Declarations of Indigenous Citizenship or Membership at Western
In Summer 2025, Western University implemented a policy and associated procedure to verify declarations of Indigenous citizenship and membership for designated or preferred opportunities for Indigenous students, staff and faculty. Indigenous ethnic fraud is harmful to past, current and prospective Indigenous students, staff, faculty and the University. Western is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and diverse culture and safeguarding against Indigenous ethnic fraud.
Indigenous ethnic fraud is harmful to past, current and prospective Indigenous students, staff, faculty and the University. Western is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and diverse culture and safeguarding against Indigenous ethnic fraud.
This Policy and Procedure builds on the foundations established by Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Towards Western at 150: Western University Strategic Plan and Western’s Indigenous Strategic Plan. The Policy is also in step with the broader postsecondary sector and aligned with the Tri-Agency's guidelines and reports pertaining to Indigenous citizenship and membership.
This is an Indigenous policy that has been developed and approved by the local Indigenous communities according to their sovereign right to self-determination.
The Indigenous Affirmation Advisory Committee (IAAC), through the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, is responsible for implementing the Procedure. The IAAC includes representatives from the local Indigenous communities, Indigenous faculty members and Indigenous staff at Western.
The Policy is intended to ensure that any material advantage or intangible benefits are made available to students, staff and faculty who can provide verifiable documentation or evidence of their Indigenous citizenship or membership.
Self-identifying Indigenous students are welcome to engage with the space, programs and services at all Indigenous spaces on campus, including the Indigenous Student Centre. In instances where material advantage is gained, the Policy will apply to students.
Access and review the full Policy and Procedure.
Guiding Principles
Indigenous students, staff, and faculty at postsecondary education institutions across the country have long been advocating for institutional processes to safeguard against Indigenous ethnic fraud.
Western University will no longer rely on unverified Indigenous self-identification processes when hiring and/or selecting Indigenous people for designated/preferred Indigenous roles, appointments and initiatives or providing preference to Indigenous applicants/candidates for material advantage.
Drawing on input from Indigenous students, staff, faculty and community partners, the University will implement an Indigenous-led process to affirm declarations of Indigenous citizenship or membership with documentation under these guidelines.
The University:
- Is committed to ensuring that Indigenous-designated or -preferred roles/opportunities are offered to and occupied by candidates with verifiable Indigenous citizenship or membership.
- Recognizes that the overreliance on self-declarations of Indigenous identity caused harm to Indigenous Peoples and contributed to Indigenous ethnic fraud in post-secondary institutions.
- Understands that verifying Indigenous citizenship and membership to legitimate Indigenous Nations and governments can only be led by Indigenous people.
- Acknowledges that the development of this Policy placed a significant burden on the Indigenous students, staff and faculty who are currently underrepresented at the University.
- Is actively working to foster an inclusive, safe and supportive environment for a diversity of Indigenous people.
- Recognizes that historical and ongoing colonial politics have systematically disconnected Indigenous people in unique and interconnected ways and will rely on guidance from the IAAC to honour Indigenous relational accountability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this Policy important?
Who does the Policy apply to?
The Policy applies to prospective or current faculty, Graduate Teaching Assistants, staff, librarians, archivists, students, post-doctoral scholars and Indigenous Elders and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers who make a declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership that results in a material advantage and/or intangible benefits at Western.
This policy applies to people who identify themselves as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) or Global Indigenous, as defined by UNDRIP, or when preference is being given to Indigenous candidates.
What part of the affirmation process applies to Indigenous students?
What are material advantages?
What are intangible benefits?
Intangible benefits are not measurable or physical attributes, but advantages such as influence, authority and perspectives that are reserved for Indigenous peoples and must be safeguarded accordingly. Within the context of the Policy, the regulation of intangible benefits pertains to those who exercise authority over students in the classroom (i.e., professor, lecturer). This means that these individuals must submit to the Policy if they claim to assert or present themselves as warranting Indigenous positionality and therein share perspectives reserved for Indigenous peoples.
Scenario 1: What should happen if a lecturer claims to be Indigenous and asserts an Indigenous perspective (or asserts influence, authority, or speaks from the perspective of an Indigenous person) within the classroom?
- The lecturer would be required to submit to the Policy before any further sharing would be appropriate. Ideally, all speakers would be apprised of the expectations of the policy prior to any influence in the classroom.
Scenario 2: What should happen if a student in a classroom articulated an Indigenous perspective?
- For the purposes of supporting the academic learning environment, students shall be permitted to share ideas or thoughts as part of a pedagogical practice; however, it will remain the responsibility of the professor or person in authority to ensure that all conversations are respectful, according to Western’s Student Code of Conduct.
Can I, as a student, still self-identify?
Who is responsible for enacting the Policy?
Responsibility for enacting and upholding the Policy rests with the entire university community. This includes all faculties, departments, administrative units, and hiring committees, particularly those in a position to recruit for Indigenous designated or preferred roles. To support this, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives will serve as a central resource, offering guidance, education, and support to ensure that the Policy is applied consistently and respectfully across all areas of the university.
If you have specific questions about the affirmation process, please contact: indigenous.affirmation@uwo.ca.
What does the affirmation process entail?
Submission of required documentation (as outlined in the Procedure document – see pg. 3) and verification of Indigenous citizenship or membership by the Indigenous Affirmation Advisory Committee (see pg. 1).
What documentation is required to support my declaration?
- A statement of relational positionality (up to 4 pages). Please see the Procedure for specific requirements.
- Two documents demonstrating proof of citizenship or membership to the Indigenous Nation who claims the individual. Please see pg. 4 in the Procedure for a list of approved modes of affirmation.
I have previously submitted documentation for the Policy and Procedure for a previous opportunity at Western. Do I need to submit it again?
All decisions are recorded for future opportunities at Western, whether the declaration was affirmed or not. If the declaration was not affirmed, but you are now able to provide affirming evidence, it is possible to submit new or previously missing documentation to the IAAC for further review.
How will my information be used and stored?
The Office of Indigenous Initiatives secures all documents in a private portal. Only select personnel from the OII will be able to access the documentation and personal information from the portal. The information is used strictly for affirmation purposes by the Indigenous Affirmation Advisory Committee. No other unit or individual will have access to the portal.
How will I be notified of the outcome of the verification process, and what is the timeline for communication and verification?
Once documents are submitted through the portal, allow up to three weeks for communication from the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (via indigenous.affirmation@uwo.ca). This email will inform you of the status of the verification process.
I received an email from OII asking for additional documentation to support my submission. What do I do?
Submit the additional documentation as requested using the same form as your initial submission. If you have further questions or need support, please contact indigenous.affirmation@uwo.ca.
How will the Policy support the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
The Policy will enhance the University’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion by ensuring accurate representation and support for Indigenous people.
How to affirm your Indigenous citizenship or membership
Documentation Submission Portals
Staff, Faculty & Community Members
The Policy applies to prospective and current staff, faculty, librarians, archivists, and Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. This Policy also applies to faculty members in non-Indigenous designated roles who declare Indigenous citizenship or membership and hold a position of authority over, teach or supervise students or post-doctoral scholars.
To submit a declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership and upload the requisite documentation, please complete the Declaration of Indigenous Citizenship or Membership Form.
Students
As of Summer 2025, the Policy and Procedure apply to prospective and/or enrolled students at Western when applying to access a material advantage due to their Indigenous citizenship or membership that has been explicitly designated for Indigenous students or where Indigenous students are given preference. ISC will lead this procedure for Indigenous students, with support from the IAAC, as needed.
If you have submitted your documents to the ISC beginning July 2025, you will not be asked to do so again.
To submit a declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership and upload the requisite documentation, please complete the Student Declaration of Indigenous Citizenship or Membership Form.
If no documentation exists
Opportunities for individuals who have been disenfranchised and are currently reconnecting to their Indigenous communities will be considered by the IAAC through the individual’s statement of ‘Relational Positionality’ and two additional supporting documents (see page 4) as per the Procedure. A process informed by relational accountability requires the individual to describe and demonstrate their connection and responsibilities to All Our Relations, including ourselves, one another, family lineage, the community(ies) who ‘claim us’, the organizations where we work and, essentially, all of creation.
Supporting Resources
Policy 1.58 and Procedure
Hiring Unit Decision Tree
Indigenous Student Decision Tree
Staff/Community Member Decision Tree
Positionality Statement Requirements and List of Approved Documentation
Compliance
Of individuals subject to the policy
Western recognizes that identifying who is and who is not a member of an Indigenous community must be done by the community they claim, not the University. For this reason, the verification process will rely on the individual submitting the accepted forms of documentation that demonstrate their Indigenous citizenship or membership.
In cases where no documentation exists, the Procedure indicates which steps will be followed by the IAAC, and each case will be assessed individually. The IAAC can exercise its discretion to require an individual to provide additional information, particularly in situations where the original documentation submitted reveals inconsistencies or discrepancies.
This Policy and Procedure to verify Indigenous citizenship and/or membership has been created to mitigate the cases of Indigenous ethnic fraud at the University and ensure opportunities designated for Indigenous people are given to the people for whom they are intended. The verification process concerns which Indigenous community(ies) claims the individual and their lived experiences of their Indigenous citizenship or membership.
If an individual’s declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership is not affirmed under this Procedure and the associated Policy, the individual has five days to initiate the Appeal Process, or that individual will not be eligible for any future Indigenous-designated/preferred positions or other Indigenous-designated/preferred programs or opportunities at Western. If circumstances should change and an individual becomes able to provide new or updated affirming evidence, they may re-engage the IAAC for further review for future positions.
Of Units/Depts at Western
Responsibility for enacting and upholding the Policy rests with the entire university community. This includes all faculties, departments, administrative units, and hiring committees—particularly those in a position to recruit for Indigenous designated or preferred roles. Every unit involved in hiring, whether academic or non-academic, is accountable for ensuring that the principles and commitments outlined in the Policy are actively integrated into their recruitment, selection, and retention practices.
This shared responsibility means that the implementation of the Policy is not limited to a single office or group, but is a collective obligation that spans the entire campus. All current and prospective staff, faculty, and students are expected to engage with the Policy and its associated procedures in a meaningful and informed manner. To support this, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives will serve as a central resource, offering guidance, education, and support to ensure that the Policy is applied consistently and respectfully across all areas of the university.
By embedding this responsibility institution-wide, the university affirms its commitment to reconciliation, equity, and the meaningful inclusion of Indigenous voices and perspectives in all aspects of campus life.
Indigenous Affirmation Advisory Committee (IAAC)
The IAAC, through the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, is responsible for the campus-wide implementation of the Procedures, and associated Policy, at Western.
The IAAC includes representatives from the local Indigenous communities, Indigenous faculty members and Indigenous staff at Western. The VP/AVP (Indigenous Initiatives) will form an IAAC on an ad hoc basis to verify all declarations of Indigenous citizenship or membership subject to this Procedure. Each IAAC will include a Chair (an Indigenous employee at Western) and two other local Indigenous community members from any of the local First Nation communities upon which the University is situated (specifically, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida of the Thames First Nation, and Munsee-Delaware Nation).
The IAAC can exercise its discretion to require an individual to provide additional information, including situations in which the original material submitted shows inconsistencies.
Western recognizes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the principle of Indigenous self-determination.
Note on Privacy
The University will safeguard all confidential information provided and comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
