Thank you for the questions.
Yes, the critical indigenous studies programs at UBC include first nations languages as one of the programs there. However, beyond that, as I said, we've created an indigenous strategic plan in which indigenizing the curriculum is one of the aspects.
When I'm not director of the First Nations House of Learning, I'm a part-time professor in the school of nursing. Following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have a course on indigenous peoples' health that was mandated by the TRC. I teach one of those mandatory courses on indigenous health promotion, so I know that the medical school and some others have mandatory courses.
There are pros and cons to the mandatory.... As it is in medicine and in nursing, I know we're able to do it. There's a whole critical indigenous studies area, and there are some in law as well. However, we run into problems sometimes if coursework is mandated and there's no appropriate person trained in that area to teach it.
There are the two sides of the coin of how to indigenize and with whom to indigenize—who's going to make it appropriate and so forth—but I certainly agree.
I'm a U.S. citizen, but we have all the same issues. I would have been a sixties scoop person, but over there. I know exactly what you mean about trying to then get back and figure out from that complicated history what the truth is, if you will.
I thank you for that question.