The Centre for Reconciliation Studies is faith-affirming of First Nations spiritual values and traditions, gifts of the Creator, and all our relations.
Our Reconciliation Studies programs recognize the harm done by colonizing religion and seek instead to welcome and affirm the varying faith and spiritual traditions that give life to our Indigenous speakers and guests, students, and faculty.
Reconciliation Studies Programs
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Certificate in Reconciliation Studies equips students to learn together about the history, culture, and worldview of our Indigenous friends and neighbours; take an honest look at how diverse peoples encountered each other on Turtle Island as Europeans began to land and settle here; become informed about the histories of treaties and our responsibilities; understand the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls to Action; and respond by investigating the possibilities and challenges of reconciliation as we head toward the future together.
The successful completion of the Certificate in Reconciliation Studies requires a total of 18 credit hours.
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The delivery methods used include hybrid-online courses with a short 10-day residency on campus at SSU and the Peskotomuhkati Nation’s Camp Chiputneticook (15 minutes from St. Stephen), a 2-week learning tour to Moosonee and Moose Factory on the coast of James Bay in the homeland of the Moose Cree, and a reconciliation studies practicum.
Meet the CRS Faculty
David Perley, PhD (cand.)
AFFILIATE FACULTY in RECONCILIATION STUDIES
ST. STEPHEN'S UNIVERSITY
Imelda Perley, PhD (h.c.)
AFFILIATE FACULTY in RECONCILIATION STUDIES
ST. STEPHEN'S UNIVERSITY
Andy Wood, MMin
AFFILIATE FACULTY in RECONCILIATION STUDIES
ST. STEPHEN'S UNIVERSITY
RECONCILIATION STUDIES LEARNING TOUR
Winnipeg / Treaty 1 Territory
MAY 22 – JUNE 1, 2025
PROGRAMS / RECONCILIATION STUDIES / LEARNING TOUR
Listening, Learning, and Walking Together
From May 22 to June 1, 2025, St. Stephen’s University offers a ten-day Learning Tour to Winnipeg, Treaty 1 Territory (and surrounding areas), where participants will learn about local reconciliation efforts between settler and Indigenous peoples. We will meet with elders and knowledge-keepers as well as Indigenous and settler activists, academics, artists and others who are directly involved in community-based work to foster cultural revitalization, social justice and right relations between Indigenous and settler peoples.
Why Winnipeg?
Located on the original lands of the Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota and Dene peoples and on the homeland of the Red River Métis, the city of Winnipeg has an extraordinary and ongoing history as a centre of colonization and Indigenous resistance and revitalization in Turtle Island/North America. As the home of the largest urban Indigenous community in the country, Winnipeg harbours insights that reveal the deep challenges as well as the remarkable efforts to create a better future for coming generations. While the majority of our time will be spent in Winnipeg itself, the tour will also include a retreat at an Indigenous-led spiritual centre outside of the city.
At a glance.
DATES – May. 22 – June 1, 2025
CREDIT HOURS – 6 c/h (only if taken for credit)
TOTAL TRIP COST FOR CREDIT – $3,520 CAD + flights (includes tuition)
TOTAL TRIP COST FOR NON-CREDIT – $1,500 CAD + flights
PROGRAM INFO – When taken for academic credit, the Learning Tour forms one component of SSU’s Reconciliation Studies Certificate, which in turn can be taken on its own or integrated into a master’s degree at SSU.
CRS ADVISORY COUNCIL
In consultation with Indigenous colleagues, neighbours, and friends, CRS programs and initiatives are designed to prepare students to commit to an ongoing process of reconciliation as invited by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
An advisory council has been formed to ensure ongoing engagement with, feedback from, and accountability to Indigenous leaders and educators for the initiatives of CRS. Our advisory council currently includes:
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Judith Moses (St. Andrews, NB)
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Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux (Thunder Bay, ON)
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Kyle Mason (Winnipeg, MB)
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Roland Sappier (Fredericton, NB)
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David Perley (Tobique, NB)
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Imelda Perley (Tobique, NB)
PRINCIPLES & VALUES
OUR PARTNERS
St. Stephen’s University is located on the homeland of the Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) people. We are grateful for their welcome and friendship, and we are always seeking ways in which we can develop our relationship in mutually respectful ways, including our conversations with Chief Hugh Akagi and others about our Reconciliation Studies program. It is a privilege that we are able to locate some of our program on the Peskotomuhkati Nation’s Camp Chiputneticook (15 minutes north of St. Stephen’s University).
We respect the intentions of the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, while acknowledging the many ways in which governments and others have failed to honour their part of those agreements. It is our desire to live up to the responsibility of being “treaty relatives.”