BC PSCA Conference
People, Place and Perspective: Indigenization in Post-Secondary Student Services
May 8-10, 2017
Talking Rock/Quaaout, Chase, BC at Quaaout Lodge
“Reconciliation must inspire Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples to transform Canadian society so that our children and grandchildren can live together in dignity, peace, and prosperity on these lands we now share.
While the Commission has been a catalyst for deepening our national awareness of the meaning and potential of reconciliation, it will take many heads, hands, and hearts, working together, at all levels of society to maintain momentum in the years ahead.”
(Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s examination into Canada’s residential school system recently concluded their six years of work and the TRC has made a number of calls to action. It has been recognized that post-secondary institutions can make an important contribution, specifically around indigenization efforts in academic governance, pedagogy, research, and recruitment–our roles as student service professionals are no less important in this process.
This May, the Post-Secondary Counsellors of BC will meet at Talking Rock/Quaaout, on the traditional lands of the Skwlax people, to explore the theory and practice of the indigenization of student services.
This event has passed.
Post-Secondary Counsellors of BC will meet at Talking Rock/Quaaout, on the traditional lands of the Skwlax people.
To find out more about this location, visit the Quaaout Lodge website
Quaaout Lodge Group Rates
Double Queens or Standard Kings: $105.00; Deluxe Kings: $115.00; Jacuzzi Kings: $145.00; Presidential or Honeymoon Suite: $175.00. These prices are based on double occupancy and do not include applicable taxes.
Please call the Front Desk Reservations @ 1.800.663.4303 to book under TRU Conference May 7-10 (group reservation 687973) as this rate is not available online.
The room block will expire on April 7th, 2017; once the room block expires, guests can still book rooms from general availability.
A conference highlight will be a full-day workshop on the principles, concept and practices of Narrative approaches, led by Angela Voght. Angela is Interior Salish from the Nlaka’pamux Nation. She has worked as a counsellor for 20 years, specializing in Narrative Therapy since 2003. Angela studied Narrative practices in Australia with Michael White and has been working with Aboriginal colleagues in Australia as well with Indigenous communities and organizations in BC on narrative projects.
Drs. Rod McCormick, Kyra Garson, and Shelly Johnson will bracket the full-day workshop with their perspectives on the indigenization of post-secondary student services.
“Exploring our Intercultural Capacities to Support Reconciliation”
Kyra Garson
Monday, May 8, 2017
2:15pm-4:00pm
In this session, participants will review intercultural concepts and frameworks as a means to develop our capacities to be more effective in working toward reconciliation. We will explore our own culturally influenced values, styles, and preferences to consider how these influences inform our approach and how we might adapt approaches to be culturally appropriate. Through discussion and group activities we will apply intercultural concepts to cross-cultural incidents to explore how we can be more effective in supporting students and staff to bridge cultural differences in respectful, inclusive ways.
Dr. Kyra Garson is the Intercultural Coordinator at Thompson Rivers University. She works to enhance intercultural competencies for students, staff, and faculty. She was the primary author of TRU: A Globally Minded Campus – A Resource for Academic Units which has guided internationalization on her campus. Her research interests include intercultural and global learning outcomes of undergraduate students as impacted by internationalization and Interculturalizing curriculum through faculty development. In 2013 her doctoral work on these topics was awarded dissertation of the year by the Canadian Society for Higher Education.
“Narrative Approaches: Principles, Concepts and Practices”
Angela Voght
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
9:15am-4:45pm
This workshop is designed to take participants on a journey of the principles and concepts of Narrative practice. We will look at effective ways of responding to and separating from the problem stories in people’s lives and helping them reconnect with their own skills, knowledge and hopes. Participants will be invited to explore connections with traditional values and teachings.
Angela Voght is Interior Salish from the Nlaka’pamux Nation. She has worked as a counsellor for 20 years, specializing in Narrative Therapy since 2003. Angela studied Narrative practices in Australia with Michael White and has been working with Aboriginal colleagues in Australia as well with Indigenous communities and organizations in BC on various narrative projects.
“Me, you, everybody together:
Finding our own places and opening collective spaces in the Indigenization in University Student Services”
Shelly Johnson
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
9:15am-10:30am
Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall explains that “Two Eyed Seeing refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of, or the best in, the Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye learning to see with the strengths of, or the best in, the Western (mainstream) knowledges and ways of knowing, but, most importantly, learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all.” Two-Eyed Seeing implies responsibilities for reciprocity, mutual accountability, and co-learning (Education Canada, 2014, retrieved from http://www.cea-ace.ca). This Two-Eyed Seeing presentation explores our individual and collective roles and responsibilities in the Indigenization in University Student Services. Gathering inspiration from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and the TRC’s Calls to Action (2015), this session will help us to better articulate a) what we already know, b) what we still need to learn, c) the resources and resource people that can help us, and d) the three, six and 12 month strategies to help us move towards Indigenization in University Student Services.
Shelly (Mukwa Musayett) is Saulteaux from Keeseekoose First Nation, and Norwegian. She is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenizing Higher Education and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at Thompson Rivers University. She is PI on international, national and provincial research awards including two SSHRC Tri-Council Insight and Partnership Development grants exploring (1) Musqueam culture and language revitalization and (2) emerging international Indigenous therapeutic jurisprudence approaches in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. She is PI on an Indigenous restorative child welfare practices research project with Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services.
As a UBC Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS) Early Career Scholar, she held international research awards grounded in the principles of Indigenizing higher education, legal sovereignty, cultural self-determination, and activism. She is a co-PI on a multi-year, SSHRC Partnership Grant (2012-18) focused on national, community-based, urban Indigenous research.