Lakehead University

Indigenous ways of knowing as a central pillar of university governance and sustainability strategy

Institution

Lakehead University

Region

North America

COuntry

Canada

founding year

1965

student body

8310

Website

Institutional Approach

In their sustainability plan, Lakehead University, Canada, covers institute-wide strategies for sustainability while considering indigenous world views. The university offers indigenous language, education, teaching and STEM-access programs, amongst others. Lakehead's indigenous University Elder's Council sits centrally within university governance. Together, indigenous students, staff and faculty guide sustainable action at the University, starting from challenging the very conception and mainstream concept of sustainability, to concrete actions and institutional policies honoring indigenous world views. Together with the Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, traditional talking circles around sustainability are organized with the university community, and the indigenous concept of "Two-eyed seeing" is integrated at the level of university decision making - a concept that recognizes indigenous ways of knowing with respect to the university's sustainability actions.

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