Indigenous students call for own students’ union at U of S
- NC Raine | March 13, 2018
Indigenous students at the University of Saskatchewan are calling for the creation of their own autonomous students’ union. The Indigenous Students' Council (ISC), which represents 2,500 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students, says that a student union will help facilitate change in our society.
“What we're doing on campus isn't enough, and we need to do more,” said Iloradanon Efimoff, co-chair of the Indigenous Graduate Student Council (IGSC) during a town hall discussion of a proposed students' union.
The movement comes after the ISC issued a statement last week criticizing the University's “stale” reconciliation efforts. The statement also called on its members to withdraw from associated reconciliation efforts, councils, an committees.
A release in regards to the students union stated that the ISC “intend to legitimize and facilitate this conversation on our own terms, through the creation of an Indigenous Students' Union (ISU).”
“We don't have representation on university council or on university senate, or on the Board of Governors, where a lot of these discussions on Indigenization and reconciliation are happening,” said ISC President Regan Ratt-Misponas during the town hall. “We don't have the representation to add our perspective and help play an influencing role in those governing structures.”
The ISC released statement also calls upon Indigenous students to “rescind current ratifications, and emancipate themselves from the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU) in favor of the creation of an ISU.”
“In ways we can ensure that tomorrow’s student's voice is heard,” said Ratt-Misponas.
During the town hall, Ratt-Misponas explained that he has been spending the last year trying to better ISC representation on University councils and committees, but was told the University Act is structured so only colleges, not constituency groups, are able to have seats at the table.
“That's where it lacked. The problem is that we don't have influence over the direction this is going,” he said.
Details of how the ISC will create an indigenous students' union are still in development, says Ratt-Misponas. The ISC said in a statement that to meet financial needs, they proposed, “for our student fees to be rerouted to our student bodies in the form of the ISU; we have the solutions, but we do not have the financial means.”
Since the release of their statement criticizing the University's reconciliation efforts, the ISC has received letters and support from the Indigenous Law Students' Association, the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP), and the Political Studies Student Association (PSSA). They have also been in contact with the University of Victoria, who have created their own Native Students' Union.