The Anishinaabemowin study group has returned for a second year. The group hosted their welcome party on September 27 and will meet every Wednesday for the rest of the semester in Ferrier 408.

Anishinaabemowin is the Anishinaabe language, also known as Ojibwe, and is a widely-used Indigenous language with many dialects across (so-called) Canada and the United States. The Anishinaabe people live in what is now known as the Ottawa River Valley, as far west as Saskatchewan, and across North Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan.

The welcome party featured a drumming and singing performance from Robert Spade, an Anishinabeininii (Anishinaabe man) from the Sturgeon Clan, who explained the meaning behind the greeting boozhoo. Nanaboozhoo is a shapeshifter and central figure in many traditional stories. He is considered one of the co-creators of the world and may return one day. Since we don’t know what form he will take when he returns, we must greet everyone with boozhoo, just in case. Students at the welcome party also had the opportunity to practice introducing themselves in Anishinaabemowin and counting numbers from 1-20 with a game.

This year, the club will follow the curriculum created by Jenni Makahnouk, an Anishinaabe student from Lac Seul. Makahnouk created worksheets and activities, and sourced media for the group to use. The syllabus includes conceptual ideas and grammar, along with conversational language, stories, and cultural learning. Given the vast difference between Anishinaabemowin and English, she has “overhauled the course materials [from last year] to emphasize methods for learning the language.”

While there is a developed plan for the year, the group also allows for self-paced learning. Makahnouk described the group as informal and non-judgemental. At the welcome party, she encouraged all students to join, “even if they just want to learn a little bit.”

Member Annika Pavlin says that there is no pressure to already know anything about Anishinaabe. Pavlin was one of the original members who participated in the grassroots creation of the club last year. Each member  came in with expertise in different areas, whether that was linguistics, history, knowledge of other Indigenous languages, or education in general. She says, “we are still coming into this from different places and learning all together.”

For many members, the best part of the group is the ability to teach themselves in a non-hierarchical learning environment. This flexibility has allowed members to facilitate lessons for others on concepts that interest them. Pavlin and another member taught a lesson last year that focused on talking about time. Teaching the lesson allowed them to learn even more about the concept, deepening their understanding of the language.

“I think that there is genuine interest in delving deeper into Indigenous cultures, seeking to understand, appreciate languages of the Anishinaabe. This growing curiosity signifies a hopeful shift towards greater cultural awareness and inclusivity,” said Makahnouk. This was evidenced by the many students who attended the welcome party and the growing number of members in the club.

When asked about the support McGill has given to the club, Makahnouk stated, “McGill administration has provided us with a room free of charge. Their support of our study group is appreciated. The Office of Indigenous Initiatives has been generous as well, providing us with free printing for our course materials, connecting us with community Anishinaabemowin speakers and promoting our group in the Indigenous Awareness weeks celebrations.”

For students interested in learning Indigenous languages, McGill has some options. There is an Indigenous language revitalization Masters program, which allows graduate students to take relevant courses in different disciplines to develop tools to maintain, document and revitalize their community’s language. There are also general linguistics classes like INLG 210, EDEC 344 and LING 411 which cover the basics of an Indigenous language. However, these courses are not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year. Turning this group into a credit course remains a long-term goal for members.

Academic Programs and curriculum are calls to action 29-39 from McGill’s 52 Calls to Action. 10 out of 11 of these calls have been marked as achieved by McGill, including Language Revitalization and Documentation. The university acknowledges that it “should consider where it can add the most value to language teaching and revitalization in Indigenous communities, while heeding the perspectives and needs of Indigenous communities as voiced by their members.”

Indigenous studies librarian Kristen Howard recommends students use the Indigenous Studies guide when conducting research on Indigenous languages or beginning their language study. It includes resources for self directed learning such as Lexique spécialisé des études collégiales en français-innu, a French-Innu resource, and 100 days of Cree, a light-hearted beginner’s guide to Cree.

In comparison to other Canadian universities, McGill falls short in offering Indigenous language education. Queens University in Kingston, Ontario offers six undergraduate Indigenous languages courses, open to all students; including two each in Anishinaabemowin, Inuktitut, and Mohawk. Schools like University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, and University of British Columbia also all offer courses in the traditional languages of the land the universities are situated upon.

However, for Makahnouk, the opportunity to teach and learn with the study group is very rewarding.

“I’m thrilled about the chance to share my culture and language,” she said.

For anyone interested in participating in this club, or learning more about the group, information is shared on their instagram account: @Anishinaabe_McGill.

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The Daily had the opportunity to discuss the letter with two of the students who spearheaded the project: Naomi Pastrana Mankovitz, VP Sustainability of NUS, and Sophie Zheng, Planetary Health Representative of NUS. Mankovitz and Zheng explained that nursing students are so driven to take action against climate change because they can clearly see the negative effects on health. The two told the Daily about a health care concept called “Whole Person Care,” which states that when treating a patient, you must consider the entirety of this person. For example, health care professionals consider questions such as “are they a refugee?,” “are they living in a flood-prone area?,” and “how is this affecting their health?” Mankovitz and Zheng emphasized that everything is interconnected and that in order to provide adequate care, health care professionals must understand what is impacting the patient. Mankovitz explained, “you can’t have health without the environment, and you can’t maintain the environment without health.” She added that working toward divestment and sustainability is important not just from the climate change angle but also as a way to improve one of the many factors impacting health. 

After over ten years of work by Divest McGill, the nursing students say it seems like the Board of Governors is finally taking notice, but they still have not taken concrete action. Mankovitz said she is uncertain if the university will divest soon but that, as nursing students, “we want the pressure to keep building.” Many students have begun to take a stronger stance on divestment: the letter has now been endorsed by AUS and SSMU, who have called for their executives to work toward divestment. 

Nursing students at McGill are working on more than just advocating for divestment. There are a number of projects that have been undertaken in recent years to make the Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN) more sustainable while considering the intersections of social and environmental justice. One focus for the students has been food insecurity and unsustainability. To counter this, NUS applied for funding from the Office of Sustainability’s Sustainability Projects Fund. The funds allowed the NUS kitchenette to be equipped with a refrigerator and to be stocked with reusable dishes and utensils. This is more sustainable for students and staff, especially those with a busy schedule. 

The McGill Nurses for Planetary Health also held an event in collaboration with the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance to raise awareness about food insecurity in Montreal. Free meals were offered from Black- and Indigenous-owned restaurants to help educate professors and students. The focus of these events has been working toward intersectional sustainability. The students told the Daily that sustainability is not just about having recycling bins, for example: there are many layers, and it is crucial to work toward a community that truly understands these goals. They added that it is also important to take social responsibility and accountability and to acknowledge that everything affects health, including the environment and politics. One important goal ISoN worked to achieve was implementing Joyce’s Principle, honouring the late Joyce Echaquan, who died due to the health care system’s systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples. 

In order to institutionally ingrain sustainability, a task force has been created to achieve Sustainable Workplace Certification from the Office of Sustainability. Mankovitz and Zheng said this project was very encouraging to them, and seeing the professors and staff undertake this project encouraged them to continue with their own. 

As to advice for other students, Zheng says: “Please don’t be cynical. Have hope.” She said it’s important to surround yourself with others who are also working toward something bigger than themselves. The students also discussed having “eco-anxiety” and acknowledged the best way to combat this is to take action. Nursing students have been working hard to build a culture of hope and advocacy for various causes they are passionate about.

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The Board of Governors is the university’s highest governing body, and they have the final authority over the conduct of all affairs at the university. Maryse Bertrand, Chair of the Board, explained that members must look out for the best interests of McGill while ensuring that “McGill remains here in the future for 200 years.” The board is composed of 25 voting members and two non-voting student members. 

Divestment

The first question was asked by Naomi Pastrana Mankovitz, an undergraduate nursing student. Her question focused on the urgency of divestment: “Why is the immediate and transparent divestment of the endowment from the top 200 fossil fuels companies not more seriously entertained as an important issue for the Board?” She explained further that McGill’s decision to continue funding pipelines runs contradictory to the education and research of students and faculty. As a nursing student, Mankovitz was able to learn about the harms fossil fuel emissions and climate change would have on human health and she finds it disheartening to know her university doesn’t support that knowledge with its actions. 

The Board responded that it “will review the University’s Social Responsibility Investment practices in 2025 and it may take further actions” in two years, but that before then, it will focus on implementing its 2020 action plan. Bertrand explained that in 2020, the Board decided they needed to focus on decarbonizing because “removing the carbon from the air is the main problem.” She also said the next meeting will not include a vote on divestment as there is “too much work to do before that,” and it cannot be rushed. However, whether McGill can accelerate the timeline will be on the agenda for the next quarter. 

During the session Mankovitz stated that according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the steps outlined in McGill’s decarbonization plan are not enough as they do not require divestment from the worst contributors to climate change. She followed up by requesting to look at the research the Board used for deciding on decarbonization and which group or individual recommended decarbonization as the best plan. Due to time, there was no response given.

The second question was asked by another student, Emily Hardie, with a similar focus on divestment. She asked, “how is the Board truly ensuring a sustainable future for McGill students, faculty, and staff?” Hardie explained that because the Board has chosen to focus on decarbonization instead of full divestment like other universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Concordia, “McGill is behind the times” and is “actively destroying our future.” She concluded by asking if the topic be discussed in the next Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) meeting. 

Bertrand stated the topic of divestment will not be discussed in the next CAMSR meeting, instead being discussed internally and then deciding when it will be appropriate to bring up. Bertrand then dedicated the rest of the time to explain that many of the universities who have allegedly divested have only divested partially; she cited Harvard as one example of a school that only divested from coal and simply used the word “divestment” as a way to gain positive notoriety. However, John McCall MacBain, Chancellor of McGill, fact-checked this claim and was able to cite sources that Harvard had divested entirely. There was no time for a follow-up to this point or to question where Bertrand had received this false information. 

Affordability of Food on Campus

As reported in the Daily, students are struggling to afford food on campus, leading to the development of eating disorders and reducing their academic ability. Zahur Ashrafuzzaman, a McGill student, stated, “unlike other universities, McGill refuses to subsidize its cafeteria prices. Also unlike other universities, McGill refuses to monetarily support soup kitchen organizations on campus such as Midnight Kitchen, which is funded entirely by limited student fees.” They asked what action McGill will take in order to stop its students from going hungry and if they will move the budget away from investments in harmful fossil fuels and start helping students.

The Chair of the Board responded by explaining that many of these issues are not in the purview of the Board as it only focuses on budgeting and subsidizing. However, she also explained the Board does not have the ability to subsidize meal options on campus easily, as the university does not receive any money from the government for this purpose leaving it entirely reliant on student fees and philanthropy, which most often goes towards other causes the philanthropist is passionate about. Bertrand was able to cite the development of the new dining hall model as a possible solution to some of these problems. McGill is working on developing a new All-You-Care-to-Eat model for its meal plans. Ashrafuzzama continued to question how this may not be an all-encompassing solution. They asked about how the Board will ensure that the mislabelling of Halal, allergens, and Kosher food will stop as well as if  this new model meets the dietary restrictions of all. Furthermore, they asked why it has been developed without consultation with students.

The Board replied that with the new model, “students will not have to worry, they can eat what they want” without having to budget meal plan dollars. They also explained the model is not yet set in stone, and it is still in the “creation phase.” They also promised consultations are ongoing with students in residence.

Mental Health Services

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened students’ mental health. McGill students have reported long wait times and inconsistent, infrequent access to McGill mental health services. Student Sophia Lenz asked given these circumstances, “why has more funding not been allocated to mental health services? How can we update these to better support students who have lived through the collective trauma of the pandemic?” 

Lenz referenced the tragic suicides that occurred in 2019 at University of Toronto, explaining that a similar mental health crisis is unfolding at McGill now: “will McGill wait for tragedy to happen? Or will it do something preventatively?” 

The Board explained that while there has been a clear, increased demand for mental health services, the university can not replace a health care system. They also described that the McGill Wellness Hub does not focus on crisis intervention or care, nor long term management of mental health conditions: “Best practice in the discipline is to separate the acute management of crisis situations from subsequent, ongoing management of student mental health, since these specialties are very different.” The Board explained that students in crisis are managed by the Dean of Students Office until they are referred to emergency services in the community or then transferred to the Wellness Hub. 

The Board also said that students in need of “specialist care and longer-term management of mental health conditions” must use dedicated facilities and resources that are found in the broader community: the university “will never be able to be a provider of everything” and “will never be able to provide a response to every single need.” The Wellness Hub serves to “provide goal-directed, episodic care for a broad range of situations.”

Lenz asked a follow-up regarding potential issues with seeking mental health resources in the “broader community” such as language barriers, high costs – especially for students who are not Quebec residents or who lack insurance – and facing stigma. She also mentioned the Quebec health care system is crumbling. The board responded by explaining that McGill “can be a bridge” to community resources. 

The final question was brought up by Alex Bluck Foster, who asked if the Board will propose a timeline for requiring all of its members to be democratically elected. Only eight out of 25 members are democratically elected. Foster explained this lack of democracy is evident in a number of issues where there has been clear student support and the board has ignored or directly opposed these issues, recently opposing calls for divestment, the unionisation of Professors of Law, and the Palestinian Solidarity Policy. 

Bertrand stated that she was not aware of some of the aforementioned issues and believed they were “not part of the Board.” She explained that the non-elected members bring expertise to various topics and provide insight to different solutions. The Board is focused on the long term and often reaches majority consensus when deciding, so the vote of one person has very little power. 

Students who wanted to attend this meeting had to request the link from the secretariat in advance. Those who requested were provided an unlisted YouTube livestream, which has now been deleted. Zahur Ashrafuzzama added to their question, “these meetings remain largely inaccessible to the broader McGill community.” This community session is the only opportunity for students to consult with the highest governing body of McGill, and this was the first session to take place since October 2021. Despite the infrequency and importance of this session, it was limited to only five minutes per question every semester. Due to the small amount of time allocated, there was little opportunity for students to ask follow-up or clarifying questions. Students who tried to ask follow up questions were cut-off in the interest of sticking to the 25 minute schedule. 

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The event began with speeches from the organizers, dancers, and the two masters of ceremony. Their words honoured and thanked the Creator for all things given to us, ending with a message of love and understanding: “I wish you all a good day, and peace and love in your hearts.” 

After the speeches, the Grand Entry began, where all the dancers entered the circle while the host drum and singers performed a song. During the Grand Entry, the audience was asked to stand as a sign of respect and to refrain from taking any photos. Elders – along with veterans and retired police officers – were honoured throughout the day. Children were also supported throughout the dances and encouraged to participate in any way they could. 

A highlight for many attendees was the inter-tribal dance. During this dance, everyone was invited to enter the circle regardless of nation and whether or not they were adorned in regalia. Many young people happily participated in the dance and shared in Indigenous culture. The event concluded with a gift giveaway and the retiring of the flags. 

The Pow Wow was part of the Indigenous Awareness Weeks activities taking place at McGill from September 19 until Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30. The goal of Indigenous Awareness Weeks is to “provide a space to amplify Indigenous voices and perspectives on campus.” Events included speeches, seminars, movie screenings, and more. 

Many McGill groups who work with Indigenous students were at the event, including the Indigenous Students Alliance. Leah Louttit-Bunker from the ISA explained that the club is necessary at McGill to show Indigenous students they are supported and welcomed. The Indigenous Students Alliance has the goal of bringing forward “a sense of community and to act as a home away from home.” It also offers “a welcoming and inclusive community for Indigenous students and allies.” Louttit-Bunker noted that Indigenous students and allies alike are always welcome to join the ISA or participate in any of their events. 

The McGill men’s lacrosse team attended the event to show support and honour the creators of lacrosse. The McGill radio station CKUT was also tabling at the Pow Wow, and its representatives highlighted their two radio shows specifically focused on Indigenous peoples. The All Kanien’kéha Show, rebroadcasted from Reviving Kanehsatà:ke Radio 101.7FM, is entirely in Kanien’kéha, the Mohawk language. The station also has a show broadcasted partially in Inuktitut and partially in English. Representatives of the station emphasized the importance of uplifting voices that have been historically underrepresented. 

McGill University has a long history of injustice towards Indigenous peoples. James McGill enslaved Indigenous and Black people, and his fortune was made through the colonial system, which inherently oppresses Indigenous peoples. This history continues to impact all aspects of education at McGill University. Members of the McGill community have called for McGill to take further action.  

After the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its final report in 2015, McGill’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education created 52 calls to action. To date, only seven of the initiatives have been completed. The completed actions, among others, include changing the varsity sports team name, implementing a school-wide land acknowledgement, and creating an Indigenous Studies minor program.

Delbert Sampson, a member of Secwepemc First Nation, was one of the dancers at the Pow Wow. He spoke of his love for Pow Wows and dancing: “I come to all the Pow Wows I can.” However, he noted that it’s not all about enjoyment: “I dance for the residential school survivors and all the babies they have found.” The discovery of the remains of 215 children at Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia is particularly close to Sampson, as he attended that school for seven years. He now focuses on using his knowledge of his culture to help others, as, he says, “our people need to come back to our ceremonies.” Sampson also reflected on how nice it is to see younger people coming and sharing the culture. He said it makes him so happy to hear “grandpa, I want to dance.” 

Sampson explained that, while events like the Pow Wow are great for the community, they do not take the place of real systemic change. When asked if McGill was taking the right steps forward, Sampson answered “it is important to see action instead of just words.”

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Adopted in May 2022 by Quebec’s National Assembly, Bill 96 is the province’s legislative effort to affirm French as the only official language of Quebec. It sets new requirements for the use of the French language in court proceedings, education, healthcare, and other sectors. 

Éric Bélanger, a Professor of Political Science at McGill University, explained the logic behind the Bill in an interview with the Daily. “In general terms, there is the need to reinforce the language legislation in place due to the changing social fabric of Quebec. As the latest data from the Canadian Census revealed last month, the prominence of French in Quebec has been slowly but surely eroding over the past two decades.” He described that the government of Quebec could not just stand by as the French language declined. Bélanger also explained the potential impacts that the Bill could have on anglophones and allophones. “Most non-francophone communities are likely to face greater constraints integrating into Quebec society, especially given the relatively short amount of time imposed by the government to comply with the Bill’s provisions,” he said.

While the Bill still allows pleas in English, Section 9 outlines that those attending court must attach a French translation prepared by a certified translator. In the application for judicial review, Mitchell argues that this places an even higher cost for those in court, causing the expenses to outweigh potential benefits and deterring people from seeking justice. The lawyers also argued that it was unconstitutional to be forced to access the court using both English and French, instead of either of the official languages. 

The lawyers  cited further concerns in Section 54.c over many regions of Quebec having a lack of certified legal translators, something which they argued will cause unfair legal delays. In cases that require urgency, French must be used to avoid these delays, therefore removing the option to litigate in English. The lawyers thus argued that these provisions severely limit the ability of anglophone people in Quebec from accessing justice. Citing  Section 133 of the Constitution Act  (1867) – which guarantees access to courts in English and French –they concluded that the provision which effectively requires legal procedures to be entirely in French is unconstitutional and violates the rights of Canadians. Justice Corriveau agreed that the conditions were met, and chose to suspend the aforementioned sections of the bill until the case could be heard by the Superior Court in November. 

In an official press release, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke stated that “it is pleased with a Quebec Superior Court Judge’s decision to suspend two provisions of Bill 96.” As a primarily English speaking community, the Kahnawà:ke would be negatively impacted by these regulations. Indigenous people are already overrepresented in the Canadian penal system, so a law limiting language use would potentially pose more barriers to justice.

Human rights lawyer  Julius Grey, has identified several other concerns with the Bill. In order to ensure that documents are actually in French, the Office Québécois de la Langue Française potentially has the right to search private documents that may be protected by attorney-client privilege. Grey highlighted this idea in his upcoming legal challenge to the Bill, arguing that these new regulations disadvantage people who have been charged criminally. Grey further describes that without the requirement for judges to be bilingual, anglophone participants may not be able to participate fully in the trial, as they may not be able to understand the general court proceedings nor be able to defend themselves adequately. 

When asked about the approximately 150 business leaders who have requested for the application of the Bill to be suspended, Quebec Premier Francois Legault explained in a press conference that there is a three year transition period built-in to the bill. He also highlighted the importance of maintaining French in Quebec businesses: “We have to be careful about the language of the people working.”

In the same press conference, a reporter questioned the necessity of “asking immigrants to learn French within six months.” Legault explained that the system doesn’t force citizens to learn French, it merely makes them access government services in the official language. He stated “most of the governments in the world, they start sending information in the language of the country. What we say is that we will make an exception for six months.” 

However, future challenges to the Bill may be difficult, as Bill 96 proactively includes the notwithstanding clause to guard against arguments saying it does not follow the constitution. Dr. Dave Guénette, of the McGill Faculty of Law, explained in a Q&A session with the Centre for Constitutional Studies: “It is widely known that the notwithstanding clause can be used preemptively and that doing so does not require any form of justification.” “It is important to recall that the notwithstanding clause, in its current form, was part of the compromise that made possible the constitutional agreement of November 1981.” However, Guénette cautioned against a potential political price to pay: “Overriding fundamental rights and freedoms is a major political decision and should be done only when it is an absolute necessity.” 

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