ii’ taa’poh’to’p, Indigenous Strategy, now accepting proposal submissions for Intercultural Capacity Building Grants for 2022-2023

Are you a student, faculty, or staff member with a big idea that would help to Indigenize our campus?

The Intercultural Capacity Building Grants program is now encouraging proposal submissions for 2022-2023 projects. Project funding highlights and supports Indigenous ways of being, doing, knowing, and connecting. The ii’ taa’poh’to’p grant funds will be distributed to new ideas or projects that elevate the Indigenous Strategy, ii’ taa’poh’to’p and intercultural capacity building on campus. Submissions must provide a commitment to ii’ taa’poh’to’p.

Funding begins in September 2022

Proposal submissions for the Intercultural Capacity Building Grants are open until June 1, 2022. Grants are awarded to support up to $10,000 per project. Initiatives selected will receive funding in September 2022 and project organizers will have a total of one year to disburse funds and fulfill project activities highlighted in their proposal submissions.

To be eligible, applicants must be registered, full-time undergraduate or graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, academic staff, non-academic staff, business/service units or faculties.

Enhancing Indigenous ways of being, doing, knowing, and connecting

Recognizing the principles, goals, and recommendations of ii’ taa’poh’to’p, the grant provides funding for projects that focus on increasing intercultural capacity by elevating Indigenous knowledges, perspectives, practices, worldviews, community engagement, partnerships, and connections to land.

Between 2018 and 2021, the grant supported a total of 20 project initiatives led by numerous faculties, students, and units covering a diverse range of educational topics, cultural events, and awareness of Indigenization, decolonization, truth, and reconciliation.

These projects continue to bring a realization of ii’ taa’poh’to’p, UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy that is based on an authentic foundation of compassion encouraged through cross-cultural learning opportunities that promote awareness, education, and understanding of Indigenous ways of being, doing, knowing, and connecting.

“The ii’ taa’poh’to’p grants support amazing projects throughout the university coming from students, staff and faculty members,” says Dr. Michael Hart, PhD, vice-provost and associate vice-president research (Indigenous engagement). “We hope to continue this momentum of enhancing our intercultural capacity as we journey along our parallel paths.”

Some examples of last year’s grant recipients: 
 

Books to Build On: Indigenous Literatures for Learning. Led by Dr. Aubrey Hanson, PhD, and Dr. Erin Spring, PhD, Werklund School of Education

Receiving this grant will help fund the continuation of the Books to Build On: Indigenous Literatures for Learning project, helping educators increase their capacity of weaving Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing into their teaching. Encouraging teachers to engage with Indigenous stories will support the ongoing transformation of decolonization and reconciliation. Two key deliverables will be produced from receiving this grant:
1. Twelve community engagement workshops with UCalgary community members.
2. The addition of 60 new Indigenous resources to the project’s website.

Water Movement. Led by Anita Malekian, Water Movement ambassador

Water Movement is an ongoing project that provides tools and resources for operators to help over 30,000 people who do not have access to clean water in Canada. Receiving this grant will allow Water Movement to develop additional resources for the network of water treatment operators and experts to further fix the water crisis that many Canadian communities have.

Towards Reconciliation eLearning Development. Led by Shannon King, instructional designer, Talent Management, and Lauren Remple, talent acquisition strategist, Talent Management, in collaboration with Shawna Cunningham, director of the Indigenous Strategy, Office of Indigenous Engagement

UCalgary’s Academic Leadership Academy will use this grant toward creating an eLearning version of the classroom-based workshop titled Towards Reconciliation. Participants of this online course will gain a high-level perspective of the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including terminology, connections to land, and the challenges Indigenous Peoples have had and continue to navigate.

For more information about previous grant recipients and the Intercultural Capacity Building Grants program, please visit the Office of Indigenous Engagement website.