Title: Recognizing the Legacy of Matriarchs in the University- Stories From Another Coyote
Speaker: Naomi Narcisse, Skel7áw̓s (profile)
Wednesday December 3, 2025
13:00 – 14: 30
PCN 2012 6445 University Blvd
Universities must be aware of the responsibility entailed in fostering headship of Indigenous Matriarchs in administrative leadership roles. While institutions continue to follow bureaucratic processes, pledges of allyship have not been meaningful. Aggregation of these Indigenous members supports the ongoing legacy of colonialism. This research is a call to universities to update policies that recognize the unique strengths that Indigenous leaders carry. Indigenous community members exercise and follow protocols as law, these processes are not carried in the same way in the institutions. Colonial efforts attempted to eliminate key Indigenous social structures. Unfamiliarity of the responsibility entailed in Matriarchal protocols must be addressed.
I am a St’át’imc and Secwépemc mother, sister, aunty, warrior and another coyote. The epistemology in this research is carried by the St’át’imc Nxekmenlhkálha múta7 nt’áqmenlhkalha (our way of life), while applying the seven St’át’imc laws. In my methodology, I will be meeting with Matriarch interviewees from administrative university leadership roles, and share stories on experiences in headship roles, and passing on guidance for those up and coming in these spaces. In concluding words, I share a guiding framework and values that can be aligned with university strategies. My main research question is: How can universities apply this research in strategic planning that aligns with reconciliation commitments?
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