Skip to main content

UNBC logo
This is the first time universities, government ministries, and friendship centres have ever been brought together at the national level to address issues of aboriginal policy

This article was published on the UNBC News Media Website on July 12, 2012. View the original article: UNBC to Lead National Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network in Western Canada.

The University of Northern British Columbia is partnering with the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC), government ministries, and regional research centres across Canada to develop the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network (UAKN) and research the policies and issues that affect Canada’s city-dwelling aboriginal population. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) recently approved $2.5 million dollars in funding over five years to go towards the project led nationally by Trent University and by UNBC in western Canada. 

“Although more than half of Canada’s Aboriginals live in urban centres, the realities of urban Aboriginal people remain much less understood by researchers, government officials, and many service agencies than those of on-reserve First Nations people and Inuit in the North,” says UNBC professor of First Nations Studies Ross Hoffman, who along with UNBC Economics professor Paul Bowles, will be coordinating UNBC’s research activities in the project. “This is the first time universities, government ministries, and friendship centres have ever been brought together at the national level to address issues of aboriginal policy.”

The network’s research activities will be focused around four broad themes:

  • Human development (needs and outcomes of individuals and families)

  • Social cohesion (community well-being, education, and justice)

  • Economic development (economic participation, employment, entrepreneurship, income)

  • Civic engagement

“Research is at its most valuable when it’s used to improve peoples’ lives.  Many Aboriginal people feel like they’ve been surveyed and researched to death, but to little affect,” says Barb Ward-Burkitt, Executive Director of the Prince George Native Friendship Centre.  Prince George has the second highest urban aboriginal population in BC outside of Vancouver. “I believe UNBC was approached to be a leader in this area because it tries to match its research activities with the needs of the region and this is another example of that.”

A key component of the network's strategy is to provide opportunities for emerging scholars—Aboriginal scholars in particular—to engage in research about urban Aboriginal issues.  The knowledge created will be available for use in courses on Aboriginal issues at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.  The network's research will also provide new knowledge to community-based and government partners, in an effort to improve policy, programs, and services for urban Aboriginal peoples.

visibility  52
Sep 16, 2012

You Might Like These... Career Exploration, Indigenous Community Stories

The olympic torch
Olympic Sized Persistence Pays Off

If there’s someone who knows about the terrifying journey that is the work search, it is Marissa Nahanee. She worked on many world class events, including the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Torch relay and visits by Princes Charles and Edward. But Marissa’s job did not just happen to her - she had to work for it.

A picture of actor Justin Rain standing in front of a grey wall
We’re All Actors: CSI Interviews First Nations Actor Justin Rain

“Whenever there is an opportunity to share my experience with people, it usually doesn’t take much for me to jump on board,” states Justin Rain when I ask him about his experiences at a recent event co-hosted by Career Services and the Indigenous Student Centre, “Indigenous Peoples’ Career Stories.”

An indigenous grass dancer
Indigenous Career Services & The Dance of Success

My name is Mike & I'm originally from Little Black Bear’s Band in the Treaty #4 area. I am in my final year of a First Nations Studies degree. Our goal is to determine ways in which the Career Services team can better serve the indigenous student population.

You Might Like These... Indigenous Community Stories

Indigenous women graduates
Language Revitalization

Christina Coolidge is an Indigenous Program researcher with Career Services at SFU.  In this four-part series she shares how Indigenous women are the keepers of language and discusses various issues and topics around language in the Indigenous community.  This is the fourth post of the four part series.

Brandon painting
Brandon Gabriel | Professional Contemporary Visual Artist

Brandon is a professional Contemporary Visual Artist based in Langley. He grew up in the Kwantlen Reserve and went on to study at Kwantlen University and attained his BFA from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2006.

FNSA Indigenous Feminism Series: Dr. Sarah Hunt Sex Workers and Self Determination

Dr. Sarah Hunt As an ally to sex workers, Sarah seeks to strengthen relationships between Indigenous sex workers and other members of Indigenous communities in order to confront the stigma and criminalization which contributes to increased violence.