About us
Where we are, where we learn
We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
Lək̓ʷəŋən means "place of the smoke herring."
W̱SÁNEĆ means “raised up” or “emerging place,” as viewed from the water rather than from the other land, in the SENĆOŦEN language (Dave Elliott Sr).
Our vision
The School of Indigenous Governance is Canada’s leading school for the advancement of Indigenous knowledges, creativity and activism.
Our graduate programs support the training and education of future Indigenous leaders through innovative models of governance and nationhood that draw inspiration from Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, community-based research practices, and intersectional, critical and Indigenous feminist approaches.
Our history
Our program first emerged from UVic's School of Public Administration, where Indigenous Governance began as a graduate certificate program.
In 2000, we became an independent department with the launch of the Master of Arts in Indigenous Governance. Over the years, we expanded our programs, became the School of Indigenous Governance in 2022, launched a dedicated PhD program and joined UVic's Faculty of Social Sciences.
Today, we support Indigenous-centred teaching, research and community partnerships while preparing future leaders, researchers and governance professionals.
A new approach to Indigenous governance
Our graduates play critical leadership and advocacy roles in their nations, communities, in government and across influential organizations at all levels.
Our curriculum includes sustaining and expanding local, national and international partnerships, community-engaged research and Indigenous scholarship with a focus on Indigenous ways of learning.
We draw 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, embracing and respecting the wisdom of all peoples.
We have responded to our students’ needs by creating programs that engage the diversity of Indigenous peoples and cultures, the intersections of gender and sexuality, and the impacts of historical and political power on Indigenous populations across Canada and around the world.
Indigenous ways of knowing & being
Our curriculum explores the political realities of Indigenous communities, with emphasis on:
- Indigenous governance and nationhood
- Indigenous law and jurisdiction
- Indigenous politics and self-determination
- Indigenous justice and resurgence
- Indigenous feminisms
- climate and environmental governance
- community-based research
- Indigenous media, culture and expression
We continue to build on traditional strengths, dedicated to Indigenous ways of knowing and being, innovative scholarship and teaching methods.