Students at the University of Winnipeg (U of W) may be required to take a course in Indigenous studies before graduating.
The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) is supporting the Aboriginal Students’ Council (ASC) in a proposal that would make it mandatory for students to take at least one half credit in an Indigenous course.
UWSA president Rorie Mcleod Arnould said both organizations have worked together for more than a year on the proposal.
“What we’re asking students to do is take . . . a half course, from a list that right now is over 120 courses from 20 different departments here in the university,” he said.
Students would choose a course that deals with Indigenous culture, history, or experience according to Arnould.
“We are not talking about a cookie-cutter course that all students would have to take,” he said. “We want to be flexible. We want students to take something that interests them, that can be either within their field of study or something they have a natural affinity towards.”
Sadie Lavoie, Aboriginal Student Commissioner at U of W, said she hopes the course requirement will help students understand Indigenous culture.
She said there are misconceptions about Indigenous people which have led to racism.
“That’s basically what we want to get rid of, especially on our campus. We want this to be an open and safe space,” she said.
“An Indigenous course is such a positive experience for [students] just to get to know both sides of this shared common history. We’ve always been told the Western perspective of things,” Lavoie said.
Students who understand more than one perspective “start feeling more comfortable to ask questions,” according to Lavoie.
“We want people to be able to ask questions and not be afraid to ask them. I think a lot of people are really hesitant. I think this breaks that hesitancy.”
Lavoie said she looks forward to seeing a change in student’s perspectives of Indigenous culture if the school approves the proposal, but there has been some backlash.
Some students are worried because the course requirement would be mandatory, according to Lavoie.
“People get instantly afraid when they hear ‘mandatory’,” she said.
But Lavoie said there are already several mandatory requirements at the university such as writing and science courses that students “can focus in any way they want.”
The Indigenous studies requirement would be similar because students can choose from many different courses to fulfill the requirement.
For the most part, the response to the proposal has been “overwhelmingly positive” from students, faculty, and administration, according to Arnould.
He said the proposal is a step all universities can take to “push back against racism when we see it and create more awareness among Canadians of our shared history.”
The course requirement will be introduced in September 2016 at the earliest if the university approves.
