‘Walk with us’: How Indigenization at KPU has grown over the years

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Editor’s note: Sylvia Simpson, who was interviewed for this article, has contributed art to The Runner. The Runner acknowledges and has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article. 

When Brandon Gabriel was a child, he recalls his grandparents getting him ready for a big meeting at their home in 1981. Coming from a family of fishers and farmers, he was to change out of his usual play-and-work attire and into dress clothes he only wore for special events. 

Gabriel’s grandfather was the late-Grand Chief Joe Gabriel of the Kwantlen First Nation, a prominent figure in both the Indigenous and political worlds, who spearheaded some of the first organized Indigenous movements in B.C., he says. 

The oldest out of 19 grandchildren, Gabriel says he had no idea what was about to take place, but recalls the kitchen and dining room being full of well-dressed guests who had come to sign papers. 

The day was a turning point for the future of post-secondary education in B.C. as Gabriel’s grandfather had given provincial authorities permission to use the Kwantlen First Nation name as the namesake of what was to become Kwantlen College. With the permission came a promise to the Kwantlen First Nation — Indigenous students would one day see accessible post-secondary education opportunities and be counted among its student population. 

Gabriel recalls his grandparents telling him and their other grandchildren that besides one of his aunts, no Kwantlen person had ever attained a university degree.

“They told us the importance of the signing and using the name and what their hope was for the future,” Gabriel says. “They had hoped one day all Kwantlen people would be able to go to university and get their education and prosper as citizens of our nation.” 

When they were young, both of Gabriel’s grandparents were forced to attend residential schools, which were government-sponsored religious schools that stripped Indigenous children of their identity. Administration in residential schools physically and sexually abused many of the students, and thousands of children died.

During this time, Gabriel’s grandparents were told they would amount to nothing in society and would not live prosperous lives, which led to education being at the forefront of how they raised their grandchildren, Gabriel says. 

“The Canadian state controlled the inflow and outflow of all financial resources, and this control regulated our housing, our basic infrastructure like drinking water, our electrical grid, our road infrastructure, our housing and health, and our education, and that control was complete,” he says. 

“A lot of homes in our community, at that time, were dilapidated …. The only long-term solution to coming out from under this form of control … was through education. Education equated to empowerment, empowerment equated to autonomy, and autonomy equated to prosperity and being able to make our own decisions and live the lives we felt we deserved to live.” 

As Gabriel grew up, he developed a passion for art, and when he was in Grade 12, he reconnected with what had become Kwantlen University College. He was approached by university officials and then-chief herald of Canada Robert Watt, to design the centre shield of the school’s coat of arms. 

“It was through that connection that I actually decided to enrol [here] after high school,” Gabriel says. “I enrolled in fine arts and anthropology in the autumn of 1999 and became a student at KPU.” 

Gabriel studied at Kwantlen University College for four years, a time of substantial growth for the school as it saw many administration and leadership changes. As a student, he recalls there being genuine attempts from administrators to keep some form of connection with the Kwantlen First Nation, efforts that have since expanded. 

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released a report on 94 calls to action intended to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” 

By 2019, the “Calls for Justice” from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls were announced, detailing four pathways to end Indigenous genocide in Canada.

Two years later, in 2021, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act came into effect in Canada, which is legislation to implement the UN’s declaration and revitalize the federal government’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples. 

These three calls for justice led KPU to develop its “xéʔelɬ Pathway to Systemic Transformation Framework,” a plan and commitment to advance Truth and Reconciliation at the university. 

Created in collaboration with KPU’s Indigenous Advisory Committee — whose members have consisted of Indigenous Elders, students, leaders, community members, and school district representatives — the framework devotes the university to an ongoing systemic transformation process. 

This process was broken down into six distinctive pathways — Reflecting Upon Our Own Biases, Open to the Community, Indigenous Voices Matter, Holistic Learning and Well-Being, Weaving Indigenous Worldviews, and Thought Meets Action. 

When Gayle Bedard, associate vice president of Indigenous leadership, came to KPU two years ago, this pathway was just in the drafting stages, which she worked to re-envision and bring to the finish line. While each pathway is significant, Bedard says the most important one is Reflecting Upon Our Own Biases. 

“It’s always been having to address the why. Why are we still talking about reconciliation, about the true history of Canada? It’s just been an ongoing theme since I’ve entered education. There’s truly a lot of misunderstanding,” she says. 

“It’s the uncertainty, the fear of doing something wrong that always prevents educators integrating Indigenous content into course work. We need to move beyond those excuses to say, ‘Why am I so resistant?’ And that’s why the first [pathway], Reflecting Upon Our Own Biases, is so important.” 

The framework officially launched at a National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in June last year at the Surrey campus. 

That same day, the university announced a new tuition waiver for Indigenous students who are members of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Musqueam, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt, and Kwikwetlem First Nations — the seven First Nations whose lands KPU’s campuses reside on — which took effect last fall. KPU was among the first post-secondary institutions in B.C. to introduce such a waiver. 

Under the xéʔelɬ pathway, KPU held its inaugural New Moon Gala in January to raise funds for Indigenous student scholarships, which featured a three-course dinner and silent auction. The event saw 175 people in attendance, and the silent auction raised $7,200.  

Former B.C. lieutenant-governor Steven Lewis Point, a member of the Skowkale First Nation, was the special guest speaker, and V’ni Dansi, a Vancouver-based traditional Métis and contemporary dance company, performed at the event.

There’s a range of other Indigenous-focused initiatives at KPU, including the reconciliation flag raising each September, the Indigenous Dialogue Series, the Gathering Place at the Surrey campus, community engagement events like “Open Doors, Open Minds,” the Global Indigenous Learning Experience study abroad program, and the option to receive an Indigenous language parchment at convocation.  

Another effort to connect local Indigenous people to KPU is the Indigenous artist, writer, knowledge keeper, and designer residencies, which are semester-based positions aimed to create new projects and engage with the community through events, in-class visits, and consultations. 

KPU also has Elder-in-Residence Lekeyten of the Kwantlen First Nation. He was welcomed in 2015 at a special installation ceremony. 

Gabriel became an Indigenous artist-in-residence in 2023, reconnecting with KPU once again to build on what he calls a “lifelong relationship” with the university. 

During his time as artist-in-residence, Gabriel designed the pillars in the centre courtyard at the Langley campus, and, alongside artists Pancho Pescador and Desi Mundo, created a mural of Kat Norris, a late-Coast Salish advocate and founder of the Indigenous Action Movement, which stands tall in the Surrey campus library. 

“At that point, it really felt like the residency was a full-circle moment in my life,” Gabriel says. 

In the fall last year, KPU launched the Indigenous studies department within the faculty of arts, which offers classes that dive into Indigenous histories, cultures, and social justice issues. This was a huge step forward in fulfilling what had become the university’s 40-year promise to the Kwantlen First Nation. 

As Gabriel’s time as artist-in-residence came to an end, he was offered a teaching position within the new department, which he accepted. 

“For all these years, any university on this continent has been … churning out lawyers, teachers, doctors, engineers, business people, health-care providers, you name it,” he says. 

“I always felt that what was missing from these people’s set of knowledge when they left university was an understanding of how the colony of Canada, or any colony for that matter, … gained their power, and this knowledge … about how states and nations gain their power from Indigenous oppression and genocide is badly needed.” 

The inclusion of this education is integral to improving any post-secondary institution, Gabriel says. This is a sentiment Sylvia Simpson shares, a KPU fine arts student of Haida and Cree ancestry.  

Simpson says she’s overall had a very positive experience studying at KPU, from interactions with instructors to support systems. Last year, she designed orange shirts depicting a bear claw and salmon eggs that read “Every Child Matters” for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at KPU.

Her design was inspired by the women in her family and how they protected their children from Indian agents, who were responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Indian Act. 

“Being able to reflect on that and share that with people has been a point of healing and a point of power to say, ‘Yeah, that’s where I came from,’” she says. 

Simpson is often the only Indigenous student in her classes. KPU’s 2022-23 student profile report found five per cent of domestic students at the university are Indigenous. As a result of this, Simpson says she’s been called on by instructors to share her perspective and is often relied on as an expert when it comes to discussing Indigenous-related matters. 

“I see instructors with the ability to acknowledge the history of Indigenous people, the colonial system, and show respect, which is so uplifting,” Simpson says. “[But] I’m not the expert, and I can imagine [for] other Indigenous students … [who are] visibly Indigenous, it’s hard to get away from.”

Post-secondary institutions in Canada are built on colonial, Eurocentric systems. Bedard says elementary, high school, and post-secondary schools need to embed Indigenous content into their curriculum and policies to better their understanding of the true history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. This can only happen by the means of deconstruction, she says, a task that is not easy. 

“You have the Indigenous world views, you have the Eurocentric worldviews, and I always say you need that third eye to embed both of them together,” she says, adding that this work is not possible without an Indigenous person at the table. 

“We want people to walk with us, not try to lead us, because some people tend to get really passionate for a cause, but if you’re not Indigenous, you should not be in front. You need to walk with us through this process and be that ally.” 

Simpson says the understanding of how education should be taught also needs to change as there are other knowledgeable ways to learn. 

“The land that we all live in and occupy is unceded or it has a treaty because there was an original people. So, having Kwantlen benefit from that, it is crucial to moving forward as a university [that there is] an understanding of where they’re located and how they [can] do their operations in a good way.”

Both Gabriel and Bedard say Indigenization also needs to move beyond just ceremonies and artifacts, which leads to a disconnect due to the Eurocentric nature of a post-secondary institution.  

“There needs to be genuine engagement that’s authentic with the communities to understand which needs need to be brought forward, and to help foster better education opportunities for students,” Gabriel says. 

While KPU is on the right path in regard to Indigenization, Bedard says an awareness of what is happening and why needs to improve. 

“We have to move away from the one-offs. [If] we’re going to have Orange Shirt Day, … the whole month of September leading up to the 30th, everybody should be learning about the why — why are we doing this? It shouldn’t be a one-day event and then it’s done, KPU’s done their part.” 

For instructors, this means working to embed this type of awareness and education into course content. Gabriel says it’s also important to recognize that providing an Indigenous perspective or breakdown on certain topics takes time. 

“That belief or expectation that an instructor can quickly run Indigenous concerns, rights, or anything of that nature into a course and just cover it in a short span of time is incorrect. That’s an incorrect belief, assumption, and expectation,” he says.

“So there’s a lot of programs that could use Indigenous studies built into their program, so that their students have a better understanding of these concepts, and that the students can actually have time to process, reflect, and even internalize the impact of these laws, issues, and things like that.” 

In terms of how students can help advance Truth and Reconciliation, having an open mind and willingness to learn is at the forefront. 

“If you [took] the ‘Intro to Indigenous Studies’ [course], don’t just stop there. Each territory, each nation, each person that you encounter that is Indigenous has their own ways of doing things,” Simpson says. 

“It’s not a blanket of Indigeneity, it’s very complex. There’s lots of room to make mistakes and there’s lots of room to grow. But the first step is to be curious and want to know, that’s crucial.”

By seeking a deeper understanding of Indigenous truth in Canada, students can also help break systemic racism in the country. 

“When they go out into the world, they’re better informed than their parents and their grandparents. In order to remove the systemic racism that we all carry within us, we need to understand, we need to learn more,” Bedard says. 

For Gabriel, next steps in advancing Truth and Reconciliation at KPU include expanding the Indigenous studies department, from course offerings to knowledge. 

“Diversity of views within the Indigenous knowledge base is something that’s going to be important for the growth of the program. The acceptance of this program by other faculties in the institution is also something that I would love to see.” 

As Indigenous-focused initiatives continue to be implemented at KPU, Simpson believes there will be more stability for Indigenous Peoples when it comes to seeking a career, but also in feeling pride. 

“You feel proud to know that you’re going to a school that understands your issues, understands Indigenous perspectives, … and also understands the deficits, how residential school has impacted every single one of us, and having that understanding to move forward from it and start building a stronger foundation.”