Identity/Citizenship/Kinship Declaration
This postdoctoral fellowship is aimed at helping advance the careers of individuals who are underrepresented in the public policy landscape – namely, Indigenous, Black and other racialized scholars. The IRPP requires applicants to declare that they meet the criteria associated with these categories, to ensure the funds are being directed in the spirit of this fellowship.
Information collected will be stored in a password-protected digital file inside the Institute and shared only with members of the selection committee.
The submission of information in a declaration deemed to be false or misleading will result in termination of the fellowship appointment.
Black and other racialized applicants (non-Indigenous)
Please provide a signed and dated declaration describing how you identify as Black and/or racialized. Racialized, or “visible minority” under the Employment Equity Act, refers to “persons, other than Aboriginal [Indigenous] peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.” The visible minority population, as described by Statistics Canada, consists mainly (but not exclusively) of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese. (Please note that the terms currently used by Statistics Canada and the Employment Equity Act are currently under review by the federal government.)
Indigenous applicants
The IRPP is conscious of the national dialogue around false claims of Indigeneity, and the harm that this can cause to Indigenous people. As Indigenous rights lawyer Jean Teillet wrote in her report to the University of Saskatchewan about Indigenous identity fraud, “The advantage [fraudsters] gain is stolen, causes harm, and breaches our trust.” Dr. Winona Wheeler told Teillet in the report, “For every fraudster holding a university position, acquiring Indigenous grants and scholarships, there are Indigenous scholars, students and staff who are shut out.”
Several institutions have recently undertaken work on verifying Indigenous citizenship or kinship, including First Nations University, the University of Manitoba, the National Indigenous University Senior Leaders’ Association, the University of Saskatchewan, and Queen’s University. We have drawn the following requirements from frameworks and recommendations developed by those institutions, and in partnership with the Indigenous members of the IRPP’s fellowship advisory committees.
Requirements
Please provide at least one of the following document(s):
- “Certificate of Indian Status” issued by Indigenous Services Canada that is current and not expired;
- A valid membership card from the Manitoba Métis Federation; or a valid membership card from one of the Metis Settlements of Alberta or the Northwest Territory Métis Nation; or a certified copy of a Métis Nation Citizenship card from one of the four provincial affiliates of the Métis National Council (Métis Nation of Ontario including “complete citizenship” confirmation letter from the MNO Registrar, Métis Nation Saskatchewan, Métis Nation of Alberta, Métis Nation British Columbia);
- Certified copy of a Nunavut Inuit Enrollment card, or a beneficiary card/proof of enrolment associated with Land Claim Agreements in the claim regions of Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and Inuvialuit;
- Citizenship identification issued by a First Nation that has a modern Treaty and/or self-government agreement; and/or documentation that indicates membership in a band when the individual does not have a Certificate of Indian Status.
If an applicant lacks the necessary documentation listed above, they must provide a signed and dated declaration detailing their current lived experiences and continued connection/kinship with an officially recognized and rights-bearing Indigenous community, Nation or People. This declaration should encompass specific details about the First Nation, Inuit or Métis group, including their treaty, scrip, land claims, and geographical territory or area. (Rights bearing pertains to the Indigenous nation or collective holding constitutional rights under section 35, encompassing Aboriginal or Treaty rights in their territory.)
The Institute may also request references from a member of the community who has a personal history with the applicant.