Explore the Indigenous
Strategic Plan (ISP)

The Indigenous Strategic Plan provides thoughtful guidance for action and a framework for reconciliation in a post-secondary context.

Pursuing reconciliation is a collective university responsibility, a thread that runs through all areas of the university. The ISP is designed to guide and enable Faculties, departments, units and teams to follow through on the University’s commitment to meaningful reconciliation.

The ISP is an enabling document. In implementing Indigenous human rights as a university community, we build an environment in which students, faculty and staff will share intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect for the rights of all peoples.

Goal 1

Leading at all levels

Prioritize the advancement of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights and respect for Indigenous peoples at all levels of UBC’s leadership and accountability structure.

Action 1

Develop Indigenous-focused committees, advisories and leadership roles across the University ensuring that Indigenous engagement is broadly integrated into all aspects of the university’s academic and operational functions.

Action 2

Ensure that all Faculties and cross-university strategies identify Indigenous engagement and the advancement of Indigenous peoples’ human rights as a specific strategic area of focus and commitment.

Action 3

Align UBC’s operating budget to provide meaningful and flexible allocations and resourcing for each goal identified in this Plan.

Action 4

Provide support for senior administrators and faculty members whose leadership advances the goals and objectives of this Plan in Faculty and operational plans.

Action 5

Work with other research universities in British Columbia, the province, Musqueam, the Okanagan Nation and other Indigenous partners to strategically review the University Act, 1996 and prepare to address any inconsistencies with the principles set out in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Goal 2

Advocating for the truth

Facilitate open public dialogue about truth, reconciliation and the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights.

Action 6

Complete an institution-wide study, and publish a public report of the findings, that identifies UBC’s participation in the implementation of Crown colonial policies.

Action 7

Develop a communications strategy to ensure that every current and prospective student, faculty, staff member and partner of the university is aware of the unceded status of the lands on which UBC facilities are situated and the enduring relationship between Indigenous peoples and their territories.

Action 8

Provide free and publicly accessible educational tools, events and resources that promote the local and global implementation of Indigenous peoples’ human rights, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice.

Action 9

Establish a multi-disciplinary advisory group of Indigenous women and Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA* people to oversee public dialogue at the university regarding the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice.

Goal 3

Moving research forward

Support research initiatives that are reciprocal, community-led, legitimize Indigenous ways of knowing and promote Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination.

Action 10

Create dedicated strategic programming to catalyze research that is co-developed with and led by Indigenous communities locally and globally.

Action 11

Establish Research Chair positions for faculty who demonstrate excellence in the application of Indigenous ways of knowing in research and advance the implementation of Indigenous peoples’ human rights locally, nationally and around the world.

Action 12

Support research opportunities for students to become global leaders in the advancement of Indigenous knowledge systems in health, governance, education, law, business, the sciences, the arts and Indigenous languages.

Action 13

Co-develop research protocols and community-specific ethical research guidelines with interested community partners to ensure students and Faculties are approaching research opportunities with communities in a respectful and formalized manner. This includes the imperative of free, prior and informed consent and protocols on the ownership, control, access and possession of Indigenous data.

Action 14

Provide Indigenous people who are engaged in research with equitable and timely compensation that recognizes the significant value of their participation to the research process and outcomes.

Goal 4

Indigenizing our curriculum

Include Indigenous ways of knowing, culture, histories, experiences and worldviews in curriculum delivered across Faculties, programs and campuses.

Action 15

Undertake university-wide, Faculty-level curriculum reviews to ensure Indigenous histories, experiences, worldviews and knowledge systems are appropriately integrated and that all Faculties are fully compliant with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Action 16

Ensure all academic programs, undergraduate and graduate, include substantive content in at least one course which explores Indigenous histories and identifies how Indigenous issues intersect with the major field of study of the Faculty.

Action 17

Provide equitable and timely financial compensation to Indigenous people who support the Indigenization of curriculum.

Action 18

Continue to partner with Indigenous communities locally and globally to develop accredited post-secondary Indigenous knowledge programs that can be delivered in communities and on campus.

Goal 5

Enriching our spaces

Enrich the UBC campus landscape with a stronger Indigenous presence.

Action 19

Engage with Musqueam, the Okanagan Nation and other Indigenous host nations, as appropriate, regarding the design and development of UBC facilities.

Action 20

Establish a cultural expert program that brings Musqueam, Okanagan Nation and other interested nations’ cultural experts and Indigenous knowledge holders to the UBC campuses to work, teach and promote their expertise

Action 21

Dedicate spaces for Indigenous students, faculty and staff to practice and celebrate their cultures.

Action 22

Identify and make visible the generational connections of Indigenous peoples to culturally significant places across UBC campuses

Action 23

Implement an Indigenous procurement strategy which prioritizes the provision of goods and services from Indigenous businesses and vendors.

Goal 6

Recruiting Indigenous people

Position UBC as the most accessible large research university globally for Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

Action 24

Broaden the criteria for tenure, promotion and merit for faculty and staff to recognize excellence in incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems into teaching, curriculum development and research, including recognition of service in Indigenous-specific areas that goes above and beyond expectations.

Action 25

Develop Indigenous recruitment, retention and advancement policies, which strategically increase Indigenous faculty and staff numbers on both campuses.

Action 26

Identify apprenticeships and new employment opportunities for members of, and in partnership with, Musqueam, the Okanagan Nation and other Indigenous communities.

Action 27

Integrate competence or interest in developing competence in teaching Indigenous content and working with Indigenous students and colleagues into university job descriptions.

Action 28

Increase Indigenous student access to needs-based financial aid for tuition, child-care and housing.

Action 29

Increase needs-based access to child-care services and affordable housing options for Indigenous faculty and staff.

Action 30

Work with Musqueam and the Okanagan Nation to understand their members’ desires for tuition assistance and explore what the university’s role might be in addressing these desires.

Goal 7

Providing tools for success

Forge a network of Indigenous peoples’ human rights resources for students, faculty, staff and communities.

Action 31

Develop a research information repository and communication portal that assists students, faculty, staff, communities and researchers at large to access resources, information, publications and reports about Indigenous issues and knowledge.

Action 32

Develop, communicate and keep updated a comprehensive online database of current Indigenous programs, initiatives and courses at the university.

Action 33

Create a professional development program that assists faculty and staff to foster safe and inclusive classrooms and workplaces.

Action 34

Develop and deliver Indigenous history and issues training for all faculty and staff to be successfully completed within the first year of employment at UBC and to be reviewed on a regular basis.

Action 35

Identify Indigenous faculty and staff mentors who volunteer to be available, recognized and compensated for providing professional advisory services to their colleagues in the development and delivery of Indigenous content and tools for fostering culturally safe classrooms and workplaces.

Action 36

Create easily accessible structures and mechanisms on each campus for Indigenous communities to partner with the university on initiatives that advance their unique goals and interests.

Action 37

In consultation with Indigenous knowledge-experts, establish an International Indigenous Higher Education Advocacy Group to develop a global strategy for the advancement of Indigenous peoples’ human rights in research and curriculum.

Goal 8

Creating a holistic system of support

Provide exceptional and culturally supportive services for Indigenous students, faculty, staff and communities.

Action 38

Review all university policies and operational practices to ensure they support the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ human rights, and the equity and inclusion of Indigenous students, faculty, staff and community members.

Action 39

Strengthen relationships with educational providers and support a comprehensive, multi-pathway approach for transitioning Indigenous students from K-12 or college to undergraduate studies, or from undergraduate studies to graduate studies.

Action 40

Partner with Musqueam, the Okanagan Nation and other Indigenous host nations to provide in-community university transition support services to interested community members.

Action 42

Enhance trauma, violence and other counselling or cultural support services for Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

Action 42

Complete, on a regular basis, service level reviews with Indigenous students, faculty and staff to ensure campus wellness programs and other services increasingly meet their needs.

Action 43

Expand upon UBC’s discrimination and harassment policies to clarify and uphold UBC’s zero tolerance for racism, cultural violence, sexual violence or any form of discrimination against Indigenous students, faculty, staff and community members.

Download the Indigenous Strategic Plan

Download the Plan
Transforming intent into action

Implementation Tools & Resources

1. ISP Self-Assessment Tool

The ISP Self-Assessment Tool provides units with the opportunity to reflect and discuss their role at UBC within the context of Indigenous engagement.

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2. Intent to Action Tool

The Intent to Action Tool provides a structure for units to review the Plan, identify their goals, and assess how they can contribute to implementing the ISP.

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3. Performance Measurement Framework

The Performance Measurement Framework is used to measure progress towards ISP goals, including both qualitative and quantitative performance measures.

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Implementing UNDRIP
at UBC

Implementing UNDRIP at UBC provides a broad lens to contextualize and uphold the commitments UBC has made to promote the principles of UNDRIP.

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Funding Streams

Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Fund

The Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (ISI) Fund supported implementation of the Indigenous Strategic Plan. Funds were available to support projects that advance UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan priority actions across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

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We honour, celebrate and thank the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) and Syilx Okanagan peoples on whose territories the main campuses of the University of British Columbia have the privilege to be situated.

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