Originally published February 20, 2025 by the Indigenous Studies Faculty at York University
York University’s Indigenous Studies (INDG) program was abruptly suspended via email on Friday evening; INDG is no longer permitted to admit new students in the upcoming academic year. The York administration’s sudden decision is a significant setback for Indigenous faculty, staff, students and the entire university. This suspension undermines several years of collective efforts toward Indigenization and reconciliation here at York. The suspensions of first year admissions also extend to many other programs offered at York University including the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies; over 20% of Indigenous faculty currently working at York are affected and have had their home programs’ first year admissions suspended without warning. We urge students, faculty, and community members to stand together in opposition to these suspensions of a new cohort of young minds.
The INDG program launched just over five years ago yet York’s senior administration has already begun to dismantle this vital work. This suspension exposes York’s austerity-driven institutional priorities that run counter to its own stated commitments in the Indigenous Framework for York University. If Indigenous Studies is made to restructure for “sustainability” threshold metrics, the move could sideline or erase critical Indigenous narratives and perspectives that are essential to understanding the past, present, and future of this country. The lack of transparency in senior administration’s unilateral decision further alienates those who are directly impacted and exposes York’s lack of support for Indigenous higher education.
Indigenous Studies courses serve as crucial spaces for learning, dialogue, and advocacy in the arts and social sciences. For non-Indigenous students, the INDG program offers a necessary education in the histories and realities of Indigenous peoples, fostering informed and responsible citizenship. For Indigenous students, this program provides an essential academic and cultural home – a place where they can see themselves reflected in the curriculum and be supported in their educational journeys. INDG course offerings include Indigenous education, environment, history, language, literature, media, music, research and urban studies, as well as specific courses in Anishinaabe, Metis, and Mohawk topics. They offer students a broad opportunity to engage with Indigenous knowledge systems, histories, languages, and contemporary issues, fostering critical awareness and mutual respect.
Indigenous Studies welcomed its inaugural cohort of first-year students in Fall 2019 who studied through the pandemic and graduated in the spring of 2023. The suspension of the INDG program–less than two years after our first cohort’s graduation–sends a harmful message that Indigenous scholarship is not valued by the university’s current leadership. Capacity building takes time, and we feel we have not been given the time to properly build a lasting and fruitful foundation given the tumult of the last half decade. INDG is the only Indigenous program in the Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) faculty and its suspension contradicts York’s own Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action specifically emphasize the need for increased Indigenous content and representation in post-secondary education. By suspending admissions into the program, York university is failing to uphold these commitments and jeopardizing the current and future progress that has been made in creating more inclusive and representative academic spaces.
Our faculty and students come from many Indigenous nations.The importance of Indigenous Studies at York cannot be overstated – it is an academic, cultural, and moral imperative. We call on the university president to reverse this decision, engage in meaningful consultation, and invest in the INDG program and to work hard with us in efforts toward decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation. Education is a powerful tool for change, and new Indigenous voices must not be silenced or denied entry. Let us work together to ensure that Indigenous Studies entry admissions remain preserved, and that our program endures as a vital part of this academic institution.
To share your concerns on the impact of this program suspension and show your support, please contact York’s senior leadership team who are responsible for imposing this suspension:
President Rhonda Lenton, president@yorku.ca
Provost David Peters, provost@yorku.ca
Dean JJ McMurtry, deanlaps@yorku.ca
Consultant Lisa Phillipps, lphillipps@osgoode.yorku.ca
Please consider including a CC to the York University Faculty Association yufa@yorku.ca as YUFA seeks to restore these suspended academic programs.
Students with specific concerns about these changes may contact Indigenous Studies faculty member and program coordinator and Assistant Professor Jesse Thistle m6l1l4@yorku.ca
Media requests are directed toward Indigenous Studies faculty member and Associate Professor Brock Pitawanakwat pitawanb@yorku.ca
Indigenous Studies Program
York University
Toronto, ON