Fleming College
IN-23: Serving Underrepresented Groups

Fleming College is a signatory to the Pan-Canadian Indigenous Education Protocol for Colleges and Insitutions (2017), which commits to the following:

Signatory institutions agree to:

1. Commit to making Indigenous education a priority.
2. Ensure governance structures recognize and respect Indigenous peoples.
3. Implement the intellectual and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples through curriculum and learning approaches relevant to learners and communities.
4. Support students and employees to increase understanding and reciprocity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
5. Commit to increasing the number of Indigenous employees with ongoing appointments throughout the institution, including Indigenous senior administrators.
6. Establish Indigenous-centred holistic services and learning environments for learner success.
7. Build relationships and be accountable to Indigenous communities in support of self-determination through education, training and applied research.

With the development of a dedicated Indigenous Student Services department and an Indigenous Studies stream across the curriculum, Fleming has one of the most advanced student success strategies for Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners. This includes a dedicated Indigenous student services department and medicine room as part of our Circle of Care. Fleming's commitment to honoring the rights of Indigenous people has recently been approved a Board Policy. Fleming is the first College in Canada to develop a Board policy for Honoring the Rights of Indigenous Peoples https://department.flemingcollege.ca/bog/meetings/.

Effective the June 2019 graduation, Fleming has also introduced the opportunity for all students to sign a declaration supporting Indigenous rights. (media release excerpt below)

Peterborough ON – (June 13, 2019) – Indigenous Student Services at Fleming College is pleased to offer 2019 graduating students an opportunity to sign a declaration during convocation ceremonies at Sutherland, Frost and Haliburton campuses that acknowledge the rights of Indigenous peoples.

The declaration states, “By signing, I am making a declaration to move forward in my professional and personal life as a person who acknowledges the rights of Indigenous peoples and will advocate for further respect towards First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples within the territory that I choose to call home.”

Students who sign the declaration during convocation ceremonies will be given a medicine wheel pin to wear on their gowns. Last year, graduating students at Sutherland and Frost campuses were the first to be offered this opportunity, and nearly 900 students signed the declaration between the two campuses.

“Indigenous Student Services at Fleming is working towards educating all students of the history of the lands they call home and is moving forward in renewed commitments to Indigenous peoples and students,” said Kylie Fox-Peltier, Indigenous Student Services Manager.
https://flemingcollege.ca/news/2019/06/