The University of British Columbia offers the Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (IGF) and the IGF Research & Engagement Award.
The IGF is a multi-year fellowship offered to Master’s and Doctoral Indigenous students and provides a stipend and tuition funding. Award winners are selected on the basis of academic merit through an annual competition administered by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Several fellowships are awarded each year.
Instituted in 2023, the IGF Research & Engagement Award provides research and travel funding in recognition of the significant community engagement often required for research projects undertaken by Indigenous graduate students. This commitment is aligned with the CAGS (Re)conciliation Task Force Report (2022) Call to Action 2.
We are pleased to announce that RHSC MSc student Makenzie McCallum was selected to receive an Indigenous Graduate Fellowship this year, and MSc student Keyara Brody and PhD candidate Holly Reid were selected to receive an Indigenous Graduate Fellowship Research & Engagement Award.
We are also pleased to announce that Makenzie has won the BC Environment for Indigenous Health Research (BC NEIHR) Master’s Scholarship. Excellent achievements, Makenzie. Congratulations!
Makenzie is an MSc student in the Perception-Action Lab, led by Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul, which investigates the neural mechanisms behind perceptual-motor and social-emotional development from infancy to adulthood. Using brain imaging tools like DTI, EEG, MEG, and MRI, the lab studies brain activation patterns and the impact of concussions. Makenzie’s research focuses on concussion awareness among Indigenous ice hockey players, using a qualitative questionnaire to explore their experiences with concussions.
Makenzie was honored to receive the Indigenous Graduate Fellowship, a recognition that provides invaluable support, enabling Makenzie to pursue her studies with continuous dedication until the completion of her MSc thesis.
Outside of academia, Makenzie is passionate about playing ice hockey. Makenzie currently plays for the UBC Varsity Women’s Hockey team. Having started playing hockey at the age of 4, Makenzie feels privileged to continue pursuing the sport she loves at such a high level.
Keyara Brody is an MSc student working with urban Indigenous youth and their community to better understand the rural-urban Land dichotomy and how access to culture and traditional wellness within urban settings can be improved. It can be increasingly difficult to participate in culture and traditional practices within urban settings given colonial conceptualizations of nature and thus Land being a distinct entity, removed from urban spaces. Thus, there is a need to address what traditional wellness practices look like in urban settings in order to provide better access to traditional practices that increase connections to Land, community and culture and improve overall wellbeing. This project responds to the urgent need for equitable access to traditional wellness and culture among urban Indigenous youth
The Indigenous Graduate Fellowship Research & Engagement award will allow Keyara to further engage with youth and community in a good way. With this award Keyara will be able to dedicate more time to her relations and upholding work and cultural protocols.
Outside of academia Keyara’s passions lie within her community. When not studying Keyara is out in the community doing a land walk with her relations or out on the water visiting with the lake. Keyara’s community is holds her up and allows Keyara to engage with academia while still finding reprieve within her relations.
Holly Reid is a PhD candidate in Dr. Huot’s lab in the Rehabilitation Sciences program, and Holly’s work is also connected to the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy department. Holly’s PhD study was co-created with the 2SLGBTQIA+ Indigenous populations in Vancouver and Victoria regions through two integral partnerships that were started over 2 years ago. Through this study we are interested in understanding how the intersections of these identities influence what people engage in, how they do it, and what meaning and value they derive from it in the context of their life.
Holly is very grateful to have been awarded an Indigenous Graduate Fellowship Research & Engagement Award. Engaging with community members is what breathes life into this work, and so being able to support relationship building is fundamental to positive research experiences for the community and organizational partners. As part of doing community-based research, Holly is required to visit the communities often, resulting in missed opportunities to engage in paid work. This award helps to decrease the financial burden of carrying out these research related activities and provides a more financially sustainable way to do the remainder of their PhD.
Holly doesn’t necessarily see their life as being categorized into academia and non-academia components. Holly’s life is more relational, learning and integrating ideas on a continual basis. For example, Holly may read an article, then go for a walk in the forest with a friend and come out the other side with a new idea for how to write a paper they were stuck on. Or Holly learns from the community through asking their research questions which in turn also applies to Holly’s personal values. Holly spends a lot of time on the land and visiting with family, who are the light of their life. Holly’s favorite occupations are finding ways to be active, such as cycling, hiking, camping and rock climbing.
Congratulations to Makenzie, Keyara, and Holly on receiving your awards!