Having the best experience of my life at Trent right now in my third year. One of the best universities and orientation weeks in the country in my opinion. The professors and the facilities are certainly top notch and students like me are the most enga...
Having the best experience of my life at Trent right now in my third year. One of the best universities and orientation weeks in the country in my opinion. The professors and the facilities are certainly top notch and students like me are the most engaged of any university which has a progressive culture rooted in advocacy and activism fighting for Indigenous rights, student success, food insecurity, housing affordability and social justice issues as well. I have a positive perspective on the Indigenous course requirement and since I have seen nothing but great things about STEAM students succeeding in these courses from professors, college principals, and from themselves, let’s clear things up a bit! The ICR is meant to give students CHOICES, OPTIONS, ALTERNATIVES, and FLEXIBILITY in what courses to take if a student does not want to face the big research project (Homelands Assignment) that is the main assignment in INDG 1001 which is intense work for any science and math students whose strength is thinking logically through labs and seeing things through a microscopic lens. To combat the stereotypes of the Indigenous Course Requirement being dumbed down, nope it is not a repeat of the mandatory high school “Indigenous Literature” course that you were forced to take in Grade 11. Instead, these courses encourage you to think broadly about Indigenous issues, have a greater appreciation of them, learn how to have a diverse worldview that is not Eurocentric, and expand your horizons a bit on a wide variety of Indigenous issues, not just Indigenous literature. That might include truth and Reconciliation, treaties, being exposed to Indigenous peoples around the world, and in the city as well. For these STEAM students who believe that they do not to learn about Indigenous Knowledge and believe in a one-eyed lens, nope you are wrong - in the real world, you are committing an offence of not consulting with Indigenous people and listening actively and deeply with empathy with their concerns of putting a mine in Northern Ontario, being dismissed for not having a heart attack, instead being discharged and sent home so they can suffer from their longstanding illness from intergenerational trauma or being experimented with improper chemicals and medicine and not being racially sensitive to their needs and consulting with them first about how to best to undergo the research study without causing longstanding harm to Urban Indigenous people who have gone through a lot in their lives like poverty, drug addictions, being exposed to residential schools, low expectations in the education system, obesity, and diabetes as well. You need to learn concepts like Two-Eyed Seeing, Indigenous Environmental Knowledge, be immersed in Indigenous culture, how to pursue your role in the truth and reconciliation process, and most importantly, how to assist Indigenous people just by being in their shoes and give that beautiful gift that is called assistance. The Indigenous Course Requirement teaches ALL students how to be good and moral human beings while trying to understand how to contribute to the reconciliation process that is the new reality on Turtle Island at the moment. It’s that simple
