Overview

Carleton University is committed to creating partnerships that align with our goals and share our values for reaching and empowering Indigenous students.

We aim to reach a greater number of prospective students while in their home communities. By offering Indigenous-led engagement opportunities on campus and meeting prospective students in home communities before they make decisions about their future, we will create a meaningful recruitment strategy and deliver resources and services that contribute to retention. As a donor, you can play a role in this work.

Through the generosity of an anonymous donor through Carleton University, the first $2500 in donations in support of this fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar, creating twice the impact.

The Background

Momentum towards conciliation and truth has been gained through the numerous initiatives developed and delivered across campus. However, there remains opportunity for greater impact around land-based learning.

Building upon the foundation of truth sparked by the collective movement that emerged from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report in 2015, Carleton formed the Carleton University Strategic Indigenous Initiatives Committee (CUSIIC). The role of the committee is to ensure that the university will continue to move forward with humility in ways that will benefit students, staff, and faculty long into the future.

Carleton University is committed to enhancing culturally significant services and spaces on campus, providing Indigenous students with a sense of community and support during their time at Carleton. As part of this commitment, we offer Indigenous students an opportunity to see themselves pursuing their interests and culturally-significant education at Carleton.

The Rollout

Your donation will help us:

• Deliver tailored recruitment that attracts Indigenous students to postsecondary education at Carleton and demonstrates the services and opportunities for culturally-significant learning. Our recruitment strategy includes costly travel to Indigenous communities as well as on campus experiences that engage prospective Indigenous students from across Algonquin territory.
• Contribute to Indigenous student success and sense of belonging on campus through enhanced programming and events.
• Create opportunities for more Indigenous students to benefit from land-based learning, including the Nunavut Arctic Exchange and Two-Spirit Sundance Ceremony.
• Better enable our Centre for Indigenous Support and Community Engagement to respond to unique and/or unexpected Indigenous student needs.

The Impact

About Land-Based Learning:

Land-based learning is a holistic approach to education that centers on the interconnectedness of the land with Indigenous culture, language, and identity. It involves learning directly from the land and incorporating Indigenous knowledges and practices into the educational experience. This form of learning recognizes the land as a teacher and a source of wisdom, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a harmonious relationship with the environment. Land-based learning is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about fostering a deep connection to the land, community building, language preservation, and health and well-being.

Traditional Indigenous pedagogies privilege learning and teaching in connection with the land and waters. This requires that students are able to leave campus in order to understand Indigenous ways of knowing. The associated expenses present a critical problem in initiating a crucial aspect of bridging Indigenous teaching and learning practices into academic curricula.