Memorial University has received a report from First Peoples Group that will inform the development of an Indigenous verification protocol.

First Peoples Group is a certified Indigenous business independent from Memorial that was engaged to develop the report.

Their work included a review of current Indigenous verification practices at Memorial and other Canadian universities, as well as a series of consultations with self-identifying Indigenous faculty, staff, students and alumni of Memorial, and Indigenous nations, communities and organizations within the province.

“This report is an important step forward in our commitment to reconciliation, and we are grateful to those who participated in consultations on a complex and deeply personal topic,” said Dr. Neil Bose, president and vice-chancellor, pro tempore.

The report contains information about what First Peoples Group heard in the consultations, as well as recommendations for Memorial to consider in its work to develop an Indigenous verification protocol.

“While no decisions have been made about what a protocol for Memorial might entail, the sincere, thoughtful and insightful feedback in this report gives us much to consider,” said Dr. Bose.

The university will continue to support Indigenous leadership in providing time and space for Indigenous voices to be heard as it finds a way forward on the matter of Indigenous verification.

Memorial will carefully consider the full contents of the report before committing to or commenting on specific recommendations.

Further opportunities for consultation will be offered through the university’s existing policy development framework before a policy is finalized.

The report is now publicly available on Memorial’s website.