Department of Indigenous Studies
Chair, Rod Beresford BSc, MSc
The Department of Indigenous Studies of Unama’ki College brings together full and part-time faculty members involved in the teaching and development of university courses within the disciplines of Mi’kmaq Studies and MSIT /Integrative Science.
Mi’kmaq Studies as a discipline, examines aspects of Mi’kmaw culture including language, governance, spirituality and contemporary social issues. It offers 22 courses within the discipline of Mi’kmaq Studies and the courses are organized into two main streams: ‘language and culture’ and ‘governance and history’. Courses are open to all students enrolled at Cape Breton University. Students may obtain a Bachelor of Arts (BA) / Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BACS) Major or Minor in Mi’kmaq Studies or may simply wish to take a few courses as electives within the Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BACS) or Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Degrees. M”kmaq Studies courses are often of interest to students who plan to pursue careers in Law, Medicine, Social Work, Teaching or Anthropology.
Integrative Science brings together scientific knowledge and ways of knowing from Indigenous and Western worldviews to provide science education. This “bringing knowledge together” is known as Toqwa’tu’kl Kjijitaqnn in the Mi’kmaq language and as “Two-Eyed Seeing” in the words of Mi’kmaq Elder, Albert Marshall. “Two-Eyed Seeing” is more than a label, it is a powerful reminder of the
Integrative Science program’s visionary goal of learning to see from our one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and from our other eye with the strengths of mainstream scientific knowledges and to use these together for the benefit of all. The Integrative Science program works to achieve such “Living Knowledge for the 21st Century” through learning opportunities in classrooms, laboratories, outdoors, community workshops and work placements. Bachelor of Science Community Studies (BScCS): Integrated Science/Toqwa’tu’kl Kjijitaqnn, offers a unique Bachelor of Science Community Studies (BScCS) four year undergraduate degree, with a concentration in Integrative Science/Toqwa’tu’kl Kjijitaqnn.
Please see the School of Arts and Social Sciences for Mi’kmaq Studies Departmental Regulations
Mi’kmaq Studies
1. Bachelor of Arts (BA)/Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BACS): Concentration, Major and/or Minor (Mi’kmaq Studies)
2. Electives: Bachelor of Arts (BA)/Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BACS)/Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (Mi’kmaq Studies)
3. Bachelor of Science Community Studies (BScCS): Concentration (Integrated Science/Toqwa’tu’kl Kjijitaqnn)
4. Electives: (MSIT)
5. Mi’kmaq Studies as teachables for the Bachelor of Education (BEd)
MI’KMAQ STUDIES COURSES AS TEACHABLES FOR THE BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (BEd)
MI’KMAQ STUDIES courses are recognized as a teachable for application to Nova Scotia Bachelor of Education (BEd) P