Order of Canada honours SFU First Nations alumnus

SFU alumnus Dr. Jo-ann Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem, of the Stó:lō Nation, has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada. Recognized as one of Canada’s foremost Indigenous scholars, she has made outstanding contributions to advance Indigenous education across Canada and abroad.

Now a UBC emeritus professor, Archibald was the former director of the First Nations House of Learning, associate dean for Indigenous education, and director of the NITEP (UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program). She has dedicated her career to creating culturally relevant and community-responsive Indigenous curriculum, teacher education and graduate education programs for Indigenous students.

Her visionary work has transformed the landscape of education for all Indigenous peoples through excellence in curriculum and program development, policy, research, teaching and scholarship. She co-created SAGE (Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement), a province-wide mentoring program to provide culturally relevant support for Aboriginal graduate students. Simon Fraser University is one of the university partners to offer SAGE. She also co-chaired the national Accord on Indigenous Education, a ground-breaking collaboration aimed at significantly improving Indigenous education across Canada.

Her inspiring contributions as a scholar and leader have improved the learning and lives of countless Indigenous peoples and their communities as well as educators in schools, colleges and universities.