Articles from:June 2023

• Brock research aims to amplify Indigenous voices amidst housing crisis

  Friday, June 23, 2023 | By Milica Petkovic

  For Mary Ellen Simon, Indigenous Peoples’ access to safe, affordable housing is an urgent need that goes far beyond economics.

  “Having a place of rest is important,” says the Housing Programs Director at the Niagara Regional Native Centre. “People are still healing; they are just starting to be allowed to learn their own history.

  “Our housing is a part of the Niagara ecosystem,” she says. “We can be at peace and rest and be able to sit with our elders, teachers and knowledge keepers, and we learn about things.”

  Yet, in the face of this great need, Indigenous Peoples encounter many challenges as they seek housing for themselves and their families, says Simon.

  To address the problem, Simon invited Brock Assistant Professors of Political Science Joanne Heritz and her colleague Liam Midzain-Gobin to attend a meeting of the Niagara Indigenous Community Advisory Board.

  “They came to us and just listened,” Simon recalls. “They didn’t pre-plan what they wanted to do, or what their interests and ideas were; they didn’t come with a pre-formed agenda.”

  After much discussion, the group decided research on housing challenges and potential solutions would be most helpful. To support this work, Midzain-Gobin and Heritz applied for, and received, a Brock University Indigenous Research Grant.

  Midzain-Gobin, Heritz and their research assistant Sierra Kiers-Vander Veen partnered with Simon and other members of the Niagara Regional Native Centre on the project “Indigenous Affordable Housing in Niagara.”

  “The impetus for this comes out of a recognition that Indigenous communities and Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately affected by the affordability crisis in housing,” says Midzain-Gobin, adding that “more work needs to be done to engage Indigenous communities” in wider Niagara Region housing and homeless initiatives.

  He refers to the Niagara’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan’s Five-Year Review, which found that in 2018, Indigenous Peoples accounted for 24.3 per cent of those without a home despite comprising only 2.8 per cent of Niagara Region’s population.

  In the year since they received the grant, the group has formed the Indigenous Housing Advisory Circle (IHAC) consisting of representatives from the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre, Ganawageh & Ohsto:Seri Urban Homes Inc., Niagara Region Métis Council, Niagara Chapter Native Women, and Niagara Regional Native Centre.

  Through a number of sharing circles and meetings, the IHAC has gathered housing experiences from the Indigenous community and discussed subjects ranging from policy gaps in housing, to income levels, to building codes, regional land development policies and decision-making processes in the housing system, among other things.

  This and other information were compiled into a report and presented to the IHAC last December.

  The next step is for the group to create an Indigenous Vision for Housing in Niagara document, which will discuss how to build safe, affordable and culturally appropriate homes in Niagara from an Indigenous sovereignty perspective.

  The document responds to two crises facing Indigenous Peoples in Niagara region: the lack of safe and affordable housing, and colonization, says Heritz.

  She says the project will be based on storytelling and Indigenous philosophies and perspectives and will include a literature review and original research employing document and policy analysis, photovoice, interviews and sharing circles with the Indigenous community in the Niagara region.

  Earlier this year, one initiative that sprang from IHAC discussions was an “Indigenous Housing Re-storying in Niagara” experiential education project offered in two Brock University Political Science courses.

  Students developed policy briefs and recommendations on various local housing challenges after hearing from several Indigenous speakers. The project’s community event held in April involved student policy presentations and roundtable discussions with members of Indigenous communities and the regional government.

  Heritz credits the Indigenous Research Grant with kick-starting an effective, relevant research process.

  “This grant was really helpful in working with Indigenous representatives to determine how they want to move forward on this project,” says Heritz. “It planted the seed for amplifying their voice in securing housing on their terms.”

  Categories: News

• Congratulations Annilea Purser, Spirit of Brock medal recipient

  Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | By Milica Petkovic

  Faculty of Social Sciences graduates Annilea Purser (BA ’23) and Haley Myatt (MA ’23) received Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock medals during the University’s 113^th Convocation on Monday, June 12 for their leadership and inspiring community contributions.

  Purser, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Indigenous Studies, says the Brock community has shaped her as a leader and a citizen.

  “I entered university feeling unsure about myself and what the future would hold for me, but very early on in my first year I learned just how much the Brock community cares about students and of the many opportunities that are available for students to make a difference,” she says. “At Brock, I’ve been able to realize that when you feel safe, welcomed and accepted within an academic institution, you feel comfortable starting conversations with people about your aspirations and how you can achieve them.”

  For Purser, those aspirations included working with colleagues from Brock to reimagine her non-profit organization in 2020. She founded The BookWorm Initiative, which is meant to benefit vulnerable youth, as a high school student in 2017.

  The Bookworm Initiative provided more than 7,000 books to unhoused youths between 2017 and 2022 and purchased schoolbooks for remote communities in Uganda whose learning was disrupted by the pandemic.

  Purser says her time at Brock and in the local community — with the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society, international student mentoring, Brock’s Collegiate Leadership Competition Team, The Brock Press, Upcycle for Change and the Town of Grimsby — helped her build the support network she needed to reimagine her non-profit.

  She also deepened her commitment to equity within education as a student, researcher and research assistant at Brock. Purser’s honours thesis, which examines First Nations self-determined education policy, was influenced by the educational experiences of Indigenous colleagues she met while serving as an inclusion facilitator at the Students Commission of Canada’s national youth conference.

  Read about Haley Myatt here.

  Dean Ingrid Makus says she is inspired by the community-minded spirit shown by both Myatt and Purser.

  “Haley and Annilea used their time at Brock to challenge themselves, to build on their foundations and to expand their sphere of influence in a positive and meaningful way,” says Makus. “Their impact on the Brock community is the result of years of dedication, open-mindedness and courage, and we are delighted to see their remarkable achievements recognized with the Spirit of Brock medal.”

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  Categories: News

• PoliSci Professor Ingrid Makus reappointed Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences

  Wednesday, June 07, 2023 | By Milica Petkovic

  Ingrid Makus will begin her second term as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences on Saturday, July 1.

  She became Dean in 2018 after serving terms as Interim Dean in Social Sciences from 2016 to 2018 and Acting Dean from 2013 to 2014, as well as a term as Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research with the Faculty from 2010 to 2013.

  Makus, who holds a Master of Arts and PhD from the University of Toronto, has also taught in the Department of Political Science for nearly 30 years with research interests in gender and politics, identity politics and rights discourse.

  Since 2018, Makus has led the development of the Faculty’s strategic plan and directed Dean’s Discretionary Funding to support student experiences and innovative research, including special grants for COVID-19 research in the early stages of the global pandemic. The Faculty has also successfully ushered in a BA in Critical Criminology, a BA in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice and a PhD in Sustainability, and launched strategic initiatives such as Women in Leadership and the Faculty’s research symposium series.

  Makus says the achievements of the past five years reflect the dedication and adaptability of an exceptional community of scholars, students, teachers and staff.

  “It has been a privilege to serve the Faculty of Social Sciences these past five years,” she says. “We are now well positioned for continued success as we move forward in addressing the challenges and opportunities outlined in our Faculty and University-wide strategic plans.”

  Categories: News

• PoliSci students working to improve Indigenous housing challenges

  Friday, June 02, 2023 | By Milica Petkovic

  Guided by community insight, Brock University students have been working to help address a range of urban housing challenges faced by Indigenous communities in Niagara.

  Through the “Indigenous Housing Re-storying in Niagara” experiential education project in two Political Science courses — “Indigenous Politics in Canada” and “Issues in Local Government” — students heard from several Indigenous guest speakers and then developed policy briefs and recommendations on various local housing challenges.

  The project culminated in a community event at the Niagara Regional Native Centre on April 11 that featured a traditional lunch, student policy presentations and roundtable discussions with members of Indigenous communities and the regional government.

  The student project grew from discussions in the Indigenous Housing Advisory Circle (IHAC), which was formed via a Brock Indigenous Research Grant to bring together members of the Niagara Indigenous Community Advisory Board with Assistant Professors Joanne Heritz and Liam Midzain-Gobin to explore how Brock research might support Indigenous work around housing in the region.

  When IHAC shared a need for policy analysis, Midzain-Gobin and Heritz saw an opportunity for experiential learning and the re-storying project was born.

  “An important part of this process was getting students to try to understand and engage with the stories and experiences of our guest speakers as a form of knowledge, and then having them take what they learned and translate it into recommendations for future policy,” says Midzain-Gobin.

  Third-year Political Science major Matthew Walker wrote about “Judicial System Barriers to Housing,” examining the links between incarceration and homelessness in Niagara and opportunities to break cycles of homelessness by addressing inequities. He sees the potential for great benefit in “an Indigenous-first approach to solving homelessness and injustice,” but says the whole community needs to engage with solutions.

  “The biggest takeaway from this experience is that there is more work to be done,” says Walker. “The road to reconciliation is a long one, and we need all-hands on deck.”

  Fourth-year Political Science and Sociology student Madison Motyka was inspired by a recent placement at Southridge Shelter to focus her policy brief on land allocation and inclusive housing policy development.

  “In Niagara, Indigenous Peoples make up 2.8 per cent of the general population but almost 25 per cent of the homeless population,” she says. “I wanted to look at how we can ensure the Indigenous population is given their fair share of those builds and that the Indigenous community is consulted about how and where to build them to make sure the housing is inclusive of their culture and practices and makes people feel more at home.”

  Niagara Regional Native Centre Housing Programs Director Mary Ellen Simon, who worked with Heritz, Midzain-Gobin and research assistant Sierra Kiers-Vander Veen to develop and co-ordinate the project from the beginning, says the many topics on which students completed analysis reflects an understanding that “housing and well-being includes more than just four walls and a roof.”

  Heritz found the response among those who attended the event highly positive and encouraging.

  “So much of the housing responsibilities in government rest with the region and there is flexibility within local government to include Indigenous Peoples in policy processes, so it was great to see that when the presentations finished, no one got up and left,” says Heritz.

  Simon also observed ongoing discussion even after the day’s program had ended.

  “There was definitely a lot of relationship-building and acknowledgement of Indigenous programming and Indigenous service providers and the key cultural component of what we do,” says Simon.

  But, she adds, “the learning has just begun.”

  “People can learn a little bit and that little bit can seem like such a lot, because the knowledge base is so low right now,” says Simon. “We need to continue to listen to Indigenous Peoples because they are the experts on what’s going on in our shelters, in our housing, in our interactions with landlords. They’re the ones who know and who will really be able to address what policies need to be changed to solve housing and homelessness issues.”

  Following the presentations, the policy briefs were turned over to the members of the IHAC and their organizations:

  • Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre
  • Ganawageh & Ohsto:Seri Urban Homes Inc.
  • Niagara Region Métis Council
  • Niagara Chapter Native Women
  • Niagara Regional Native Centre

  The briefs will help support Indigenous-led conversations and, as Simon notes, keep the knowledge shared between Indigenous guests and Brock students in community hands.

  The exchange also reflects how reciprocal partnerships can maximize community impact.

  “It really is through projects like this that Brock research can have a concrete impact,” says Midzain-Gobin. “We need to make sure that a partnership is not just extractive on our end, that we build in reciprocity from the beginning and remember that in a true partnership, partners hold each other accountable.”

  Categories: News