In 2017, the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education released a report that contained 52 calls to action for improving Â鶹AV’s Indigenization and decolonization efforts—one of which included the creation of an institute for Indigenous studies and community engagement.Â
In an interview with the °Ő°ůľ±˛úłÜ˛Ô±đ,ĚýNoelani Arista, member of the Kanaka Maoli people of Hawaii, director of the Indigenous Studies Program, and chief proponent of the IIRK, said that the Institute will have three main focusses: Language, land, and governance. The IIRK will include an Indigenous language lab, an on-site knowledge centre, and a physical location that will serve as the centre for the Indigenous Studies Program.
“Our institute proposal sees itself as filling many of the calls to action of the provost report,” Arista said. “We felt strongly that it was very important to create an academic and disciplinary unit that was dedicated to Indigenous research proper.”
Arista explained that initially, the Rimer family was set to sign off on a $10-million donation. However, in the last hour of the meeting, the family’s sons were introduced to the IIRK team and were so enthusiastic about the organization’s prospects that they added on an additional three-million dollars to support the project.
