First Nations University hoping to lead conversation on Indigenous identity fraud with citizenship forum
The First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) is hoping to be a leader in the conversation on Indigenous identity fraud in academic institutions.
Through the National Indigenous Citizenship Forum (NICF), over 300 Indigenous post-secondary leaders came together Wednesday to create a framework for institutions to ensure Indigenous identify fraud does not continue.
“Indigenous communities should be engaged within these processes,” said FNUniv President Jackie Ottman. “There should be resources for this kind of work.”
The issue was brought into the limelight when it was discovered University of Saskatchewan (U of S) professor Carrie Bourassa had falsely claimed Indigeneity in November 2021.
According to independent researcher and NICF keynote speaker Jean Teillet, this type of identity fraud is nothing new.
“Despite it arising very publicly at the University of Saskatchewan, it is not by no means limited,” she said. “It is through the academy, throughout the country and in fact throughout North America.”
Last year, Teillet submitted a report to the U of S. She looked into the phenomena of white people claiming Indigeneity, why the trend happened and potential red flags post secondary institutions should look for to find what she calls, ‘fraudsters.’
“There’s two parts to it,” she explained. “Stopping new people from coming in who are fraudsters and dealing with those who are already embedded in the university.”
Ottman said non-Indigenous people are taking seats, grants and leadership positions meant for Indigenous people at some universities by claiming Indigenous identity.
The forum hoped to create policies and practices for other institutions to follow.
“I really hope university leadership will take these seriously,” she said. “And I hope they work with Indigenous people to ensure money and seats that are designated for Indigenous people go to Indigenous people.”
The NICF will send a framework of ideas back to university leaders across the continent.
Ottman said she wants to see self-identification abolished.
“I hope to see Indigenous peoples centred around our universities,” she said. “There is a collective strength that will emerge from these forums.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.