UBC ams

Indigenous Committee

Purpose and Mandate

The purpose of the Indigenous Committee is to establish an Indigenous student governance system on the UBC Vancouver campus and to integrate Indigenous forms of knowledge and practice into the Alma Mater Society (the AMS).

The mandate of the Indigenous Committee is to work with the AMS, rather than have the AMS and, by extension, the University do work on our behalf. Our voices, our knowledge and our representation are essential to the true nature of Reconciliation as an action, an action that we are accountable to, as well as all citizens of this land.

Land Acknowledgement

The work and practices of the Indigenous Committee shall be done on the stolen lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people who have been a part of these sacred lands for millennia.

We, along with the University of British Columbia staff and faculty and its approximately 57,000 students, are all guests on this campus, and the larger territory that borders the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh nations. As guests, it is our responsibility to recognize this land as stolen and sacred, and we must all do our best to honour our hosts as uninvited visitors.

It is our priority to honour Musqueam, and the land that we live and work on through partnerships or the way we conduct ourselves as a Committee.

Who We Are

We are Indigenous students of the UBC Vancouver campus whose traditional lands fall within the colonially constructed borders of Canada and the United States of America (we recognize that borders are arbitrary and that many Indigenous nations do not recognize these borders, though they may be constricted by them). Our committee is composed of current Indigenous students who pay regular student fees to the AMS on the UBC Vancouver campus.

The Indigenous Committee Executive shall be composed of:

  • the Chair(s);
  • the Vice-President;
  • the Treasurer(s);
  • the Social Media Representative; and
  • the Lounge Manager.

The Indigenous Committee shall:

  • Assert Indigenous knowledge, presence and practices into the AMS;
  • Ensure Indigenous peoples are represented at UBC Vancouver through all levels of governance and student relations through various means;
  • Adhere to local traditions while recognizing and respecting our individual cultural beliefs and practices;
  • Advocate for Indigenous student representation within the AMS and the UBC Vancouver campus;
  • Ensure that the Indigenous Committee provides a space for Indigenous students on the UBC Vancouver campus to participate in meetings and events;
  • Safeguard Room 2131, prioritizing it for Indigenous students and Committee guests;
  • Provide support for issues arising in Room 2131;
  • Hold Indigenous Committee meetings biweekly from September through April and on an as-needed basis in the summer months;
  • Manage, maintain, and disburses funds from the Indigenous Students Fund in accordance with AMS Code Section IX B, Article 6(5)(t);
  • Ensure that the AMS position of the Indigenous Student Engagement Facilitator is held for an Indigenous student, and the Committee will work with the AMS to develop job duties to include:
    • Providing administrative support for the Indigenous Committee;
    • Attending Indigenous Committee meetings regularly;
    • Maintaining a direct line of communication with the Indigenous Committee on such matters as Indigenous issues and initiatives that the AMS is working on and/or overseeing any other relevant campus activities;
    • Liaising with Indigenous bodies on campus to facilitate communication, networking and collaboration for the Indigenous Committee and its projects.