FEATURING
Dr. Sheila Cote-Meek, Director and Professor of Indigenous Educational Studies at Brock University
TITLE
Decolonizing Higher Education Systems in Canada
ABSTRACT
Decolonizing higher education in Canada requires a critical examination of how colonial structures remain deeply embedded within academic institutions. Recognizing the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, including the ways in which Eurocentric knowledge systems, policies, and power dynamics have marginalized Indigenous ways of knowing and being is the first step in decolonizing our practices. Based on a qualitative research study, this presentation will explore the lived experiences of Indigenous students and professors in higher education, highlighting systemic barriers such as curriculum exclusion, institutional racism, and cultural erasure. Through a discussion of transformative solutions, decolonizing approaches that center Indigenous epistemologies, governance models, and land-based learning are discussed.
BIO
Dr. Cote-Meek is Anishinaabe from the Teme-Augama Anishnabai. She is currently Director and Professor of Indigenous Educational Studies at Brock University. She was the inaugural Vice-President, Equity, People and Culture at York University where she led the development of the Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI) strategy and York’s Black Inclusion Strategy. She was the inaugural Associate-Vice-President, Indigenous and Academic Programs at Laurentian University where she developed the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre, the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute and the Master of Indigenous Relations. Dr. Cote-Meek is author of Colonized Classrooms – Racism, Trauma and Resistance in Post-Secondary Education (2014) and three co-edited books: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Education in Canada (2020), Critical Reflections and Politics on Advancing Women in the Academy (2020) and Perspectives on Indigenous Pedagogy in Education: Learning from One Another (2023).
Annually the Department of Psychology hosts a Colloquia Series throughout the academic year. This exciting program brings us together outside of the classroom to have conversations with the speakers we’ve invited to our campus to share their ideas. You’ll have the chance to hear from international speakers on a wide range of provocative topics.
