Memorial University has shared its draft Indigenous verification policy and procedures for the community’s review and feedback. The policy, part of the university’s Strategic Framework for Indigenization, includes a verification process for confirming the Indigenous membership/citizenship of applicants to any opportunity within the university that is “specifically set aside for or takes into account Indigenous membership.” The Nunatsiavut Government issued a statement expressing strong support for the policy, asserting that it will create “a safer and fairer academic environment” for Inuit youth and scholars. The NunatuKavut Community Council has pushed back on the policy, which uses criteria that would exclude the council from Indigenous group consultations. CBC reports that, under the policy, Indigeous collectives must be either recognized under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act or be recognized as Indigenous “by their federally-recognized Indigenous neighbours.”
