“I wanted to come to the University of Saskatchewan. All of this is quite frustrating,” said Réal Carrière. Critics say the Carrière test is an example of a misguided overreaction by U of S administrators to a previous indigenous identity dispute involving former U of S professor Carrie Bourassa. Indigenous schools say they are angry about Carrière’s condition, but also fear that existing staff may soon face these new “colonial” demands. “There is a strong stench in all of this. This is a step backwards. I think it is wrong,” said Jim Waldram, the current head of Indigenous Studies. Colleague Professor Winona Wheeler agreed. “It’s really sad that we could not hire one of our sons. This is his homeland. He would bring so much to the university. [with] “His academic background, traditional knowledge and community connections,” Wheeler said. No one from the university administration was available for interview, but last month, the U of S announced that it would have a policy of verifying the natives by the fall. In a written statement to CBC News on Thursday morning, U of S’s interim communications director Heather Persson said the events described by Carrière, Wheeler and Waldram were an “inaccurate depiction of the recruitment process”. Persson said the privacy policy prohibits officials from giving further details. Réal Carrière and his sister, Michela, grew up in the family trap in the Cumberland Delta of northern Saskatchewan. (askiholisticadventures.com) The Carrière family has lived for generations in and around Cumberland House Cree Nation and the neighboring village of Métis, more than 400 miles northeast of Saskatoon. His father, Solomon, is a world canoe champion and marathon trapper, while his mother, Rene, is a land-based educator and his sister, Michela, is a gardener who hosts eco-tours in the Cumberland Delta. “This is about as much as you can do,” Wheeler said. Waldram, one of the original faculty members of the Department of Indigenous Studies almost 40 years ago, said the Carrière was “ideally located and would be a huge advantage”. Carrière, who speaks Cree, has taught at the University of Manitoba for several years after winning multiple awards for his dissertation entitled Rediscovering the Path: Decolonizing Indigenous Governance. Late last year, a faculty post was posted by the U of S. Department of Native Studies. Carrière said he was happy at the U of M, but took the opportunity to return “home” to the U of S. Earlier this year, he was interviewed by a committee including Waldram, Wheeler and five other native faculty members. It included a long discussion about his native identity. Carrière said he was happy to discuss his identity with the recruitment committee, which then contacted his family and community members. Carrière was the unanimous choice of the committee and a job offer was prepared.
“Our identity is checked for generations”
But then an extra step was added by senior university directors, they said. Without consulting the recruitment committee, the interim vice-president called Carrière for an interview. Carrière said he was told to submit written documents proving he was a native. Carrière has no written record of his condition because he believes it is a “colonial” method. “Our identity has been policed for generations. Are we now reducing it to a status card or paper? Is this reconciliation?” said Carrière. “What about the thousands of stateless people working in various institutions? Will they be told that they are no longer valued?” In a further attempt to persuade the administrators, the recruitment committee submitted a letter from an elder, as well as various videos. They say it was not enough. Carrière withdrew his name. “This foundation is supposed to be a leader in the community. It would be great to be back,” Carrière said. Waldram said he felt bad for Carrière, but was also angry that the managers did not respect the wishes of their panel of experts. “This was a group of experts made up mostly of indigenous scholars, but we were cut off,” Waldram said. The Carrière test is a direct result of a previous dispute in the U of S, Waldram and Wheeler said. Carrie Bourassa recently resigned from the University of Saskatchewan after allegations that she was a native. (YouTube) In a CBC News story late last year, Wheeler and others said that Professor Carrie Bourassa had made many false claims about her native identity. Burasa went on unpaid leave from one of her positions and resigned from the U of S. school earlier this month. It sparked a national debate over the definition of “Indigenous”, particularly for positions intended for indigenous peoples. But little attention has been paid to the negative effects of implementing an impersonal document-based system, critics say.
“Borders with the paranoid”
Wheeler, Waldram, and others say the managers of the U of S, in a desperate attempt to avert another public scandal, have made the pendulum swing in the other direction. “It’s on the verge of paranoia,” Wheeler said. “Instead of trying to eliminate fraud, our identity has been compromised and it is up to us to prove who we are.” In the wake of the Burasa controversy, the U of S and other universities set up working groups on the issue of indigenous identity. A national conference was held in Regina this spring. Wheeler and Waldram said they hoped the U of S working group would come up with more sensible policies. They also hope that the detailed work of indigenous scholars, such as those on Carrière’s recruitment committee, will be respected in the future. In a written statement Thursday, Persson said the United States respects the principles of sovereignty and self-determination in relation to membership and citizenship. be required when hiring indigenous scholars “. Last month, Angela Jaime, interim vice president of the Indigenous Commitment at the U of S and chair of the task force, said the new policy would include “creating a space for indigenous peoples, resources for indigenous peoples.” that we will not have fraudulent claims in the future. “We are working to do an even better job in the future in creating this space for funding [and], senior leadership positions. “And we want to be very clear that it is important that the voices of the natives keep these places.”
