Over 30 professors at the University of Regina are speaking up against what they think is a broken relationship between the school and the Indigenous community.
In an open letter to the heads of the university, professors say there has been a “breakdown of trust and reciprocity” between the school’s administration and the Indigenous community both on and off- campus.
The letter dated February 12th was issued after the school’s handling of the events surrounding a lecture by George Elliot Clarke.
Clarke, an Indigenous poet, had been invited by faculty to delver the Woodrow Lloyd Lecture where he was going to give a lecture called “Truth and Reconciliation’ versus the Murdered and Missing: Examining Indigenous Experiences of (In)Justice In Four Saskatchewan Poets”. The lecture was scheduled for January 23rd but was eventually cancelled by Clarke.
Leading up to the scheduled lecture, many complaints were brought forward due to Clarke’s association with convicted murderer Steven Kummerfield. School staff argue that there was ample time invested in getting the administration to understand the stakes of booking Clarke’s lectures.
“The administration was warned by multiple different constituencies who are part of and connected to Indigenous communities about the real harm the lecture would cause,” said the letter. “Knowledgeable and respected voices were repeatedly dismissed prior to the media frenzy and were only engaged after the story had exploded in the media.”
The letter goes on to call for “an academic culture that doesn’t put academic freedom against the inclusion of Indigenous people and perspectives”. Professors added that invited guests to the school should aim to improve, not hinder, the relationships of the university.
They say the actions taken by the university for Clarke’s lecture, are a part of bigger problem of the breakdown in trust between the heads of the U of R and the communities they are supposed to represent.
The university will be discussing the letter with faculty at an executive of council meeting on February 26th.
If you are interested in reading the full letter, click here.
