Congratulations to Drs. Nicki Benson, Jacob Manatowa-Bailey and Christine Webster on the completion of their PhD journey

Pictured above: PhD graduates Nicki Benson and Jacob Manatowa-Bailey. 

Ist photo: Drs. Onowa McIvor, Nicki Benson & her family; 2nd photo: Drs. Jacob Manatowa-Bailey, Onowa McIvor, Nicki Benson, & Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins; 3rd photo: Dr. Jacob Manatowa-Bailey & his family.

Pictured above: PhD graduate Christine Webster.

Ist photo: Dr. Christine Webster & family 2nd photo: Dr. Christine Webster walks the convocation stage; 3rd photo: Dr. Christine Webster & family.

Congratulations to IED's MILR graduates

Pictured above: Jessica Starlund, pictured with her supervisor Dr. Jean-Paul Restoule, graduated with a Masters in Indigenous Language Revitalization. 

Congratulations to IED's first graduates of the Bachelor of Education Indigenous Post-Degree Professional Program

Pictured above, left to right: Ader Yang, Rob Anthony, Hanna Bryant and Jessica Drake convocated on June 12th. 

Please see the UVic News article entitled "A New Path for Teacher Education" by Michelle Butterfield featuring the first graduating cohort of the Bachelor of Education Indigenous Post-Degree Professional Program. 

UVic News

Congratulations to IED's Kwak'wala CILP graduates

Pictured above, left to right: Dr. Leslee Francis Pelton and Kwak'wala CILP graduate, Shelley Cook. 

The IACE Indigenous Recognition Ceremony on June 12, 2025 honoured the achievements of UVic's Indigenous graduates in Education and Fine Arts through a traditional Coast Salish blanket ceremony. This special event brought together the graduates, their families, friends, Elders, and the university community to recognize the dedication, perseverance, and accomplishments of Indigenous students as they celebrated this important milestone in their academic journey.

Blanketed graduates from IED programs included Jacob Manatowa-Bailey, Katia Olsen, and Hanna Bryant. Christine Webster, IED’s first AO, graduated in Leadership Studies.

Pictured above: Jacob Manatowa-Bailey, the successful recipient of the Tsi'tsu'wu'tul Award 2025. 

Perservering with Resilience: Dr. Jacob Manatowa-Bailey Receives the Tsi'tsu'wu'tul Award

Dr. Jacob Manatowa-Bailey received the Tsi'tsu'wu'tul Award for 2025. This award is presented to a graduating Indigenous student at UVic who has demonstrated remarkable resilience in overcoming challenges. Jacob's achievement was announced at the Indigenous Recognition Ceremony on June 12th. Congratulations Jacob for your extraordinary dedication and preserverance. 

Pictured above: The Kwak'wala cohort poses in the Gwayasdams Big House where they listen to instructor Ryan Nicolson explain pieces of their history and the history of the longest standing Big House in BC. 

Ist photo: Program aunties (our nixsolas ) fluent speakers Margaret and Harriet, smile on their way back to Alert Bay after a day of witnessing their students speaking the language and learning about the land and histories; 2nd photo: UVic program leads, Aliki and Deanna, stand under the beautiful and historic house posts.

Pictured above: The W̱SÁNEĆ BAILP cohort. 

Voices of SENĆOŦEN: The First BAILP Cohort Inspires Through Language Learning

The first-ever cohort of the Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Language Proficiency (BAILP) in SENĆOŦEN delivered powerful TED-style presentations—entirely in SENĆOŦEN—for their final course. Students spoke on topics close to their hearts, responded to questions, and shared songs and laughter in their beautiful ancestral language.

This milestone builds on the strong partnership between UVic, Indigenous Education, and the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, following the success of the first BEd in Indigenous Language Revitalization cohort. The community now celebrates a thriving adult proficiency program, a full degree in SENĆOŦEN, and an immersion school expanding to K-12 in Fall 2025.

We are grateful for this inspiring collaboration and the shared pursuit of language freedom.

Pictured above: The W̱SÁNEĆ BAILP cohort, instructors, and language mentors. 

Teaching and Learning Indigenous Perspectives Electives

IED 376 online course offered in September 2025 open to all UVIC students

IED 376 - Indigenous Literature in the Classroom (online)

An examination of works by Indigeous authors for use in K-12 classrooms. An analysis of the role literature plays in shaping and reflecting Indigenous histories, identities, and communities. 

Courses are offered subject to enrollment.

TLIP website