SAGE (UBC)
2023 IGSS – Event Program
Download the 20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium Event Program here.
Check back for Presenter Abstracts to be posted here soon!

20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium ‘Honouring Research, Honouring Community’ – AGENDA
Register here: https://IGSS2023.eventbrite.ca
2023 IGSS AGENDA
Day 1: FRIDAY, MARCH 17th, 2023
First Nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall)
First nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) | |
8:30 am – 12:30 pm | Registration, Coffee & Tea |
9:00 am – 10:30 am | Indigenous Initiatives Showcase (In-Person Only) |
10:30am – 10:45am | Break (15 min) |
10:45 am – 12:00 pm | Indigenous Initiatives Showcase (in-Person Only) |
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm | Lunch provided (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) (45 min) |
12:45 pm – 1:15 pm | Welcome Protocol |
1:15 pm – 1:30 pm | 20th Anniversary Opening Remarks |
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm | 1st Keynote Address – Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald |
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm | Discussion and Q&A with Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald |
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm | Break (15 min) |
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Graduate Student Presentation: “Indigenous Wellbeing through the Eyes of Our Ancestors”Roger John, UBC |
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Graduate Student Presentation: “Strengthening Our Resilience through Land Based Teaching & Learning”Laura Grizzlypaws, SFU |
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm | 20th Anniversary Closing Remarks for Day 1 |
Participants and attendees are encouraged to socialize and network after the day’s events. Dinner will be on your own. There are several restaurants on the UBC campus and in the area.
Day 2: Saturday, March 18, 2023
First Nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) & Jack Bell Building
First nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) | |
8:30 – 9:00 am | Registration, Coffee, Tea & Poster Viewing |
9:00 – 9:15 am | Welcome with Elder Knowledge Holder |
9:15 – 9:45 am | 2nd Keynote Address – Dr. Amy Parent |
9:45 – 10:15 am | Discussion and Q&A with Dr. Amy Parent |
10:15 – 10:35 am | Break & Transition to Jack Bell Building (20 min) |
Jack Bell Building – Graduate Student Presentations (Various Rooms) | |
10:35 – 11:05 am | Session 1: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
11:05 – 11:10 am | Transition Time (5 min) |
11:10 – 11:40 am | Session 2: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
11:40 – 11:45 am | Transition Time (5 min) |
11:45 – 12:15 pm | Session 3: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
12:15 – 12:30 pm | Break & Transition to First Nations house of Learning |
First nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) | |
12:30 – 1:30 pm | Lunch provided (Informal Networking Opportunity & Poster Viewing) |
1:30 – 1:45 pm | Break & Transition to Jack Bell Building (15 min) |
Jack Bell Building – Graduate Student Presentations (Various Rooms) | |
1:45 – 2:15 pm | Session 4: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
2:15 – 2:20 pm | Transition Time (5 min) |
2:20 – 2:50 pm | Session 5: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
2:50 – 3:00 pm | Break (10 min) |
3:00 – 3:30 pm | Session 6: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
3:30 – 3:35 pm | Transition Time (5 min) |
3:35 – 4:05 pm | Session 7: 4 Concurrent Sessions (30 min) |
4:05 – 4:20 pm | Break & Transition Back to Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall (15 min) |
First nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) | |
4:20 – 5:00 pm | Closing Remarks/ Protocol |
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
The 20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium brings together an exciting group of Indigenous graduate students from diverse fields, disciplines, communities and institutions. A total of thirty-two student presentations will be featured, showcasing Indigenous graduate student research and community contributions at various stages. Two graduate student presentations will be featured on day 1, Friday, March 17th, at the First Nations House of Learning Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall. The majority of student presentations will take place on day 2, Saturday, March 18th, in four breakout rooms of the Jack Bell Building. Abstracts will be available online soon at gradsage.com.
Student Presentations at a Glance
(Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall)
Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall- Graduate Student Presentations | |
March 17th 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | “Indigenous Wellbeing through the Eyes of Our Ancestors” Roger John, The University of British Columbia |
March 17th 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm | “Strengthening Our Resilience through Land Based Teaching & Learning” Laura Grizzlypaws, Simon Fraser University |
March 18th Poster Viewing | “Researching Self-Determined Space Connected to Land in the Arctic: Indigenous-Led Architecture in Sámi Territory Robyn Adams, The University of British Columbia |
March 18th, 2023 (Jack Bell Building)
Student Presentations at a Glance – Continued
Jack Bell Building – Graduate Student Presentations | ||||
Sub-theme (Stream) | Stream 1: | Stream 2: | Stream 3: | Stream 4: |
Centering Indigenous Paradigms, Knowledges & Research Practices | Renewing & Reimagining Knowledge Transmission: Past, Present, Future | Nurturing the Relationship between Community & Research | Embodying & Actioning Interventions through Indigenous Research | |
Location | Room 222 | Room 124 | Room 223 | Room 224 |
Session 5: 2:20 pm – 2:50 pm | Group-Based Indigenous Storywork to Witness Indigenous Students’ Experiences with Campus Recovery Support Services Jennifer Doyle, University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenter) | Reimagining Knowledge as Gardening: Planting Seeds of Knowledge & Imagining Future Blossoms Holly Reid & Justin Turner, University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenters) | Indigenous Network Researchers’ Perceptions of Readiness to Practice Indigenous Health Research Tyara Marchand, University of Calgary (Online Presenter) | Restful Reflection: Collaborative, Arts-Based Rest Practice as Decolonial Resistance Dani Pierson, University of British Columbia Okanagan (In-Person Presenter) |
Session 6: 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Unraveling Métis Theory & Methodology Shannon Field, University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenter) | Métis Moon Time & Decolonizing Women’s Body Image Hanna Paul, University of British Columbia Okanagan (In-Person Presenter) | Me7 knucwentwécw-kt e k7épes Cara Basil (University of British Columbia), Barb Pesut, Doreen Johnson, Lisa Bourque-Bearskin, Dixon Sookraj (In-Person Presenters) | Instructions Have Been Provided: Actioning Foundational Commitments to Indigenous Peoples in the BC Office of the Provincial Health Officer Jorden Hendry, University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenter) |
Session 7: 3:35 pm – 4:05 pm | Incorporating Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Architecture & Engineering Design & Delivery Danilo Caron, University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenter) | Knowledge & Contemporary Effects of Historical Trauma on American Indian & Alaska Native People Jennifer Yazzie, Utah State University (Online Presenter) | Me7 knucwentwécw-kt e k7épes (continued) | When Culture Touches an Object: The U.S. Antiquities Act as an Antiquated Tool – Case Study of Bears Ears National Monument Milagros Mutsios-Ramsay, Yale Law School/University of British Columbia (In-Person Presenter) |
Indigenous Initiatives Showcase Booths
March 17th 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
First nations House of Learning (Sty-Wet-Tan Great Hall) |
Indigenous Graduate Initiatives Indigenous Enrolment Services UBC Press Physical Therapy PhD candidate in Faculty of Education Indigenous Mental Health and Wellness UBC 23 24 Indigenous Cultural Safety Graduate Program in Neuroscience Mining Engineering PhD Student UBC Campus Vision 2050 Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies UBC Office of Research Ethics First Nations Curriculum Concentration Move U Crew UBC Economics Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement UBC Equity and Inclusion Office UBC Indigenous Architecture students – iLands UBC AISES Chapter Faculty of Dentistry |
2023 Indigenous Graduate Symposium

20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium | March 17 – 18, 2023
Please join us in commemorating the 20th anniversary year of the Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium (IGSS)! This year’s symposium will be hosted on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory at The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus and virtually on March 17-18, 2023, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (PST).
Register here: https://IGSS2023.eventbrite.ca
This years’ IGSS theme Honouring Research, Honouring Community, acknowledges and celebrates how Indigenous students, scholars, peoples and communities continually transform and reframe the practice of research, highlighting how Indigenous researchers reimagine, revitalize, nurture, embody and action this process. Participants will learn how this work is more than a simple act of inquiry and is a sacred process and critical intervention for protecting, restoring and honouring our community relations that are human and more-than-human. As always, the IGSS celebrates Indigenous research and ways of knowing as reciprocal, respectful, and connected to community.
We are excited to announce and welcome not one but two keynote speakers for the 20th Annual IGSS: Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald and Dr. Amy Parent.
DAY ONE KEYNOTE:
Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald, Professor Emeritus of Educational Studies at UBC, is an Indigenous studies scholar from the Sto:loFirst Nation, and a co-founder of the IGSS and the Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (SAGE) program. She is a visionary agent of change who helped start this all with Māori academic leader Dr. Graham Smith. An alumna of The University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, Dr. Archibald has trailblazed systematic change and pathways for the advancement of Indigenous Education in Canada and beyond. We are honoured to welcome Dr. Archibald back into the circle to serve as the first keynote speaker for this year’s 20th-anniversary symposium.
DAY TWO KEYNOTE:
We are also honoured to welcome Dr. Amy Parent back into the circle as a SAGE alumni and faculty mentor. Dr. Amy Parent, Nisg’a scholar, Canada Research Chair for Indigenous Education and Governance, and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at SFU, has further trailblazed significant contributions and meaningful outcomes in support of Indigenous self-determination through community-based research. Her doctoral work at UBC focused on proactive ways to transform Indigenous students’ transitions to higher education, and her postdoctoral work investigated Indigenous doctoral programming supports and initiatives at top-tier universities around the world. Mentored by Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald for over 14 years, her research is grounded in Indigenous methodologies through collaborative partnerships with Indigenous communities.
20TH ANNIVERSARY SUB-THEMES
This year’s sub-themes further reflect the incredible array of emerging Indigenous graduate student research and contributions, which exemplify the nuances of Honouring Research, Honouring Community. Our 20th-anniversary sub-themes include:
- A) Centering Indigenous Paradigms, Knowledges and Research Practices,
- B) Renewing & Reimagining Knowledge Transmission: Past, Present, Future,
- C) Nurturing the Relationship between Community & Research, and
- D) Embodying & Actioning Interventions through Indigenous Research
The 2023 IGSS brings together an exciting group of Indigenous graduate students from diverse fields, disciplines, communities and institutions; it’s a great opportunity for making new connections! All are welcome to participate as attendees.
The 20th Annual IGSS is supported by the following sponsors and partners: Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement, UBC Faculty of Education & Office of Indigenous Education, UBC Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, UBC Okanagan Campus, UBC First Nations House of Learning, SFU Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, and SFU Indigenous Studies.
If you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Jordan at sage.ubco@ubc.ca.
About the organizers:
This annual event is organized by the Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement program and co-sponsored by The University of British Columbia and Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at Simon Fraser University. The IGSS is a long-standing annual student-led event that provides a culturally relevant and supportive community for Indigenous graduate students to present on their research and contributions spanning any discipline. It fosters community-building and networking among peers and participating emerging and established scholars. It is an important platform for Indigenous students to connect and learn from one another, and grow professionally and academically.
For any questions about the IGSS, email sage.ubco@ubc.ca
SAGE Talk & Discussion with Dr. Joaquin Muñoz

“Talking to My Inner Bad-Mouther: Indigenous Young Adult Fiction for Social-Emotional Pedagogy & Identity Building” with Dr. Joaquin Muñoz
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM PST
Irving K. Barber Centre Dodson Room
1961 East Mall, Vancouver BC
Join in-person or via Zoom:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/61399343308?pwd=QXJqMTgrb2hyNS80SXdMeHNjbEJMZz09
In this presentation, Dr. Joaquin Muñoz, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Education at UBC, will explore new offerings in the genre of Indigenous Young Adult Literature to examine themes of Indigenous identity, well-being and social-emotional awareness, through the lens of Indigeneity. Through the work of authors like Cherie Dimaline, Darcy Little Badger, Tehlor Kay Mejia and Brian Young, this presentation will explore these topics with implications for teachers and teacher education.
Indigenous graduate students from any program & discipline are encouraged to attend. In addition to sharing a bit about the different facets of his work as an emerging scholar related to Indigenous/teacher education & critical pedagogy, Dr. Muñoz will answer questions Indigenous students may have on their graduate student journeys. All are welcome to attend.
If any questions, contact grad.sage@ubc.ca.
Graduate Studies Drop-In Support
For ALL Current and Prospective Indigenous students.
Available every 2 weeks on Wednesdays (Feb 8, Feb 22, March 8 onwards)
Location: First Nations House of Learning
Time: 12 PM – 2 PM
Meet with Rebecca Jules, UBC Indigenous Graduate Initiatives Specialist.
To set up an appointment outside of the drop-in hours, please email rebecca.jules@ubc.ca.

Indigenous Graduate Funding Information Session
ALL UBC Indigenous students (current and prospective) are invited to join an in-person information session to learn and ask questions about applying for funding, including the Indigenous Graduate Fellowship, government and community funding.
Location: First Nations House of Learning
Thursday, February 2 from 12pm to 3pm
There will be support and time available for assistance with funding applications.

UBC Indigenous Graduate Student Writing Retreat
An inaugural UBC Indigenous Graduate Student Writing Retreat will take place in April 2023.
Space is available for 14 students. Apply by January 31, 2023 11:59 pm PST, to ensure equal consideration. Applications thereafter will be considered on a first come, first serve basis.
Re-Storying Our Journeys – Mentorship, Relationship-Building, and Skills Writing Retreat
• Attendees: UBC Indigenous Graduate Students (All Disciplines Welcome)
• Location: Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Centre
• Dates: Sunday, April 16th to Wednesday, April 19th, 2023
• Apply at: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6gRiN69gTlu0HDo
• Contact for more information: IndigenousWriting.Retreat@ubc.ca
The 2023 UBC Indigenous Graduate Student Writing Retreat is supported by the UBC Indigenous Strategic Initiative Stream 3, Student Led Projects Fund.

SAGE Wednesday Writing Circles
The Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (SAGE) Program will be hosting virtual writing circles two Wednesdays per month January – March 2023 from 10 am – 12 pm PST.
The Wednesday Writing Circles are a time and space to plug in virtually with other Indigenous graduate students to focus on independent writing projects or other tasks in accountability with peers. The Writing Circles provide a guided format structured around the Pomodoro Technique entailing 25-minute focus blocks with 5-minute breaks. Learn more about the technique here: Why You Should Try the Pomodoro Technique for Writing.
SAGE Wednesday Writing Circle Dates:
January 18th & 25th
February 8th & 15th
March 8th & 15th
Join via Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/65492017730?pwd=WUxBcXpTN2k5YVI2QzVld2wvSkh2dz09

20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium: Honouring Research, Honouring Community
The Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (SAGE) program is excited to announce the dates for the 20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium (IGSS)!
This year’s symposium will take on March 17-18, 2023 in-person at The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus with virtual participation & accessibility.
Want to present on your research & be included in this year’s symposium abstract journal? Submissions are now being accepted through January 24th using this link: https://forms.gle/Adwxr4uGLyYh6s6D6. See our Call for Submissions post for more information.
The IGSS is a long-standing annual student-led event that provides a culturally relevant and supportive community for Indigenous graduate students to present on their research and contributions spanning any discipline. It fosters community-building and networking among peers and participating emerging and established scholars. It is an important platform for Indigenous students to connect and learn from one another, and grow professionally and academically. The IGSS is organized by the SAGE program and co-hosted by The University of British Columbia and Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Simon Fraser University.
Check back for more details on the symposium as they become available! Contact grad.sage@ubc.ca if any questions.

Extended Call for Submissions for the 20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium (IGSS)

Indigenous Graduate Students from any discipline, program and institution are invited to submit proposals to present at this year’s 20th Annual Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium (IGSS) to take place at The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver Campus and virtually on March 17-18, 2023.
This year’s theme is “Honouring Research, Honouring Community.” Students are invited to submit proposals related to any of the following sub-themes:
A) Centering Indigenous Paradigms, Knowledges and Research Practices
B) Renewing & Reimagining Knowledge Transmission: Past, Present, Future
C) Nurturing the Relationship between Community and Research
Link to submit a proposal: https://forms.gle/LxkFdJEBSo8avhNh6
Extended Deadline to apply: January 31, 2023
Proposals may entail a poster, in-person or virtual presentation, or other creative contribution. Proposals that don’t fit necessarily under one of the sub-themes are still encouraged and will be considered if aligned with the overall symposium theme of Honouring Research, Honouring Community. Submissions are welcome from Indigenous graduate students affiliated with any academic institution in Canada, the United States and beyond.
Applicants are anticipated to be notified by February 20th. Applicants are also invited to have their submission included in a peer-reviewed abstract journal to be published following the symposium. To view the inaugural journal issue published in 2021 visit: https://journals.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/igss/issue/download/176/55.
This annual event is organized by the Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement program and co-sponsored by The University of British Columbia and Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at Simon Fraser University. The IGSS is a long-standing annual student-led event that provides a culturally relevant and supportive community for Indigenous graduate students to present on their research and contributions spanning any discipline. It fosters community-building and networking among peers and participating emerging and established scholars. It is an important platform for Indigenous students to connect and learn from one another, and grow professionally and academically.
Please contact grad.sage@ubc.ca if any questions.