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Office of Indigenous Academic and Community Engagement (IACE)
Indigenous Academic and Community Engagement (IACE)

Elders Engagement Fund

Dr. Skip provides a welcome
The Elders Engagement Fund, ITOTELNEW̱TEL ȽTE: LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER ensures meaningful engagement and increases the opportunity for students, faculty and staff to have access to the knowledge, teachings and support from Elders. This fund will also support events and activities such as faculty seminars, classroom visits, Elder honorariums and meetings with community groups or local First Nations communities.

Make a donation

If you are interested in making a donation, you can use the online form.

Are you part of a UVic program, course or event that would benefit from the participation or teachings of an Indigenous Elder? 
 
The Elders' Engagement Fund (ITOTELNEW̱TEL ȽTE: LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER) was created in honour of Dr. Marie Cooper (SWETALIYE) whose 20-year career as an educational administrator led to the transformation of Indigenous education at the K-12 and post-secondary levels. She was a founding member of Elders’ Voices at UVic, a member of the Indigenous education advisory board in the Faculty of Education, and a recipient of a UVic honorary doctorate in 2010.

Fund terms

This fund will be used to support the engagement of Elders in activities across the university that may include the following:
  • Providing UVic students, faculty, and staff with direct, meaningful opportunities for learning Indigenous ways of learning in dialogue with Elders.i.e. Faculty seminars, classroom visits and meeting with community groups, speaker honorariums and thank you gifts for either Elders in Residence or Indigenous guest speakers in seminars, lectures or other teaching and learning opportunities on or off-campus with the local First Nations communities.
  • CIRCLE speaker series or guest lecturing opportunities
  • Cultural & land-based learning activities
  • Opportunities for cross-discipline staff development and collaboration
  • Any UVic faculty, staff, or student groups are welcome to apply.

Application deadline

  • December 2 (notification given by the end of December) for the Spring Term

Application selection

Application requests for amounts up to $500 will be reviewed by the Executive Director, Office of Indigenous Academic & Community Engagement or a representative.

The amounts applied for should reflect the honorarium guidelines:
  • $150 Opening Prayer/Blessing/Welcome to Territory
  • $75/hr General Attendance
  • $250 for Indigenous Elder/student participating in an event for a half-day (3 hours), and
  • $500 for Indigenous Elder/student participating in a full-day event (any time more than 3 hours)
  • $250 Drumming
  • $250 Speaker
  • $300 Usher
  • $300 Floor Manager
The amount awarded will be dependent on the number of eligible applications per term at the discretion of the selection committee.

How to apply

Please complete and submit an application by email/mail to:
 

Matthew Simpson, Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator
Office of Indigenous Academic & Community Engagement
First Peoples House
University of Victoria