We are saying goodbye to a warm spring, and welcoming in summer. We hope that everyone has a moment to enjoy some sunshine and some restful time by the water. The CTLT Indigenous Initiatives Team is getting ready a productive summer! We are looking forward to launching the What I Learned in Class Today Facilitation Guide and Tool later this summer. The guide is a resource for the teaching and learning community, to support in creating safer learning environments for Indigenous students and incorporating Indigenous content into their curricula. 

With the turning of the season, now is the perfect time to equip yourself for the hot hot heat. The City of Vancouver has cooling stations, misting stations, and water fountains around the city. Please take a look at this map to educate yourself on where you can go and cool off. Another step you can take to prepare yourself and your loved ones, is create a Cool Kit. A Cool Kit includes various necessities needed to take care during a heatwave. Make sure to keep your furry friends well watered and cool during the heat too! There are plenty of off leash dog parks where dogs can frolic in the water and rest in the shade. Lastly, familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Some of our most vulnerable neighbours are especially susceptible to heat related illness and emergencies; keep water bottles, gel packs to share with your community, take a minute to check in to see if folks are ok, and leave out water bowls for all your neighbourhood furry friends. 

It's important to remember not only our community neighbours, but our larger communities that extend beyond the city or the province. The prairies and the east coast have been in a wildfire emergency since early May. The fires have displaced tens of thousands of peoples and destroyed homes, disrupted livelihoods, and impacted the Land in insurmountable ways. If you're able, take a moment to share within your capacity to various fundraising initiatives, such as this East Prairie Métis Settlement fundraiser, the Red Cross, the Alberta Government, and any other avenues of support you come across.

During this time it's also important to understand how to best protect yourself during times when wildfire smoke may be impacting air quality. The City of Vancouver has clean air spaces available to public, if you need a breather. 

Going into uncertain summers impacted by the ongoing climate crisis, it's integral to remember that we keep each other safe and now is the best time to lean into mutual aid and being the best neighbour you can!

The CTLT Indigenous Initiatives team is presenting a summer Design Series in partnership with UBC Applied Science and Land and Food Systems. If you are an instructor in any STEM faculty, please apply to this very impactful learning opportunity. 

The Indigenous Initiatives Design Series (II-Design Series) is a 3-part workshop for instructors and members of the UBC teaching and learning community who come to Indigenous topics with varying levels of knowledge and expertise. Throughout the series, participants will be guided to share practices, redesign elements of their teaching and learning projects and resources, model and explore educational materials, and reframe common learning scenarios through classroom climate principles. 

If you're curious about past STEM instructors' experiences in design series, please check out: Indigenous Initiatives Design Series: Decolonizing Teaching and Learning in STEM.

If you'd like to learn more about this summer's offering, please visit this year's website.

Deadline to apply: June 23, 2022 at 4:00 p.m

Do you have questions about how to thoughtfully integrate Indigenous content and representation into your course work? Curious about how to offer meaningful land acknowledgements in online meetings or events at UBC? Indigenous Initiatives’ Virtual Coffee Drop-ins are great place to explore these topics, connect with others on the same learning path, or just get to know our team.

August 13-19, 2023
In person at Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall
UBC Vancouver, located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. 

Who should apply: Prospective, new and current Indigenous Graduate Students at UBC who self-identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit 

The institute is developed in partnership with Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and the Office of Indigenous Education, Faculty of Education through the SAGE (Support Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement) program.

The 22nd Talking Stick Festival kicks off on June 1st! The Festival brings together Indigenous arts and artists into one big extravaganza. Check out the event calendar and get your tickets now! 

In 1996 on June 21st was designated National Indigenous Peoples Day. Every year we gather to celebrate the beauty and joy of our people and communities. Keep a close eye on your inbox for an Indigenous Peoples Day event guide from CTLT Indigenous Initiatives!