A prominent First Nations advocate will become the next chancellor of the Nanaimo-based Vancouver Island University.
Judith Sayers (Kekinusugs) starts her three-year term in October.
She noted Monday that VIU has worked closely with the Snuneymuxw First Nation and other First Nations.
“I would like to see those kinds of partnerships continue to grow and flourish,” she said. “VIU takes its commitment to reconciliation seriously, and I am excited to work with president Dr. Deb Saucier, who is also Indigenous, to continue implementing Indigenous ways of knowing and being.”
Sayers, who served for 14 years as chief of the Hupacasath First Nation, is well known for the work she has done around self-determination, helping First Nations to develop skills and resources needed for the future, and fostering sustainable energy.
While chief of the Hupacasath First Nation, she played a key role in developing a run-of-river electricity-generation project fostering economic growth.
The First Nation also began operating a woodlot that ran with high environmental standards, and launched eco-tourism canoe tours. Sayers also secured both a land-use plan and cedar-use strategy to bring more certainty for the rights of the Hupacasath.
“We need to be more open to working with students to do the kind of research they want to do in their own way,” Sayers said.
“So much of Indigenous history has never been written properly. When you see our students going out and exploring these areas, for me, it’s very exciting. We need to tell our own stories.”
Vancouver Island University offers more than 120 programs and typically has 14,500 students. It offers traditional academic courses, as well as trades and applied technologies.
Sayers said she would like to see VIU “leading the charge to eradicate racism in any form and make the university a safe place — one where all students and employees see themselves reflected and respected and feel they belong.”
Now president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Sayers was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2019, and was inducted into the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business’s Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame in 2009.
She has degrees in business and law, along with an honorary doctor of laws from Queen’s University. She spent 18 years in Alberta and B.C. working in international forums and lobbying governments and other agencies to promote and protect First Nations rights and title.
“A lot of my life has been spent in advocacy, fighting on the front lines for many different causes,” Sayers said. “Higher education is my next area of focus. I’d like to take on a major role in promoting innovative ideas and better understanding through education.”
Saucier said that Sayers sets an example for students and community members “about what is possible when you put your passion and education to work.”
“I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Sayers to further advance the Indigenization of VIU and I am excited to watch the inspiring effect she will have on students.”
