Introducing: The National College of Indigenous Scholars

The National College of Indigenous Scholars (NCIS) is a new Indigenous-led initiative for First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv). The NCIS was established with the generous support of the Mastercard Foundation EleV Program. Mastercard is honoured to partner with FNUniv to support their growth, sustainability, and autonomy. Funding from Mastercard already supports the National Indigenous Economic Prosperity Institute (NIEPI), Autonomy and Capacity Building at FNUniv, and the National Indigenous Senior Leaders Association (NIUSLA). While NIUSLA is a national network for Indigenous senior leaders working in Canadian universities, NCIS offers support, research, and advocacy for Indigenous scholars.

Funding from Mastercard enables NCIS to advance our objectives: mentorship toward career advancement, research on the experiences of Indigenous faculty, and illuminating Indigenous scholarly excellence.

What does this mean for FNUniv faculty?

Emerging and mid-career faculty will be invited to engage in the co-development of an Indigenous faculty development model designed to promote relationality, which is culturally grounded, promotes decolonization, and is oriented toward Indigenous futurities. This co-developed approach aims to support any faculty who choose to participate in the program offerings. We look forward to welcoming you to the FNUniv Faculty Development series in the fall of 2026.

What does NCIS hope to achieve?

We hope to inform systemic change in ways that uplift Indigenous scholars at all career stages. We hope to strengthen Indigenous scholars’ academic identity formation through a form of kinship mentorship that promotes trust, reciprocity, and shared learning to strengthen our collective work as educators in Indigenous higher learning.

What next?

A more formal introduction to NCIS will be provided soon. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to:

Dr. Shauneen Pete (spete@firstnationsuniversity.ca)

Dean, National College of Indigenous Scholars