OISI Team
Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs
sheryl.lightfoot@ubc.ca
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?
Anin! My name is Sheryl Lightfoot, and I am Anishinaabe from the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe. I am Canada Research Chair of Global Indigenous Rights and Politics and hold faculty appointments in Political Science, Indigenous Studies, and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. My academic research focuses on Indigenous global politics, especially Indigenous rights and their implementation in global, national and regional contexts. I currently serve as the North American Member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) as well as Senior Advisor to the UBC President on Indigenous Affairs.
What is your role with OISI?
The OISI team reports to me, as Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs. I was a lead on the Indigenous Strategic Plan Team during the development of the Indigenous Strategic Plan in 2019 and 2020. I am also co-chair, with UBC-O’s Senior Advisor to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UBC-Okanagan, of the Indigenous Strategic Plan Executive Advisory Committee (ISPEAC).
What inspires you in this work and what do you hope to achieve?
Colonization was enabled by institutions and a legal framework that considered Indigenous peoples as less than fully human, compared to Europeans. While parts of the colonial project have been rolled back and corrected over time, many systems and structures in Canada remain deeply colonial and maintain inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Universities are part of this colonial system. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the remedy to colonial systems and structures, and implementation of Indigenous human rights is the appropriate framework for reconciliation, per the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). As a public institution, UBC has a responsibility to advance Indigenous human rights, and the ISP is our plan to do so in a post-secondary context.
Vicki George
Associate Director, OISI
vicki.george@ubc.ca
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?
My name is Vicki Lynne George (Wet’suwet’en). I am a UBC, FNIS alumna and provided input and advice for the 2009 Aboriginal Strategic Plan. I returned to UBC in 2019 with 23 years of legal experience and I have extensive knowledge of Indigenous history, particularly in BC. I was a key team member in the development of the 2020 Indigenous Strategic Plan. Since my undergrad, I’ve been a frequent guest speaker at UBC, SFU, companies and organizations sharing my practicum research project on the “Constitution Express.”
What is your role with OISI?
I am the Associate Director and work with an extraordinary team! I lead strategic planning initiatives, development, implementation and management of OISI and work closely with the Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs. I work with the OISI team and other groups across campus to guide and facilitate the implementation and advancement of the Indigenous Strategic Plan across portfolios and on both campuses.
What inspires you in this work and what do you hope to achieve?
As a UBC alumna, I have far-reaching, personal experience that provides insight into the changes that must be made in order to address colonialism at institutions such as UBC. As an undergraduate, I used my voice to prompt change and action that was desperately needed due to Indigenous students facing anti-Indigenous racism on campus and in the classrooms. My wish remains the same, I do not want future Indigenous students to deal with the same anti-Indigenous racism, emotional labour, systemic barriers and discrimination that I dealt with while studying. Education is key in order to counter colonialism and anti-Indigenous racism that Indigenous students, faculty and staff experience far too frequently. I am motivated to help implement the ISP as the action plan which will guide UBC in advancing Indigenous peoples’ human rights and make the university an environment in which Indigenous people can thrive.
Claire Sarson
Indigenous Strategic Programming Manager, OISI
claire.sarson@ubc.ca
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?
My name is Claire Sarson. I am of mixed European settler ancestry and was raised on unceded Kanaka Maoli and Musqueam lands. I finished my degree in Political Science and Canadian Studies at UBC in 2021 where I focused on Indigenous politics in Canada and global human rights. I began my career at UBC working in research for the Office of Regional and International Community Engagement and the Department of Political Science. I then moved on to work in data management and administration at the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation before returning to UBC to join the OISI team.
What is your role within OISI?
I began working with OISI as the Program Coordinator and now, as the Indigenous Strategic Programming Manager, I help support, deliver and develop programs and projects that guide the implementation of the ISP. I oversee ISP initiatives and the management of the Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (ISI) Fund. I provide strategic planning and oversight of the activities undertaken with respect to advancing the ISP. I also provide support as needed to the rest of the OISI team and associated ISP Guiding Network committees.
What inspires you in this work and what do you hope to achieve?
Highly valued in my family, where nearly everyone is the child or grandchild of an educator, public education was emphasized as an invaluable tool that must be open to change. Studying human rights at UBC helped me understand the relationship between public institutions and Indigenous human rights and the responsibilities of public institutions to renounce their status as cornerstones in the Canadian colonial project. The ISP provides an opportunity for UBC to advance Indigenous human rights in the higher education context.
Andrea Barragan Rivero
Executive Coordinator, OISI
abarragan.rivero@ubc.ca
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?
My name is Andrea P. Barragán Rivero. I am an immigrant from Colombia, I grew up in Guane territory and then studied and worked in Muisca territory, where I completed a Bachelor in Audiovisual Media and Film Production. After working as a Script Supervisor in Bogota, I moved to Naarm (Melbourne), land of the Kulin Nation in Australia, where I gained a Master of Arts and Cultural Management at the University of Melbourne. Later, I moved to Canada and lived in Treaty 6 territory, but my tropical inner self pushed me toward warmer weather. I eventually moved to Vancouver, living and working in the unceded territory of the Squamish, Stó:lo and Tsleil-Waututh, Stz’uminus and Musqueam Nations.
I have experience in office administration, arts administration, customer service and supporting executive staff, with many transferable skills from my previous career in film.
What is your role within OISI?
As the Executive Coordinator, I am the primary contact for the executive team at OISI. I offer administrative support, manage scheduling and liaise with the University, Indigenous communities, organizations, various external agencies and stakeholders on behalf of the OISI.
What inspires you in this work and what do you hope to achieve?
I am passionate about accessibility and inclusion, guaranteeing human rights to minorities. As a queer, immigrant woman, who has had close experiences to declining mental health, neurodiversity and disability, I want to live in a society that is supportive and adequate so that everyone can live a good life. The implementation of the Indigenous Strategic Plan is a great path to start being accountable for actions that can be taken right here, right now, to start changing systemic racism and personal biases that perpetuate discrimination against Indigenous peoples; and to facilitate meaningful reconciliation.