Dean's Message

Hello everyone,

As we prepare to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on September 30, I’d like to encourage all members of the Arts community to embrace and obs­­erve a period of meaningful reflection about our deep responsibilities to truth, reconciliation, decolonization and Indigenization. 

As the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, I personally commit myself – and I ask all members of the Arts community – to continue engaging in the difficult work of illuminating and repairing the egregious harms, both past and present, inflicted on Indigenous persons, communities and nations in Treaty 6 territory and across Canada. In our roles and our work within the Faculty of Arts, I ask each and every one of us to make ongoing dedicated efforts to support the growth and success of Indigenous-led and Indigenous-focused spaces for teaching, learning, research, exhibition and performance. 

I want to publicly recognize and affirm my unequivocal support for the work of Indigenous Arts researchers, instructors, support staff and leaders, including our newly appointed and first-ever Associate Dean (Indigenous Relations), Tanya Harnett. Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars across the humanities, social sciences, and fine and performing arts are undertaking the crucially important work of decolonization and Indigenization. I offer my immense gratitude for their perseverance and dedication in advancing their disciplines and workspaces in ways that make room for the multiple voices, experiences and worldviews of future generations of Indigenous students and scholars.

IPIA (Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archeology),  CILLDI (Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute) and  AWGII (Arts Working Group for Indigenous Initiatives) are among the Indigenous-focused units and programs within the Faculty of Arts doing such work as well. They engage directly in the reconciliatory practice of integrating Indigenous ways of knowing and being into research and teaching. 

I’d also like to take this time to direct you to our  Indigenous Initiatives as a Faculty,  Braiding Past, Present and Future, the University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan, and in particular the  Indigenous Student Resources we have available. Additionally, please take the opportunity to visit our designated Arts landing page for  Information on Treaty 6. 

In closing, I strongly encourage all members of the Arts community to attend our blanket exercise on  September 29. A blanket exercise is an imaginative, thought-provoking and interactive experience that transports participants back in time, allowing them to engage intellectually and emotionally with the Indigenous experience of colonization. This inclusive event is open to all Faculty of Arts staff, faculty members, students and friends. RSVP here.

Robert Wood, PhD
Dean, Faculty of Arts