Dozens of Indigenous faculty, students, supporters and allies gathered at the University of Saskatchewan on Friday to protest Indigenous identity fraud, after a CBC investigation found it There was no evidence to support the claims of U of S health researcher Carrie Bourassa about Indigenous ancestry.
Protesters called on universities across Canada to conduct transparent investigations into any faculty or staff suspected of falsely claiming to be Indigenous.
The rally was organized by the group of matriarchs, clan mothers, aunts and allies, who called for anyone to be removed from a role or position if it turns out that they did. an unfounded claim of indigeneity.
This follows the CBC investigation which found that Bourassa’s ancestors were all from Europe and had no connection to Indigenous ancestry, despite Bourassa’s numerous claims over the past 20 years.
Bourassa, who ran an Indigenous research lab at the U of S and the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Institute with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has publicly declared himself to be Métis, Anishnaabe and Tlingit.
Bourassa was placed on unpaid leave of absence from the university, as well as from the Aboriginal Health branch of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Raven Sinclair, a professor at the University of Regina who spoke at Friday’s rally, said that non-Indigenous people claiming Indigenous identity to pursue their careers are “an act of colonialism.”
“Using a false identity and then standing up and speaking on behalf of indigenous women, to take our voice… that’s theft. You don’t have the right to speak for our experiences based on fabrications,” he said. she declared.
Protesters were holding signs that read “Suitors stop taking up space” and “They want the platform without trauma.” “
The University of Regina has previously announced changes to its Indigenous Identity Policy, saying it is committed to establishing an advisory body to help create an Indigenous credentials review system.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the U of R said it looked forward to “discussions with Indigenous leaders and academics who are currently developing policies and processes regarding Indigenous identity, and working with them. the national university collective as we all seek to understand and respond to this problem in the future. “
“Travel aficionado. Twitter scholar. Writer. Extreme coffee guru. Evil pop culture fanatic.”