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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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About the minor

The purpose of the Minor in Indigenous Studies is to foster understanding of Indigenous histories, contemporary perspectives, and lived experiences, and to gain insight into Indigenous ways of knowing. Students will develop a critical awareness of colonialism in Canada, within global and historical contexts. Responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action in education and to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Minor aims to offer a teaching and learning environment that facilitates respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Indigenous pedagogies and the values of respect, reciprocity, relevance, responsibility, and relationality inform the program.

The Indigenous Studies Minor is accessible to and enthusiastically welcomes students registered in programs across the university. The Minor consists of 6 courses or 18 credit hours, which includes 4 required courses and 2 electives from the list of approved courses. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in courses in this minor program is required for successful completion.