Centre for Indigenous Studies

The Centre for Indigenous Studies (CIS) is mandated to foster innovative, participatory research with urban Indigenous peoples and develop collaborations with Indigenous communities and community organizations. CIS cultivates research related to Indigenous pedagogy, methodologies and epistemology that focus on Indigenous peoples as cultural workers, social change agents, leaders and thinkers. CIS also supports the recruitment and retention of Indigenous graduate and undergraduate students, and is working to enhance the visibility of Indigenous peoples at the University of Toronto. 

CIS houses Indigenous Studies, an undergraduate program within the Faculty of Arts and science, along with a key project: Ciimaan/Kahuwe’yá/Qajaq, which promotes and facilitates language learning in Anishinaabemowin, Kanien’kéha and Inuktitut. 

Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program within the Faculty of Arts and Science. The program is dedicated to the scholarly study and research of the priorities and aspirations of Indigenous peoples in Canada and throughout the world. 

 
An important goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to learn and think about Indigenous knowledges in creative, transformative and critical ways. The program offers courses that engender a rigorous and respectful understanding of Indigenous peoples’ languages, knowledges, cultures, histories, politics, arts, intellectual traditions, and research methodologies. 

 
The University of Toronto’s Indigenous Studies program has developed from a Minor designation to a degree program offering a Major and now a Specialist in Indigenous Studies.  A key feature of our program is its respect and promotion of Indigenous knowledges, as evidenced by the commitment to Indigenous language instruction and courses devoted to the topic of Indigenous knowledge itself.