, 2025
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall
Register
CTLT Indigenous Initiatives Virtual Coffee Hour. Image: three hands holding cups of coffee with hearts drawn on the foam
We welcome you to attend one of CTLT Indigenous Initiatives‘ monthly Virtual Coffee Hours. They are an informal space to connect with consultants on the team and other colleagues across the university. Some common topics that come up include:  
  • Professional development plans for individuals, teams, and departments  
  • Engaging with the Indigenous Strategic Plan
  • Fostering a respectful classroom and campus climate
  • Connecting with a network of people across the university
  • Locating relevant resources
  • Meaningful land acknowledgements
…and more!

Upcoming Dates: 

 

 

 
Title: Kinship Corner. Image: Family of bears
This section of our newsletter is for the Indigenous community at UBC, and beyond, to share heart filling spaces and news. For non-Indigenous allies, we encourage you to always double check if events in this section are specifically for Indigenous community before RSVP-ing.  
Promotion Poster saying "Auntie's Holiday Hotline" Learn More

IndigE-girl Comedy: Auntie Holiday Hotline

The Aunties are back, and they‘ve got advice, attitude, and absolutely no filter. IndigE-girl Comedy‘s biggest holiday blowout of the year is here, bringing together some of the sharpest and funniest Indigenous comedians for a night that fills your cup, warms your heart, and drags you (lovingly) into the holiday spirit.

Date: December 12, 2025
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main St.

Salish Skies: Indigenous Sky Stories

Journey beyond Western constellations with geoscientific ethnographer Dr. Shandin Pete, Assistant Professor at UBC. This powerful presentation provides an overview of ongoing work to reconstruct and understand ancient Salish asterisms, drawing from ethnographic evidence across five Salish-speaking communities in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia. Dr. Pete‘s research highlights deeply connected narratives surrounding three key celestial formations:
  • "The Canoe" (part of Orion)
  • "Cast away Children" (Pleiades and surrounding stars)
  • "Camas Baking Pit" (Auriga)

Date: December 13, 2025
Time: 2:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut Street
Learn More

 

 

 
Title: At The Intersections. Image: hands holding pieces of yarn connected by a central ball of yarn
This section of the newsletter is a space for intersectional Anti-Racist Teaching and learning (A-RTL) program reflections, community care commemorations, and updates.  

It‘s December, a month where cultural celebrations are plentiful as the winter solstice season approaches. December always feels like a month that encourages us to rest, reconnect, recharge, within our own communities and customs. This month, on the 10th, is International Human Rights Day and here at A-RTL we are reflecting on the many racialized people who are not given the space to celebrate and gather with their communities without fear of persecution, those who are not given to space to take pride in their religion or cultural customs, and those who are not allowed to gather in solidarity with one another, across the globe.  

In reflecting on having the privilege of protected human rights, we encourage you to reflect on how you might utilize your own skills, attitudes, rights, and civic engagement to stand up for the human rights of others. Anti-racism work is at the core of upholding human rights as racism and racial discrimination are core violations of human dignity. We encourage you to reflect on advancing human rights through anti-racism framework by exploring:  
  • Civic engagement and participation in legislative action! For example, attending the next surveying for Government of British Columbia‘s Anti-Racism Act  
  • Engage in research and data collection! Explore methods to ethically and respectfully collect disaggregated data on race to identify barriers and inequities to allow for evidence-based action and advocacy 
  • Collaborate with the community! Partner with racially diverse communities to ensure their voices guide the development and implementation of anti-racism strategies  
  • Get out there and engage in critical action through education, encouraging and/or having difficult conversations, supporting IBPOC businesses and more! 

What's Coming Up for A-RTL:  

 

 

 
Title: Across Our Desks. Image: a desk
Workshop facilitator Jordan Dawson Learn More

Weaving for Winter - Festive Wool Weaving with Jordan Dawson


Cozy up this holiday season at MONOVA and learn how to weave your own Coast Salish-style ornament for your tree. Family Friendly!Have you ever wondered about the natural resources that were used in Coast Salish weavings?

Led by MONOVA‘s Indigenous Cultural Programmer Jordan Dawson, learn more about Coast Salish practices and the patience and skill that goes into traditional wool weaving, while creating your own custom pattern for a woven decorative piece that you can take home.

Date: December 21, 2025
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Museum of North Vancouver, 115 West Esplanade

We Are the Change We Seek: Leading Indigenous Health in British Columbia

Join us virtually on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026, from 12:00 – 3:00 PM (PT), for an Indigenous Speakers Series session featuring Indigenous Vice Presidents from Northern Health, Interior Health, Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Island Health, and the Provincial Health Services Authority. They will share how Indigenous leadership is transforming health systems across B.C.—advancing Cultural Safety, Humility, and Truth and Reconciliation. Learn how Indigenous voices at the executive level are reshaping policy, addressing racism and discrimination, and creating lasting change for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across the province.

Date: January 14, 2025
Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Online
More Info
Alina Pete, workshop facilitator and artist Learn More

Creator Series: Drawing Community Stories with Alina Pete

Have you ever wondered how comics can bring a community together? Join award-winning nehiyaw (Cree) comic artist and author Alina Pete as they share how they create comics with communities in a relational way. They‘ll talk about their work with the Homalco First Nation to produce Xwémalhkwu Hero Stories: A Graphic Novel, a project based on recordings of stories shared by Elders, and show how this collaborative style can help people stay connected and support new artists.

Date: January 24, 2025
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Central Library, 350 West Georgia St.

Kiuryaq

The Northern Lights have always carried stories—frightening, spiritual, epic, and playful. Kiuryaq is a circumpolar performance exploring our relationship with the Northern Lights—“kiuryaq” in Inuvialuktun—created through collaboration among Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from Canada, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), and Sápmi (Norway).

At its centre are two siblings born in the North: one raised beneath the Aurora with their grandparents, the other adopted south and unaware of their origins. Through ancestral connection, choices are made that alter both their worlds.

Date: January 28, 2025
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Chan Centre, 6265 Crescent Rd
Learn More
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Learn More

An Evening with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

"In this talk, we will think alongside water as a theorist, a network and a map to making worlds beyond the one we have inherited from colonialism." -Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

A Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, musician, and scholar, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Rooted in Nishnaabeg language, thought, and land-based practice, her work draws on more than two decades of independent scholarship and community education.

Date: January 29, 2025
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Chan Centre, 6265 Crescent Rd

MOA: Jaad Kuujus - Everyone Says I Look Like My Mother

Tracing the ancient threads of Northwest Coast weaving and spinning practices through the technologies of today, Jaad Kuujus‘s art moves between generations, time, place, and mediums. Beyond the creation of replicas, her interconnected digital and material practice gives rise to descendant works — woven embodiments of kinship with the belongings, materials, and ancestors that inspire them.

Date: December 4, 2025 - March 29, 2026
Location: Museum of Anthropology, 6393 NW Marine Drive
Learn More

The gift that gave UBC Athletics its identity and how we need to honour it

For university athletes, the Thunderbird is more than a name. It‘s something they represent. But it‘s also a name with a troubling beginning. 
Learn More
A herd of deer Learn More

Study Finds Indigenous-led Hunting Most Effective for Tackling Deer Overabundance on B.C. Islands

As ecosystems in coastal British Columbia disappear due to long-term browsing pressures from overabundant black-tailed deer, a new study led by UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship with Coast Salish Nations and regional research partners identifies the most effective solutions to address deer overabundance on the Southern Gulf Islands.

The research, published in People and Nature, finds Indigenous-led hunting to be the most successful and cost-effective strategy for managing hyperabundant deer when considering ecological and cultural needs. Drawing on both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, the study also highlights the importance of honoring distinct knowledge and value systems equitably in wildlife management.
Street sign Learn More

Syilx students give nsyilxcn a voice on UBC Okanagan streets

UBC Okanagan is deepening its commitment to Indigenous language revitalization by adding voices to on-campus nsyilxcn street signs in Kelowna. New QR codes attached to the signposts link to an online pronunciation guide featuring audio recordings created by students in the Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency program.

Inuksiutit Toolkit ᓂᕿᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔨᐅᓂᖅ ᓄᓇᕘᒥ Food Sovereignty in Nunavut

The Inuksiutit project, created in collaboration with the Yellowhead Intstitute, is a living collection of resources to support communities across Inuit Nunangat (and beyond) in advancing food sovereignty, community resilience to climate change, and self-determination.
Learn More
​See you in January! 
Indigenous Initiatives at Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
The University of British Columbia, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Ancestral and Unceded  Territory
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre 217 – 1961 East Mall, Vancouver, CA V6T1Z1
Visit our website at http://indigenousinitiatives.ctlt.ubc.ca/