Dear EDST Members, Greetings.
Please join me in expressing EDST’s congratulations to EDST Emeritus Professor of Educational Studies, Jo-ann Archibald, also know as Q’um Q’um Xiiem, former Associate Dean (Indigenous Education), UBC Faculty of Education. Professor Archibald has been appointed as Chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV): <https://blogs.ufv.ca/blog/2024/03/dr-jo-ann-archibald-named-ufv-chancellor/>.
In her work and engagements, Professor Archibald ’s continues to exert a tremendous impact and an enduring scholarly influence on the field of Indigenous education. She promoted and elaborated on the concept of Indigenous Storywork, particularly in her book entitled Indigenous Storywork: Educating the heart, mind body and spirit (UBC Press, 2008). Associated with the founding of NITEP: The Indigenous Teacher Education Program at UBC, Professor Archibald played a pivotal role in the fostering of generations of Indigenous educators and scholars (1). Her legacy in the field of Indigenous Education has been recognized with her appointment as Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018 (2).
With the 2024 celebration of EDST’s 30th Anniversary (1994-2024), Professor Archibald’s appointment at this very temporal juncture reflects this Department’s continued commitment to Indigenous education, and to engaging Canadian society’s multifaceted “crises in the fields of climate, social, and economic issues”. This commitment resonates with Professor Archibald’s observation that “Stó:lō Elders have taught us that the environment and the land have to thrive in order for people to thrive. I believe that the university can play an even greater role in realizing this teaching” (3).
Congratulations to Professor Jo-ann Archibald!
On behalf of EDST’s community,
André Elias Mazawi
EDST HOD
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Notes:
(1) On Professor Archibald’s role and involvement in NITEP, refer to her chapter in Mazawi & Stack (2020) at the UBC Library.
(2) Refer to this CBC report.
(3) Refer to <https://blogs.ufv.ca/blog/2024/03/dr-jo-ann-archibald-named-ufv-chancellor/>.