Ogimaa Indigenous Graduate Scholarship! A $10,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an Indigenous student enrolled full-time in any graduate program at the University of Waterloo or its affiliated institutions. To be eligible, applicants must be verified through the Indigenous verification process by the Office of Indigenous Relations. Selection will be based on the following: - Academic achievement - Contributions to Indigenous communities (extracurricular/volunteer work) - A personal statement on what receiving this award would mean to them This scholarship is made possible by Dr. Vivek Goel, who was given the name Ogimaa (meaning leader) by Elder Myeengun Henry in 2022. Dr. Goel hopes to empower the next generation of Indigenous leaders through this award. 📝 Deadline is on April 1st 2026! To apply, email [email protected] for the application form Link in bio for more information!

✨ Author Spotlight: D.A. Lockhart ✨ We’re excited to feature D.A. Lockhart, an award‑recognized poet and fiction writer whose work has appeared widely across Turtle Island, including The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, and Best Canadian Poetry. He is pùkuwànkoamimëns of the Moravian of the Thames First Nation (Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit) and the publisher at Urban Farmhouse Press, based at Waawiiyaatanong. 📚 D.A. Lockhart will be joined by Coltrane Seesequasis, Dawn Cheryl Hill, and Dr. Karenna’onwe Hill for an afternoon of readings, conversation, and Q&A celebrating Indigenous voices. 🗓 June 11, 2026 | 1:30–3:00 p.m. 📍 Dana Porter Library, Main Floor (in front of the Indigenous mural) 📖 Readings · Panel · Q&A · Book sales · Light refreshments 🎟️ Registration link in bio!

✨ Author Spotlight: Dr. Karen Hill ✨ Karenna’onwe (Gaw-law-naw-oo-way) – Dr. Karen Hill is an award-winning Mohawk physician from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Her passion to see traditional Indigenous knowledge return to the centre of life for Indigenous people along with the love for her mother has brought her to write this first book in a series of four. Within vignettes from her mother’s life growing up on the Rez, “The Good Mind” offers the embodiment of Creator’s Original Instructions to the people and the beauty of life that ensues. 📚 Dr. Karen Hill will be joined by Coltrane Seesequasis, D.A. Lockhart, and Dawn Cheryl Hill for an afternoon of readings, conversation, and Q&A celebrating Indigenous voices. 🗓 June 11, 2026 | 1:30–3:00 p.m. 📍 Dana Porter Library, Main Floor (in front of the Indigenous mural) 📖 Readings · Panel · Q&A · Book sales · Light refreshments 🎟️ Registration link in bio!

✨ Author Spotlight: Dawn Cheryl Hill ✨ Dawn Cheryl Hill is a member of the Mo­hawk Nation, Turtle Clan from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a Reg­istered Social Worker (RSW) and currently works at the Six Nations Family Health Team, which is located in historical downtown Ohsweken, as a clin­ical social worker. Dawn grew up at the Tuscarora Reservation in Lewiston, New York. Dawn received a BA in Community Mental Health from the University at Buffalo, where she also received a Masters of Social Work (MSW). 📚 Dawn Cheryl Hill will be joined by Coltrane Seesequasis, D.A. Lockhart, and Dr. Karenna’onwe Hill for an afternoon of readings, conversation, and Q&A celebrating Indigenous voices. 🗓 June 11, 2026 | 1:30–3:00 p.m. 📍 Dana Porter Library, Main Floor (in front of the Indigenous mural) 📖 Readings · Panel · Q&A · Book sales · Light refreshments 🎟️ Registration link in bio!

Join the University of Waterloo’s Office of Indigenous Relations and the Libraries for an Indigenous Authors & Publishers Reading, Panel & Q&A on June 11, 1:30–3:00 p.m. at the Dana Porter Library (Main Floor, in front of the Indigenous mural). Featuring Indigenous-owned publishers Ojistoh Publishing and Kegedonce Press, with readings and discussion by Dawn Cheryl Hill, Dr. Karenna’onwe Hill, D.A. Lockhart, and Coltrane Seesequasis. Enjoy powerful stories, thoughtful conversation, audience Q&A, book sales, and light refreshments. 📍 University of Waterloo 📖 Come listen, learn, and celebrate Indigenous voices. Link in bio!

Red Dress Day may have passed, but the need for education, reflection, and conversation continues. This Red Dress Day Art Exhibit invites visitors to honour the strength and creativity of Indigenous women while deepening understanding of the systems that contribute to their criminalization and harm. Featuring artwork by Indigenous artists Vanessa Genier, Judy Ross Mack (Cree, Weenusk First Nation), and Niska Artisans (Timmins), the exhibit is part of Call 30, inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 30 to end the mass incarceration of Indigenous women. 📍 Grebel Gallery, top floor, Conrad Grebel 🗓 Open until May 15 🕗 8am–10pm, Monday–Friday 🧵 Public Call 30 workshop: Thursday, May 14 | 5–7pm Learn more: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-peace-advancement/events/red-dress-day-art-exhibit-and-call-30

This Giving Day, you’re invited to support the Office of Indigenous Relations and help uplift Indigenous students, future leaders, and communities. 🧡🤝 Your generosity enables our team at the University of Waterloo to respond to immediate student needs, enhance teaching and learning environments, and strengthen Indigenous-led programs, activities, and events that make Indigenous histories, cultures, and languages visible across campus. As one student shared: “The Indigenous Student Development Fund was more than just financial support for me; it also showed me that my needs as an Indigenous student were important and valid. Near the end of my program, I faced challenges with my computer, and the fund allowed me to address this issue so I could complete my studies without added stress.” A gift to the Indigenous Student Development Fund is an investment in Indigenous learners, helping address systemic barriers, foster cultural diversity, and enrich our academic community. Your support also strengthens the Indigenous Opportunities Fund, advancing the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action through initiatives grounded in decolonization. On this Giving Day, your generosity helps build a stronger, more inclusive future at Waterloo, shaped by Indigenous voices, knowledge and leadership 😊 🔗Visit this link for more information: https://imodules.uwaterloo.ca/s/1802/bp24/interior.aspx?sid=1802&gid=2&pgid=3526

On behalf of the University of Waterloo, we are delighted to invite you to participate in a research partnerships event at the university’s main campus on June 11, 2026. The Critical Minerals and Materials Connector Event brings together University of Waterloo researchers and organizations working across critical minerals and materials value chains. Organizations will submit written questions or challenges that they wish to explore with University of Waterloo experts. Topics of interest may include: · Systems-based analysis of critical minerals and materials value chains (upstream, midstream, downstream and post-stream) · Advanced materials (development, processing and recycling) · Next-generation mining technologies, including innovation in automation, AI, and communications · Sustainable resource management and environmental impact · Indigenous relations · Policy and risk assessment Submitted questions are published on the event website and Waterloo researchers will be matched to specific questions in a one-hour workshop with the organization. Registration is free. By submitting a question, you are expressing a non-binding commitment to participate in funded research projects, should the ideas shared during the workshop lead to mutual interest and alignment. Additional information about the event is provided in the summary attached. If you are interested in participating, please contact [email protected] by Wednesday, May 6, 2026. We would be happy to schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss further.

Together with the Office of Indigenous Relations and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office, the #UWaterlooCommunity came together to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. ❤️❤️❤️ Elder Myeengun Henry began the day with a sacred fire on the BMH green and led the hanging of red dresses to symbolize those who are missing and murdered, inspired by Jaime Black’s REDress Project.  The event also featured the Aki Ogichidaa Kewwak N’gamowak Women’s Hand Drum Group followed by a screening of This River, a powerful documentary that offers a first-hand perspective on the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who has gone missing. Thank you to all who joined today. ♥️ #MMIWG2S #UWaterloo

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tamara Bernard will no longer be speaking at tomorrow’s May 5th gathering. Instead, we will be screening This River, a powerful documentary that offers a first-hand perspective on the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who has gone missing. The gathering will also include a sacred fire, opening remarks by Elder Myeengun Henry, and songs by an Indigenous women’s hand drum group. There will be a hanging of red dresses and shirts, followed by soup, bannock, and strawberries shared in community. All are welcome to attend and stand together in reflection, remembrance, and solidarity. 📅 Tuesday, May 5, 2026 ⏰ 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 📍 BMH Green & HLTH LHS-1621 (Health Expansion Building) Register here: https://uwaterloo.ca/indigenous/events/stories-carry-us-honouring-missing-and-murdered-indigenous

🌻🌺This Month we welcome the Flower Moon, Waawaaskone Giizis in Anishinaabemowin. The Flower Moon marks the height of Spring, the return of flowers and plant spirits. They offer medicine, nourishment, energy, shelter, and teachings when approached with respect and care. As we enter this moon, we express gratitude for the healing properties of plants and the responsibilities that come with receiving their gifts. The Flower Moon invites us to reflect on balance, reciprocity, and our shared role in caring for the land as it continues to awaken. 🌱

May 5th is National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ People. This violence is neither isolated nor inevitable; it is rooted in systemic racism, misogyny, and entrenched social, economic, and political marginalization within Canadian society. Join us in remembrance and action. The Office of Indigenous Relations, in collaboration with the Faculty of Health and SVPRO, invites you to a Red Dress Day gathering featuring a powerful keynote by Tamara Bernard, whose lived experience and advocacy illuminate how storytelling is both remembrance and resistance, calling us toward accountable, systemic change grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing. The event also features the Aki Ogichidaa Kewwak N’gamowak Women’s Hand Drum Group. 🗓 Tuesday, May 5, 2026 ⏰ 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 📍 BMH Green | HLTH LHS1621 (Health Expansion Building) Everyone is welcome. Register and stand with us. Link in bio.