Paddling together: Conclusion of the Aboriginal Strategic Initiative at SFU

“Decolonization and Reconciliation is very important, necessary work,” said Elder Marie of kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation and member of the SFU Indigenous Student Centre’s Elder Program. “Acknowledging the past is the only way we can move forward together and make honest and healing relationships for the future–a brilliant, fair future for Indigenous peoples.”

Members of the SFU community gathered for a small ceremony and feast to honour the work of the Aboriginal Strategic Initiative (ASI), which formally launched in 2016 with a mandate of promoting Reconciliation at the university.

Overseen by the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council (ARC), the ASI fund stipulated the creation of a legacy effect and lasting impact for Indigenous peoples at SFU. Initiatives funded by the ASI have included the creation and expansion of Indigenous spaces on campus, the development of anti-racist and decolonial education programs for students, faculty and staff and the development of belonging structures for Indigenous peoples. This work has been foundational to SFU’s future and ongoing Reconciliation work.

The “SFU Family,” led by Indigenous Executive Lead Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis, called upon all those who made contributions to the ASI to stand before a group of witnesses.

“As we have travelled down the river in our journey of Reconciliation, these people were in the canoe, paddling alongside us,” said Lewis. “And they got in the canoe because they knew it was the right thing to do.”

The SFU Family thanked:

After a drum procession led by Gary George, officer for community relations at the Office for Aboriginal Peoples, these collaborators were gifted with blankets before sharing a meal.

Cin̓: to last a long time

“As our witnesses mentioned, this event is a stop on the path. A rest stop,” said Lewis, who also served as an original co-chair of the ARC. “We've come ashore from our canoe and the family really wanted to share a meal, get us together and thank and mark this occasion.”

“We’re gathering up our strength and taking up the energy a good rest stop allows, because the journey is still going to carry on,” said Kris Magnusson, professor of education and also former co-chair of the ARC.

Though the ASI has come to a close, the work of decolonization and Indigenization at the university will continue through the programs established by the ASI, as well as ongoing and future initiatives. Any remaining ASI funds will be added to the First People’s Gathering House, which has been jointly funded by the provincial government, the City of Burnaby and SFU.

“As Elder Marie said, relationships are a big part of Reconciliation,” said Peter Hance, a student who attended with the Indigenous Student Centre and served as witness at the event. He acknowledged that though the work of faculty and staff may not be immediately visible to students, its impacts were felt. “It can be difficult and anxious to come to a post-secondary place, to come to a new kind of environment. By holding these relationships, slowly the spaces become safer and become nicer.”

“I invite all of you to share in the vision and hope of the future,” said Lewis. “I want to thank all those that made this journey possible such as the past leaders, elders, students and allies that created a destination and a map to get there.”

About the Aboriginal Strategic Initiative

The ASI began under former SFU President Andrew Petter. Lewis, then a member of SFU’s Board of Governors, and Magnusson, then dean of Education, were selected as co-chairs of a group that would become the ARC.

“Chris and Kris really marshalled the committee and laid down the challenges that we needed to meet,” said President Joy Johnson, in her role as ceremony witness. “We wouldn't be where we are today without that original thinking, without bringing our community together, without having those hard conversations and the hard truths that we needed to discuss at the university in order to move forward.”

With the establishment of the ASI, a $9 million fund was designated to advance Reconciliation at the university. Tasked with allocating that funding, the ARC sought to identify how best to serve the Indigenous community at the university and create real, sustainable change. After two semesters of community consultation, the resulting report, Walk this Path with Us outlined 34 recommendations and calls to action.

“The name of the report signaled three important things,” said Magnusson. “First, it was an invitation to join in a community of people trying to make a difference. Second, it described a journey, not something that was going to be a one and done. And third, that we would never find our way if we didn't walk that path together. We needed all three of those things in order to make this work happen.”

The calls to action of Walk this Path with Us have been a pillar of SFU’s Reconciliation approach over the past several years, co-facilitated by Ron Johnson. director of the Office for Aboriginal Peoples, and Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan, AVP, External Relations. Lewis also acknowledged the important support of Joanne Curry, VP External Relations.

As of 2024, the ASI funds have been completely allocated, funding projects such as developing in-house training on Reconciliation, anti-racism and cultural safety,  expanding the Indigenous Student Centre, the creation of the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre and much more. To date, all 34 calls to action have reached a status of underway or completed.