Campus Voices: Having a mandatory Native Studies class within your degree

A few weeks ago, the Students’ Union officially accepted the recommendations laid out by the SU’s Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Committee. 

All 60 of the recommendations outline steps to reconciliation on campus, and the second one specifically calls on the Students’ Union to “increase advocacy for the implementation of either a mandatory Native Studies course or the implementation of Aboriginal Knowledges and pedagogies in classes.” 

The Gateway asked students from different faculties how they would feel about taking a mandatory Native Studies class within the course of their degree.

Whitney Van Straten (header) — fourth-year pre-vet Animal Health, majoring in companion and performance animals

“I personally wouldn’t like it, because I already have such a high course load trying to get into vet school that if I took a course that I wasn’t interested in, I probably wouldn’t get a very high mark, and that would really impact my grades trying to get into vet school. So, it wouldn’t really be the best thing for my situation.”

Toyosi Kuti — second-year mechanical engineering

“I wouldn’t mind, actually, [be]cause this is native land, so learning about where the land comes from and the original people that owned the land should be in history classes.”

Mack Pickering — fourth-year mechanical engineering

“I wouldn’t be for that, no. I think when you go to university, you’re here trying to learn something that’s for a job or something like that afterwards. Maybe if you were in a program that’s around that, like a social studies or something like that, I can see that being more necessary, but in a degree like math or sciences, it doesn’t really make as much sense to me, if it’s not something you’re going to be using actually afterwards.”

Julia Currie — fourth-year business, bachelor of commerce

“I’d probably take a Native Studies class anyways if I could. I don’t have any credits left to do that, but I wouldn’t mind that. I think it would be really beneficial for everyone to take it.”

Jasmine Hafso — fourth-year history

“I think it would work nicely with my degree, specifically because as a history major, we go over a lot of Native Studies topics in different classes anyways. I think it would be a good addition. It’s also, I think, good for other programs as well, just to have general awareness of Canada’s history.”

Eric Brisson — first-year computer science

“I’d be alright with it. I think it’s good to be educated on that kind of stuff, and know about history… of the country.”