News Stories
Province, First Nations and VIU announce new funding and training for Indigenous guardians protecting coastal lands and waters
October 4, 2023
Partnership between Nanwakolas Council nations and Vancouver Island Universityaddresses urgent need for more Indigenous Guardians across BC VICTORIA, B.C. (Oct. 4, 2023) - An agreement signed today by Nanwakolas Council and Vancouver Island University (VIU) and supported with funding from the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, will provide new Indigenous Guardians with the... Read more
VIU hosts summer camp for Indigenous students
July 6, 2023
The camp is organized by the ‘su’luqw’a’ Community Cousins Indigenous student mentorship program. Making Indigenous youth feel like they belong at university is the goal of a seven-day summer camp taking place at Vancouver Island University (VIU) this August. The Thuy’she’num Tu Smun’eem: Building a Foundation for our Youth summer camp takes place August 6 to 12 at the Nanaimo campus. The camp is... Read more
Indigenous speaker shares story of fight for the return of traditional lands
March 9, 2023
Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn), a Squamish Nation Councillor and Spokesperson, will deliver the keynote address at VIU’s Indigenous Speakers Series event on March 20. Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn) grew up without knowledge of his culture or history. His parents, both residential school survivors, did not talk about any element of their First Nations background and it wasn’t until Sxwíxwtn was in his... Read more
VIU experts appear live on CBC Nanaimo broadcast
January 27, 2023
Several shows were broadcasting from Serious Coffee on Hammond Bay Road The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched its permanent bureau in Nanaimo on Friday, January 27 with a special live broadcast in the Harbour City that featured several experts from Vancouver Island University. The Nanaimo bureau “will focus on telling stories from the mid-and-north Vancouver Island region” states a CBC... Read more
VIU Media Highlights: November 23, 2022
November 23, 2022
Seaweed product research, Christmas magic & sustainable packaging 📦 November is a busy month at VIU. Students are showcasing projects they have been working on all semester, and we have a lineup of community-focused events and campaigns. Top stories VIU students pitch seaweed products to industry tonight What happens when VIU microbiology and culinary arts students work together? Some cool... Read more
Indigenous speaker shares story of fight for the return of traditional lands
November 22, 2022
Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn), a Squamish Nation councillor and spokesperson, will deliver the keynote address at VIU’s 2022 Indigenous Speakers Series event on November 29. Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn) grew up without knowledge of his culture or history. His parents, both residential school survivors, did not talk about any element of their First Nations background and it wasn’t until Sxwíxwtn was in... Read more
VIU and community partners remember local fallen armed forces members through video memorial
October 28, 2022
VIU video project acknowledges Nanaimo armed forces members' contributions to the First and Second World Wars. Private Reginald Edgar Emblem, a farmer and resident of South Wellington, served in the 72nd Battalion during the First World War. He died at age 20 of influenza and pneumonia in October 1918 and was buried at Seaford Cemetery in Sussex, United Kingdom. Private William Armstrong Syer, a... Read more
Using technology to support Indigenous data sovereignty
September 28, 2022
Dr. Shanna Lorenz, VIU’s 2022 Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Indigenous Studies, is working with Indigenous communities on a data gathering app. Dr. Shanna Lorenz’s research is supporting Indigenous data sovereignty thanks to a digital app called Our Data Indigenous, which she helped design alongside faculty and First Nations community data specialists in Canada and the United... Read more
5 Questions with Kelly Black
September 27, 2022
Kelly Black, a Vancouver Island University Adjunct History Professor, received the Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award from the BC Historical Federation this June. The article, “Explaining Settlers to Ourselves: Rethinking interpretive narratives at heritage sites” was published in the spring 2021 edition of British Columbia History magazine. Black has more than a decade of experience in... Read more
Tla’amin Nation gifts ʔayʔaǰuθəm name to local VIU campus
September 20, 2022
VIU’s campus in the qathet region will now be called tiwšɛmawtxw. The Tla’amin Nation Executive Council has gifted Vancouver Island University (VIU) the name tiwšɛmawtxw (teew-shem- awt-xw), which means House of Learning, for its campus located in ɬaʔamɩn ʔəms gijɛ (Tla’amin Territory). The gift is in the spirit of decolonization and reconciliation. Following a renaming ceremony on September... Read more