Trinity Western University joins Canadians across the country in honouring National Indigenous History Month in June and National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.
Many areas across campus are journeying together as we seek to foster greater knowledge and understanding throughout the year. Here are some examples of ongoing Indigenous Initiatives at TWU.
Education students in Relational Learning with Stó:lo Peoples and Place
Students in the School of Education are invited into active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges through the course EDUC 413 Relational Learning with Sto:lo Peoples and Place, hosted off-campus in Chilliwack, B.C. near the Cheam First Nation reserve. During this course led by Education faculty members and Siya:m Patricia Victor Switametelót, students participated in sharing circles with the Indigenous community. They also visited Xa:ytem, an archaeological habitation site, where they received teaching from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders, and toured a longhouse and pit house.
The focus of learning is on relationality and the importance of critical self-reflection in education by interrogating worldview beliefs, teacher identity and bias, deconstruction of colonialism, and issues of social justice. Moreover, the course leads students in thoughtful exploration of what it entails to act justly and truthfully as an educator who wants to partner in reconciliation, engage in reciprocity, and build respectful relations with members of local Indigenous communities.
Speaker series on Indigenous issues and perspectives
To facilitate the development of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to Indigenous research and bring together diverse interests in a creative manner, TWU's Institute for Indigenous Issues and Perspectives (IIIP) has been hosting a speaker series called Resurgence! It is a series that celebrates local Indigenous nations, communities, and people by recognizing and respecting their history and memory, knowledge and culture, and ingenuity and continuity. Recent events have included a 2024 presentation by Thiyō:qweltel, Chris Silver, who shared teachings and stories that have shaped the Sumas First Nation over generations.
Christianity and Literature Conference focuses on creation care
Trinity Western hosted the 2024 Western Regional Conference on Christianity and Literature, a scholarly forum that seeks to sustain faith, creation, and dialogue. Organized by the TWU Department of English and Creative Writing, this year’s conference theme was “ConVersing/ConServing: Care, Creation, Communion.” A Saturday plenary session featured a panel conversation among writers, environmentalists, and educators, including TWU Siya:m Patricia Victor Switametelót. Many presentation topics addressed creation care, Christian faith, and creative and literary expression.
A holistic approach to addressing planetary health
With its theme of "protecting and sustaining the well-being of our ecosystems," TWU's Planetary Health Conference provided a platform for multiple disciplines to engage with our planet’s health, inviting the perspectives of Indigenous ways of knowing, spirituality, faith traditions, global ethics, nursing practice, scientific research, and artistic expression to speak into the world's shared planetary concerns. Interdisciplinary scholars, TWU faculty and staff, and graduate and undergraduate students attended the conference, which featured three plenary sessions, multiple research presentations and discussions, and an exhibition by TWU Art + Design students. An outdoor installation, The Poetree Project by Dr. Helma Sawatzky, was featured on a cluster of trees near the DeVries Centre. The project consists of thought-provoking words, individually etched on 75-100 recycled cedar fence slats and hung with jute twine on the branches of the trees.
Indigenous ways of knowing enriches students' learning
At Trinity Western, Indigenous consultant Kathleen Lounsbury of Namgis First Nation is helping to transform the curriculum and teaching practices to better integrate Indigenous ways of knowing. Lounsbury, who is pursuing a PhD in Nursing at TWU, teaches Indigenous historical perspectives, the history of colonization, Canada’s response to colonization, and the shift towards Indigenous self-governance. As a Nursing instructor, she expands nursing students’ knowledge of Indigenous history and culture, in order to better prepare them for their future service within Canadian healthcare systems, and she teaches the importance of trauma-informed care and cultural awareness.
Researchers improve health care and well-being for First Nations communities through technology
TWU's School of Nursing is partnering with several Canadian organizations to support developing a culturally aligned digital health data platform for First Nations. The significance of this project, “Social Determinants and Quality of Life Measurement Framework for Indigenous Digital Health Systems," is that it illuminates Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and brings Indigenous experiences to bear upon the design of health care and technological supports.
The research team, led by faculty supervisors Dr. Richard Sawatzky and Dr. Kendra Rieger. includes TWU Nursing professors and PhD fellow, Kathleen Lounsbury (Namgis First Nation), who has taught in various classes about Indigenous history as it relates to nursing, psychology, and religious studies. Ayumi Sasaki is a post-doctoral fellow at TWU, while Monica Friesen is pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing at TWU.
Campus-wide Day of Learning
Every year, in honour of Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Trinity Western offers a campus-wide Day of Learning. On this day, students, staff, and faculty come together to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools and foster greater understanding of Indigenous knowledge and culture. The day begins with an Opening the Circle Stó:lō ceremony. Multiple workshops and learning activities are hosted throughout the day, including film viewings, an interactive blanket exercise, and story-sharing with Indigenous elders. The day is completed with witness testimonies and a Closing the Circle Stó:lō ceremony.
Service-learning with Indigenous communities in Fort Babine, B.C.
Every year, TWU Global Outreach students travel to Fort Babine, B.C. to strengthen and continue Trinity Western’s over 25 years of relationship with the native reserve community. The students are hosted by Streetcorners Ministry, a ministry founded by TWU alumni Mike and Geralyn Cunningham that serves among native and non-native peoples in northwest Central Interior B.C. Students who participate on the Fort Babine trips build relationships with the Indigenous families, listen to people’s stories and experiences, seek to hear and understand, and spend time simply living life with the local community.
Red Dress Vigil to remember missing and murdered Indigenous people
Each year, TWU hosts a Red Dress Vigil — a ceremony to honour missing and murdered Indigenous people, and to raise awareness to the human crisis of the high and disproportionate rates of violence and numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous people in Canada. The event is led by University Siyá:m and Chair of TWU’s Indigenous Partnership Council, Patricia Victor Switametelót. Red dresses are hung outside the Trinity Commons to symbolize the many murdered and missing indigenous women and children in Canada. The TWU Library participates by creating a display in the library, as well as an outdoor display at the Circle of Remembrance outside Douglas Centre.
Moose Hide Campaign for protection of women and children
The Moose Hide Campaign is a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys who are standing up against violence towards women and children. Wearing the moose hide pin signifies commitment to honour, respect and protect the women and children in our communities and speak out against gender-based and domestic violence. This year, the TWU Library hosted a live stream the general plenary and ceremony.
Gratitude for TWU’s University Siyá:m
Since 2012, TWU has been honoured to have Patricia Victor Switametelót as our University Siyá:m. Victor is Stó:lō and a member of Xwchíyò:m First Nation, which is part of the traditional ancestral unceded territory of the Stó:lō people.
In the language of the Stó:lō people, Siyá:m describes a leader recognized for wisdom and integrity, who willingly shares knowledge with others. Victor’s role as Siyá:m has four main areas of focus: to raise awareness of Indigenous perspectives among the TWU community and to connect Indigenous ways of knowing and being in teaching and learning; to care for Indigenous students through coaching and mentoring and creating opportunities for holistic wellness supports that are culturally relevant; to cultivate a culture of walking together in a good way with all students, faculty and staff at TWU; and building Indigenous partnerships and relationships beyond TWU’s campuses.
About Indigenous Initiatives at TWU
As a global Christian university, TWU continues to foster greater knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures, worldview, and history among students, staff, and faculty. We do this by providing educational opportunities, engaging in community partnerships, and through caring for and supporting Indigenous students.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has campuses in Canada in Langley, Richmond, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.