YUFA
External
Report on CAUT Conference, Transforming the Academy: Forum for Aboriginal Academic Staff
11-13 November 2011, Vancouver, BC
By H. Tom Wilson, Professor, Schulich School of Business
25 Nov 11 - In my opinion, this was one of the best organized and managed CAUT Forums I have ever attended and participated in, even by comparison with the many CAUT conferences I have attended over the past 40 plus years. The continuous and active presence of both the Executive Director and the President of CAUT clearly meant a lot to the members and participants. Their greeting was combined with an opening ceremony by participants from the Coast Salish peoples on whose land the Forum was being held.
The internal organization of the meetings featured a Plenary session followed after break by discussion circles which really were discussion circles, and thereafter by reports from leaders of the discussion circles presented as a Plenary overview later in the afternoon. Circles are a traditional indigenous way of coming together, and constitute a singularly most effective approach to incentivizing continuous participation, feedback and dialogue and maximizing the likelihood of inclusiveness, interactivity and much needed synergies.
The first Plenary on Friday morning, 11 November, ‘Recognizing and Naturalizing Indigenous Knowledge in the Academy’, was presented by two senior indigenous academics from Trent University and the University of Victoria. Their presentations clearly set a very high standard for what would follow, and addressed 3 issues: access for indigenous students; recognition of indigenous faculty and student expertise; funding support for specific indigenous programs. The discussion circles which ensued were broken down on the basis of 4 concerns which would be used throughout the 3 day conference: (1) the role of Elders in colleges and universities; (2) managing work-life balance; (3) negotiating racial diversity in the classroom; (4) working conditions for indigenous academics.
Although I tried to visit all 4 meetings in this first session, I quickly realized that I would need to make a choice and concentrate on 1 or 2 circle sessions at most. I concluded that circle session (4) was the one that would probably be more directly relevant to YUFA concerns in general and also to those of the Equity Subcommittee of YUFA, of which I am a member. This decision turned out to be a fortunate one because here, and I presume elsewhere, the paramount role of Elders in indigenous higher education needed to be brought to the fore continually, thereby guaranteeing that many of the issues discussed in (1) would also be discussed in (4). Many other participants appear to have agreed with my choice of discussion circle (4), if the far greater size of this circle was any indication.
Saturday’s Forum focus concerned ‘Promotion and Tenure’, and in this case the Plenary session that day was also very effective in laying out the issues. The presentation concentrated, among other things, on the fact that indigenous academics must necessarily combine the ‘normal’ contributions by which the academy rates and ranks ‘standing’ pursuant to deciding on tenure and promotion (e.g., research, teaching and training, administration and service) with the need for continuous attention to and participation in their local indigenous communities, including consultation with Elders. Following this, discussion circles ensued, broken down on the same basis as the day before, and thereafter reports from the 4 discussion circles addressed these same topics.
My session was once again the largest, but it was also once again well-organized and led, with the result that a sort of matrix approach to the special challenges presented to indigenous academics seeking promotion and tenure emerged. In response to these special challenges, it was decided that a positive strategy for ensuring the best Promotion and Tenure outcome possible for indigenous candidates must include an active emphasis on: dedicated membership and participation in the university or college faculty union or association; the priority of constitutional and/or legislatively based demands and programs focused on Equity alongside equality; the need for a continuing commitment to a positive approach to the legitimate special needs and requirements of what it means to be an indigenous person who happens also to be a full-time professional academic.
On both days, but especially on Saturday, the reports back to the Forum on the discussions, conclusions and suggestions that had emerged from the 4 circle discussion groups provided an increasingly synergistic and clear picture of what the real issues in these topic areas were. Use of other modes of illustration besides lecture presentations by circle group leaders were very effective, and questions and further suggestions from the assembled participants underscored the importance of always trying to close the circle, at whatever level of discourse and regardless of the numbers involved. It is important and necessary to note that, in my estimation, some of the most insightful and relevant contributions to the Forum, whether in Plenary sessions, circle discussion sessions that I attended, or assemblies of participants in the reports back by discussion leaders were by Elders, of which there were several. Apart from this, they were often active in their attempts to visit more than one session over a given time period and were signal discussants, particularly given their experience, thoughtfulness and wisdom.
Sunday was the concluding day of the Forum, and morning discussion circles focused on the need to provide CAUT and other organizations with suggestions for the most urgent matters requiring action. This was followed by the final Plenary session in which these suggestions and priorities were communicated to the CAUT leadership and to others. The Forum adjourned with a Closing Indigenous Ceremony, one that was faithful to the tone of the entire Forum while also being an inspiration to action. I had the sense, since confirmed by subsequent communications by participants, that this was no less a watershed event for them than it was for me. Of course, this will depend on what is ultimately accomplished generally, and particularly on the matters discussed, with respect to practical action to attempt to redress the systematic discrimination faced by indigenous academics, students, staff and Elders in Canadian universities and colleges.Other Delegates to this Conference:
Carl James