Congratulations, Summer 2022 Graduates!

Dear Graduates of 2022,

It is an amazing feat to complete your degree during a pandemic and all of us in the Department of Indigenous Studies celebrate with you! Please accept our warm congratulations.

I write this to you during my fifth and final year as Chair of INDG and I think about the changes during this time. All of you began your degree when we were a smaller department with the name of First Nations Studies.  Since then both our faculty numbers and our student enrolment have more than doubled in size and as of 2020 we became the Department of Indigenous Studies. And over the past two years all of you have had to pivot to deal with online learning. 

I hope that as you celebrate your accomplishments that you are able to rely on the insights we have learned during the pandemic: that there is a value of balance; that completing our work often relies on taking time to take care of ourselves. During the past two years many of us have had to push ourselves to leave the safety of our homes to get exercise, to complete errands, and when permitted to visit with family and friends. What we used to be able to do without thinking became activities that require planning and effort to accomplish. 

A teaching that I have been thinking about is how being with people is a powerful medicine. In order to stay balanced, we need to put effort into our relationships; we need to work to create new friendships. 

From time to time we will invite you to return to celebrate with us or will reach out to ask for feedback or for an update on how you are doing. We hope you keep in touch. 

Congratulations, Graduates!

All the best,

Deanna Reder
Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Indigenous Studies (INDG)