The pace of Indigenous leadership, scholarly and governance activities is growing markedly. Demands on Indigenous communities for financial audits, research proposals, policies, social and health services, clear business plans to implement governance activities has meant that current leaders are expected to have a broader capacity of knowledge and skill across these areas. The new Master of Indigenous Relations Program at Laurentian University has a great opportunity to shape this growing potential by training graduate students to enhance the capacity of Indigenous peoples to participate as leaders in the economic, political, social and cultural life of Canada and the world.  In the first instance, this program is designed to serve Aboriginal students both as a partial catch-up to the rest of Canadian educational attainment and as a way to increase the steady flow of Aboriginal students into academia.  In addition, as the awareness of Indigenous peoples rights increases there is an opportunity to ensure that non-Indigenous peoples are knowledgeable about working with Indigenous communities locally, nationally, and internationally.

In Canada, the term Indigenous has been advanced throughout many documents and disciplines as a preferred terminology usage when referring to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada.  In addition, various programs have embedded this term into their policy and program documents.  The program uses the term Indigenous to firstly refer to the First Peoples of the land, those whose ancestors were/are guardians of a particular traditional territory over a long period of time.  In this case, we recognize the Anishnaabe Peoples as being the caretakers of the territory on which Laurentian University is situated and as such, the program deems it important to uphold Anishnaabe teachings and ways of being.

The term Indigenous is also widely used by First Peoples across various countries where colonialism impacted them.  The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues have defined the term Indigenous as well as developed a set of Articles that assist to articulate strategies toward self-determination for Indigenous Peoples.  Aboriginal representatives of Canada have been strong advocates for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and have held membership on various International Indigenous committees for many years.  The program recognizes the congruence between the local, national and political influences for Indigenous self-determination strategies and has ensured that these issues are reflected throughout the program.

We have therefore chosen to use the term Indigenous both in the title of the program and courses as well as use Indigenous worldviews (embraces Anishnaabe; Aboriginal, First Nations, Metis and Inuit and the wider Indigenous self-determination strategies) as key philosophical and theoretical bases in this program.  We view the term “Relations” as being about relationships and “Relations” is framed within an Indigenous worldview.  Therefore, student learning in regards to Indigenous relations/relationships is implicit within an Indigenous worldview framework.  The Masters of Indigenous Relations focuses on the relational (social, cultural, political, intellectual) relating aspects of Indigeneity (being Indigenous) locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.  Thus Indigenous Relations is a specialized focus and we believe is the most appropriate title and descriptor of this program.

There is not a singular focus on Anishnaabe culture, however, there is a sense that we must start by understanding the relationships and the culture that most immediately surrounds the territory where the program is based and then move outwards nationally and internationally to consider other Indigenous cultures.  In this sense, the term Indigenous is used to include the peoples of the region (Anishnaabe) and also First Nations, Metis and Inuit in Canada and finally other Indigenous peoples internationally. Course descriptions are linked to understanding Indigenous peoples at each of these levels (regional, national, international). As well, the focus of this program is on understanding the relations/relationships among Indigenous peoples (inter-Indigenous), and Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and communities (local, regional, national and international).  

The Master of Indigenous Relations program encompasses courses that center on Indigenous thought, Indigenous research applications and methodologies with respect to international Indigenous issues,Indigenous landscapes and space, communications in Indigenous contexts, Indigenous policies, natural resources and the environment from Indigenous perspectives, economic development, and Indigenous peoples history.