Several Indigenous academics say calls for Queen's University to apologize and create a process to verify the Indigenous identity of their staff are validating and could be a promising step forward.
The recommendations come from an independent review of how the Kingston, Ont., university evaluates Indigenous identity when hiring people. They follow allegations that multiple people associated with the school were falsely claiming to be Indigenous.
Celeste Pedri-Spade, associate professor and Queen's National Scholar in Indigenous Studies, said she felt "validated" by the report.
The 32-page report from First Peoples Group, an Indigenous advisory firm, addressed "the clear concerns that many Indigenous stakeholders had," said Pedri-Spade, "particularly around how the institution was not necessarily implementing ways to ensure that people were who they say they were."
The seven recommendations in the report include the development of a department of Indigenous studies.
They also call on the university to establish a validation policy for Indigenous faculty that — at minimum — should include citizenship or membership cards, plus a professional reference and references from a family member and an elected First Nations, Inuit or Métis leader.
The report's authors said the university needs to address staff who don't meet the new requirements, from finding them alternate assignments to firing them.
Following the report's release Friday, principal Patrick Deane said the university...
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