Members of the Fleming College community, Indigenous and settlers, come together for a conversation about what the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation means to them.supplied
There’s a college in Ontario that’s making big waves when it comes to embracing and implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation commission.
Fleming College, with campuses in Peterborough, Lindsay and Haliburton, boasts a particularly strong representation of Indigenous faculty members and “has taken a holistic approach,” says Elizabeth Stone, who has just taken on the newly created role of Indigenous Knowledge Leader. “From the board of governors, the senior management team, to academic and student experience, the college has committed to building respectful, reciprocal relationships with the Indigenous community, incorporating relevant Indigenous knowledge, perspectives and pedagogy across all departments.”
The college’s Traditional Indigenous Knowledge process, a unique initiative introduced in 2018, offers opportunities for faculty to develop skills, understanding and awareness of Indigenous intellectual and cultural traditions, says Ms. Stone, who has been the inaugural chair of Indigenous Perspectives at Fleming since 2019.
Members of the Indigenous Perspectives faculty team work with their colleagues to map the curriculum and adopt relevant learnings that enrich student experience. And the Indigenous knowledge they bring to their work is acknowledged, she explains. “It’s really about building, not only on those academic pieces but also the soft skills and relationship-building, and coming at it from a complete Indigenous way of being.”
The commitment to Indigenous pedagogy, says Ms. Stone, is demonstrated through Fleming’s Indigenous Perspectives Designation (IPD), which is included in 36 programs across an array of disciplines. Since it was established in 2018, more than 1,400 students have graduated with this special designation that acknowledges their work developing meaningful, respectful relationships and appreciation of Indigenous cultures, histories, traditions and contributions.
In 2021, Colleges and Institutes Canada recognized Fleming College with its Silver Indigenous Education Excellence Award. Ms. Stone says she is proud of that achievement as it represents the hard work that the whole college has done. But she notes that it hasn’t been easy, “It’s been really challenging for people to critically examine themselves as well as the processes, the systemic processes, to say, ‘How can we do better?’ We really had to dig deep to make things happen.”
Fleming will not rest on its laurels, she says, but will continue to work for the gold Indigenous Education Excellence Award. At the same time, she adds, “It is satisfying to know that what we have done is going to affect long-standing change.”
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with Colleges and Institutes Canada. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.