FNUniv Graduate Students attend the 3rd Annual International Traditional Indigenous Knowledges Institute (ITIKI)

August 18, 2026

From July 27 to 30, 2026, four Indigenous graduate students from the First Nations University of Canada attended the 3rd Annual International Traditional Indigenous Knowledges Institute (ITIKI) on Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) territory, where the University of Victoria stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territories.

ITIKI 2026 Program

The theme of ITIKI 2026 was Sacred Lands and Waters, with the idea of water connecting us all, giving life, sustaining life. Fittingly, the program opened with students learning canoeing protocol for the Lək̓ʷəŋən nation and involved paddling around the bay and up to the shore to ask permission from local Elders from Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt to be on the land as guests. The students were welcomed by dignitaries from the Nation, Elders, and welcomed with a drum and rattle song.

Other land/place-based activities included learning local Lahal traditional hand games with community members, Sandy and Christine Morris; quarter bag wool weaving teachings with Lydia Jim; a place of medicine tour with Loreisa Lepine, Indigenous Land Steward for UVic and Drew Elves; clamshell rattle making with Elder Kathy Horne and paddle painting with Elder Doug LaFortune; a mountain hike with Elisha Elliott and creation stories with the Elders in residence; a virtual place based VR Witness Blanket experience; research presentations from the Indigenous graduate students, and lots of time storytelling and visiting with Elders Eydie Pelkey, Gerry Ambers, Wilbert Papik, Barbe Hulme, May Sam, and others.

ITIKI 2026 Participants

Scotia Rise Travel Bursary recipients for ITIKI 2026 were Reona Brass, a Cree Masters student in Indigenous Education from Peepeekisis Cree Nation and Noah Hoostie (White Bear First Nation) a Master of Science student in Biology, Biochemistry and Education. Two other Indigenous graduate students also attended ITIKI 2026 but were not funded by Scotia Rise (Layne Burns and Misti Big Eagle).

“ITIKI was good medicine in every meaning of the phrase from ceremonies to cultural

exchange to forming strong connections with some of the very few people facing similar personal and academic challenges. It was a breath of a fresh air in a world that we struggle to belong to.”

– 2026 ITIKI Participant

ITIKI is one of the best opportunities to connect with other Indigenous grad students from across the globe. Having these connections and this community helps build a sense of belonging in the academic world.

– 2026 ITIKI Participant

“Attending ITIKI 2026 allowed me as an Indigenous graduate student to gain a more culturally affirming and precise view of my position and role as an Indigenous academic within a global Indigenous academy as I became more aware throughout the week of my position in relation to the unique epistemologies, pedagogies and experiences with colonial oppression of other Indigenous academics and peoples across the country and around the world. Engaging in intergenerational, place-specific pre-histories, colonial contexts, stories and songs via designated time in relationship with peoples and elders from other Indigenous communities while engaging in deep, holistic learning on land far from my own will continue to inform my work in a way that simply cannot be replicated in a western academy.”

– 2026 ITIKI Participant

ITIKI Outcomes

All graduate student participants agreed that the gathering improved their morale and willingness to continue in their graduate studies. Students were reinvigorated and inspired to know they weren’t alone in their experiences. Moreover, improved social, cultural, and wholistic health outcomes for Indigenous students and their communities will progress through the preservation and promotion of Traditional Indigenous Knowledges, cultures, and traditions.

ITIKI Mission

The mission of ITIKI (International Traditional Indigenous Knowledges Institute) is to provide a land-based space for Indigenous knowledge holders, Indigenous leaders (both academic and cultural), and Indigenous students from across the globe to gather and share traditional knowledges, praxis, ontologies, and pedagogies by exercising inherent rights and implementing traditional ways of being, knowing, and doing through cross-cultural, reciprocal exchanges between Indigenous Nations and Peoples.