Equity and Inclusivity

Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Education is committed to access to education for all students. We recognize that past practices may have restricted access to education and the development of their full potential to children from marginalized or oppressed groups. We respect and honour the traditions and experiences of all peoples, and actively seek to include peoples with diverse backgrounds. In this spirit, we have formally approved the following two statements.

Statement on Equity

The Faculty of Education at Laurier acknowledges and respects the richness and diversity of all members of our community and values their contributions to every aspect of university life. Laurier strives to affirm people of all genders and sexual orientations; persons from diverse backgrounds, origins, and religions; persons with disabilities; Indigenous persons; persons of a visible minority; and, other disadvantaged, marginalized, and/or oppressed groups, as contributing to the vitality of the Laurier community, not in spite of their differences, but because of them. Laurier recognizes the unique heritages of Indigenous peoples and supports the intentions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to preserve and express their distinctive indigenous cultures, histories, and knowledge through academic programming and co-curricular activities. The Faculty of Education will continue to implement policies and practices to address the barriers to equitable participation that exist in our society as a whole and within our institution. In doing so, we embed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of what we do within the university and in our connections to local and global communities.

Commitment to Indigenous Education

The Faculty of Education at Laurier understands the critical need to rethink the delivery and content of preservice teacher education that is more inclusive of Indigenous Peoples of Canada. We aim to raise awareness among preservice teachers about Indigenous Peoples of Canada as a way to replace intolerance (e.g., racism, stereotypes) with acceptance toward First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples of Canada. Furthermore, we aim to promote greater awareness and knowledge among preservice teachers about Indigenous cultures and concerns as a way to critically evaluate how schools can better incorporate culturally sensitive curricula and teaching methods, while building stronger relationships with First Nations, Métis and Inuit students, families and communities.

Our goals are the following:

• To support the development of preservice teachers’ foundational knowledge base of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit worldviews and teachings so that they may know how to respectfully integrate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit topics and perspectives of education into their curricula and course designs.
• To encourage reciprocity, mutual understanding, acceptance, sharing, and transformation across cultures.
• To create a welcoming environment for Indigenous students, staff, and faculty at the Faculty of Education.

Note on the Term "Indigenous"

Canada recognizes three groups of Indigenous people:

• First Nation, or Indian, as defined by The Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, section 35. First Nation people are either status (registered with an Indian band or community) or non-status (not registered by are members of an Indian band or community);
• The Métis, who, in the first instance, are descendants of European fur traders and First Nations women; and
• Inuit are the Indigenous people of the North.

These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs. There are more than one million people who identify themselves as an Indigenous person and they live in urban, suburban, rural, and remote locations across Canada.

Acknowledgement of Territory

The Waterloo campus of Wilfrid Laurier University is located on the traditional territory of the Anishnabeg, Neutral and Haudenosaunee peoples, specifically the Mississaugas of the New Credit and since 1784 the Six Nations of the Grand River. The Waterloo campus is also within the Between the Lakes Purchase and Collins Purchase No. 3 (1792) and the Haldimand Treaty (1784) area.