'Just the start': Brandon University students now required to take Indigenous courses

Students at Brandon University will be receiving more Indigenous education starting this fall.

The Westman post-secondary institution is now requiring all new students to take at least one Indigenous-based course during their university career.

"Starting with first-year students this fall, every student who comes to Brandon University cannot graduate unless they’ve taken at least three credit hours of courses in Indigenous programming," said David Docherty, president and vice chancellor at Brandon University.

An initial five courses have been approved for the fall, including Introduction to Native Studies courses for arts and sciences, as well as faculty-specific courses on Indigenous teaching perspectives, Indigenous health care, and Indigenous music composition.

The university has plans to develop many more Indigenous-based courses. To qualify, courses will need to demonstrate that they meaningfully incorporate Indigenous approaches into their content.

"We can start this now with our first-year students as we develop more Indigenous courses that can be added to this list," Docherty said.

Students are not required to take the Indigenous-based course in their first year. They may instead choose to take it at any point in their education. Students who are already enrolled at the university will not have to meet the new course requirement.

The decision was approved by the university senate earlier this year as part of Brandon University's Truth and Reconciliation efforts.

"As part of our understanding of Truth and Reconciliation, I think it's important that people who are on this land understand a bit about the past, and the cost of what happened," said Docherty.

He added that the new Indigenous programming requirement is something other universities are doing as well.

"We're not breaking new ground here," Docherty said. "But we are among those who are saying 'yes, this is what we’re doing,' and this is just the start."