Trent University students have contributed to a new website that highlights various initiatives aiming to change the way Canadians understand and relate to First Nations cultures, histories, and knowledges. The Transforming Relations website, featuring information from a collective research project by fourth-year Indigenous Studies students at Trent, has been launched to help educators, community activists and researchers in undertaking educational initiatives to transform relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Students in the new “Transforming Settler Consciousness” class, taught by Dr. Lynne Davis, conducted research to document the many initiatives being undertaken by grassroots groups, non-profit organizations, businesses and governments in Canada to change the way in which Canadians understand our collective history and current relationship issues. The collaborative research collection consists of more than 150 initiatives, including cultural awareness events, experiential learning opportunities, and anti-colonial training, representing a diversity of approaches and ideological orientations.

“Other researchers in this area have been interested in establishing this foundational documentation as a first step in being able to assess the types of initiatives that can have an impact,” said Professor Davis, who participated with the student researchers in completing this extensive collection. “Despite time constraints, we were able to create a solid compilation that can be expanded and analyzed in the future.”

Several Trent University-based initiatives were included, including the annual Indigenous Women’s Symposium, which focuses on Indigenous women’s priorities, such as relationships with water; the Sacred Water Circle, which creates dialogue around water and other spiritually-based environmental issues; and the Trent University Native Association, which hosts interactive and informative activities during Aboriginal Awareness Week.

Brodie Ferguson, Cherylanne James, Kristin Lloyd, Tessa Nasca, Sara Taylor and Julian Tennent-Riddell – the six fourth-year students who worked on the project – presented their research at the 2nd Annual Explorations in Settler-Indigenous Relations and Learning Graduate Symposium at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in March 2014. The students appreciated the experiential and practical nature of the research project.

“Knowing that this project will live on beyond the academic setting has inspired me throughout this research,” said Mr. Tennent-Riddell. “It has been an incredible learning experience to document the extensive work being done across the country to transform settler consciousness, and to contribute to the necessary further efforts in this growing field of study.”

View the website and research case studies at transformingrelations.wordpress.com.