About us
A new approach to Indigenous governance
The School of Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria is recognized as one of Canada’s leading schools for the advancement of Indigenous resurgence and self-determination. Graduates play critical leadership and advocacy roles in their nations, communities, in government and across influential organizations at all levels.
The curriculum includes sustaining and expanding local, national and international partnerships, community-engaged research and Indigenous scholarship with a focus on traditional ways of learning.
The School of Indigenous Governance draws on the advice and counsel of Elders and Old Ones, academic colleagues, students, alumni and community to bring the best of our academic and community scholarship forward and embrace the wisdom of respect for all peoples.
We have responded to our students’ needs by creating programs to engage the diversity of peoples and cultures, the intersection of gender, and acknowledging the influence of historical political power on Indigenous populations across Canada and around the world.
Discover our connections to local community
Indigenous ways of knowing and being
The School of Indigenous Governance continues to build on traditional strengths, dedicated to Indigenous ways of knowing and being, innovative scholarship and teaching methods. It embodies a thorough understanding of the current political realities of Indigenous communities in an enriched program with greater emphasis on:
- Indigenous feminist and gender perspectives
- Indigenous health and wellness
- critiques of power production and use
- strong connections with local community, languages and the land
- deeper engagement with land-based curriculum, community governance projects and theses
- enhanced academic cultural supports for students to navigate being good visitors in this territory
- engaging Indigenous governance from the perspective of sustainable development and water security during an era of climate change
Learn more about the programs in Indigenous Governance (MAIG)
Collaborations and partnerships
The School of Indigenous Governance program employs strong partnerships with other innovative initiatives at UVic and overseas:
- The world’s first Joint Degree Program in Canadian Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders (JD/JID)
- Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU)
- Indigenous Nationhood graduate certificate program
- Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE)
- Uvic's Indigenous language revitalization programs
- Longstanding international partnerships like the Indigenous politics program at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa