• Students whose interests, and possibly future careers, involve, or even require, knowledgeable and respectful engagement with Indigenous communities and individuals

• Students with some Indigenous heritage who have not grown up connected to their own communities, traditions and histories (scholarships available)

• All students who would like to prepare for a future in which knowledgeable and respectful relationships can flourish in a land with Indigenous peoples, settlers and newcomers living together “in a good way.”

When naming a program, creativity is always limited by the need for program content to be recognized by diverse audiences. We feel that our program is unique from what is typically expected of “Indigenous Studies” programs because of its emphasis on helping non-Indigenous students to “do their homework” to prepare for more respectful relationship with Indigenous individuals and communities. In our consultations with Indigenous friends and neighbours, many encouraged the word “reconciliation” as long as it is understood as a word rooted in actions – as is reflected in the Wolastoqey word, Piluwitahasuwawsuwakon, which can be translated as: “Allowing your thinking to change so that action will follow in a good way toward truth.”

Others reject the word “reconciliation” as unhelpful because it implies that we can aim for a return to a time of respectful relationship, which never existed on a large scale. We see and respect this rejection as reflected in the title of one chosen course text: “Unreconciled,” by Jesse Wente.

For now, we are using the term “Reconciliation Studies” to identify our program while embracing this tension and while listening for the possibility of a better name that might reflect the kind of relationship preparation at the heart of our program.

We believe strongly in the principle of “narrative sovereignty,” the inherent right of people to tell their own story. To ensure that Indigenous educators and knowledge keepers speak on behalf of their story, we will centre input from Indigenous faculty, guest speakers and (almost entirely) texts written by Indigenous authors. We see the role of our non-Indigenous faculty as taking our responsibility seriously to facilitate the availability of Indigenous content while also speaking about the history and current challenges of relationship between peoples.

We see this program as our response to the “Calls to Action” of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and we wanted that to be reflected in the name we gave our program. In our consultations, we also noted that an emphasis on “telling the truth” was the most common advice we received. The central concepts of truth-telling and reconciling relationships needed to be in the active form to emphasize that they must be lived out in our actions and that these are very much ongoing hopes that require our attention.

We are also mindful of the reality that there is often a long and potentially painful journey of healing – for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people – that comes in between the truth-telling and the reconciling, and it’s our hope that our program will contribute to all three: truth-telling, healing and reconciling.

Students can register for any one or more of the courses for credit or audit.