We’re delighted to have another opportunity to partner with the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program to host a research practicum student. Victoria Cooke is a fourth year student double majoring in First Nations and Indigenous Studies, and Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, living and learning on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam peoples. She has been working with us to develop a survey of UBC international and English as an Additional Language students on their prior knowledge and interest in learning about Indigenous histories and contemporary relationships. She will be presenting her research at CTLT in early March – stay tuned for details!
For my entire undergraduate degree so far, I have been asking the same questions: What does it mean to acknowledge the land we live and learn on as the unceded, ancestral, and traditional land of the Musqueam peoples? What sorts of actions are necessary to make the acknowledgment real and practiced, rather than something that gets mentioned at the beginning of public speeches or presentations and then quickly forgotten? I was drawn to this project because it is an extension of my ongoing learning about how to be in relation with the Musqueam peoples, and I am excited about the possibility of sharing my passion for these questions with others.
– Victoria Cooke, FNIS Practicum Student
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Victoria Cooke and I am a fourth-year student double-majoring in First Nations and Indigenous Studies, and Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. I am of Scottish, settler Jamaican, English, and Irish descent, and was born and raised on the overlapping territories of the Haudenosaunee, Ojibwe, and Anishnaabeg peoples. I am an uninvited guest here on Musqueam territories, and am in an ongoing process of learning how to be a responsible and accountable guest to the Musqueam people.
Briefly explain the project you will be undertaking for your practicum.
As part of a larger CTLT Indigenous Initiatives project that will help to develop curriculum for International and English as Additional Language (EAL) students’ engagement in Indigenous topics at UBC, I will create and disseminate a survey to gauge International and EAL students’ previous knowledge and interest in these topics. If time permits during my practicum term at CTLT Indigenous Initiatives, I will be interviewing International and EAL student support unit staff to get a better understanding of the Indigenous curriculum and programs already offered, as well as the structures in place to support International and EAL students’ learning of these topics. Following the gathering of this data, I will be writing up a report on my findings so that this work can inform future CTLT Indigenous Initiatives work on this curriculum development project. The underlying motive of this work is the recognition that we each have a personal stake in understanding what our responsibilities to our Musqueam hosts are, regardless of where we come from around the world, but that we each have unique perspectives and skills that need to be recognized if well-intentioned work is to take place.
What drew you to this project?
For my entire undergraduate degree so far, I have been asking the same questions: What does it mean to acknowledge the land we live and learn on as the unceded, ancestral, and traditional land of the Musqueam peoples? What sorts of actions are necessary to make the acknowledgment real and practiced, rather than something that gets mentioned at the beginning of public speeches or presentations and then quickly forgotten? I was drawn to this project because it is an extension of my ongoing learning about how to be in relation with the Musqueam peoples, and I am excited about the possibility of sharing my passion for these questions with others.
What would you like to learn or challenge yourself most in doing this project?
I would say that the aspect of the project that I am most excited to learn more about is that of collaboration with a community organization, in this case CTLT Indigenous Initiatives. I know there will be many opportunities for negotiation and I am looking forward to seeing the final outcome of the project, while learning lessons about researcher-organization collaboration in the process.
What has been your most positive experience as a student at UBC?
It has been difficult to feel like I matter in this vast and complex place that is UBC, but I was really lucky to find First Nations and Indigenous Studies (FNIS) as a first-year student. FNIS has had this way of both making me feel alienated in productive ways, while also nurturing me in ways that I thought were impossible in such a large university. FNIS is a community of instructors, staff, students, peers, and friends that feels much more like a family (with thoughtful, critical, and accountable members) than I expected. This program has been my most positive experience, and I could not be more grateful to be a part of it.
Tell us about something you recently read, listened to, or watched that sparked your interest.
Over the past year, I have been reading more about doula and midwifery practice. As a result, I have felt more connected to my body than ever before, and it feels powerful in a grounded way. My interest in birthing practice was sparked by a variety of things, but the thing that I keep coming back to is the ekw’i7tl Indigenous doula collective that was started by a group of Indigenous women from across Turtle Island, three of which I know from First Nations and Indigenous Studies at UBC. I am inspired by the women at ekw’i7tl because they are finding ways to honour the powerful women before them in ways that empower themselves and other women by connecting them back to their ancestors’ birthing and cultural practices. Some of the people and organizations that I am interested to read more of their work related to Indigenous birthing practice and justice include Leanne Simpson, Katsi Cook, and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network.