Global engagement
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As North Island College celebrates 50 years, Journeying Together reflects NIC’s ongoing commitment to equity, reconciliation and international engagement shaped by Indigenous perspectives.
2022 NIC Indigenous Language Revitalization Field School with Kapi'olani Commmunity College students and employees
The award-winning international education plan integrates Indigenous knowledge and values into international education, while also creating opportunities for intercultural exchange rooted in truth and respect.
Created by the Office of Global Engagement and shaped by Indigenous leadership, as well as community input, Journeying Together places Indigenous students, employees and communities at its centre.
“Our goal, when we started, was to find a way for International Education at NIC to be truly Indigenous-serving,” says Mark Herringer, Executive Director of Global Engagement. “We wanted to connect NIC’s international students and programming with local Indigenous communities and look at what we do through an Indigenous lens.”
The vision for Journeying Together began to take shape back in 2021, when Métis faculty member Laura Johnson received federal funding to build a new partnership with Tecnológico de Costa Rica. This led to virtual exchanges for Indigenous students and laid the foundation for a broader international plan rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing.
From there Journeying Together, which was also informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, was launched in 2022.
Not long after, more than ten students and 16 community members from regions across the North Island and B.C.’s North participated in NIC’s first fully Indigenous Language Fluency Field School at Kapi’olani Community College in Hawai‘i. The experience allowed students to learn about Indigenous languages and cultures in an international, community-based setting.
At the time, Kapiʻolani Community College’s Chancellor, Dr. Louise Pagotto, said, “We have so much to learn from each other about how to promote Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing within Western academic institutions.”
Since then, Journeying Together has expanded its global reach, building partnerships and opportunities in the U.S., Tanzania, South America, the Philippines, Europe and beyond. Coupled with every new experience was a commitment to continue reflecting on what Indigenization looks like across cultures while deepening that understanding here at NIC.
In addition to partnerships in the field, incoming international students also experience Indigenous ways of knowing through programming such as language lessons with NIC Elders in Residence. From learning about traditional medicines to witnessing ceremonial dances, students are welcomed into a meaningful exchange of culture and perspective.
In recognition of its innovative and collaborative approach, Journeying Together has received multiple honours, including the Reconciliation and Internationalization Award of Excellence from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and a bronze award at the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) World Congress in Montreal.
As NIC marks 50 years of transformation, Journeying Together is an example of how the college continues to grow by listening, learning and expanding global education through Indigenous knowledge.