Laurentian University Library & Archives is pleased to host this presentation by colleagues from Simon Fraser University. Please note that the presentation will be in English.
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 1pm EST
Location: Online
Registration: Please register to attend
Description: Guided by the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council’s Walk This Path With Us calls to action, Simon Fraser University Library has been dedicated to decolonial initiatives in support of reconciliation across departments. Since 2018 the Decolonizing the Library Working Group (DLWG) has supported employee learning through hosting reading and reflection circles, developing a workshop on positionality and land acknowledgements, consulting on reparative metadata approaches, and writing a series of public blog posts call Project 57, which was inspired by TRC Call to Action 57. While the DLWG focuses on supporting library employees, the Indigenous Initiatives librarians work with the SFU community broadly on decolonization, reconciliation, and Indigenization. This includes collaborating with library colleagues on projects, policies, and procedures, such as the Indigenous Materials: Collection Development Guidelines and the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre.
Starting by acknowledging you don’t know what you don’t know, members of the SFU Library have been on a learning journey to better understand what decolonization is and how it intersects with librarianship. Join Ashley, Sandhya, and Mark to learn about their on-going learning process, working as a community, and why this work is important.
Presenters:
Ashley Edwards, Indigenous Initiatives and Instruction Librarian, Simon Fraser University
Ashley Edwards is Métis-settler, and a citizen of Métis Nation British Columbia with roots in the historic Red River Settlement community of St. Francois Xavier, MB. She was raised on Stó:lō téméxw, in the Fraser Valley, BC, and currently lives on the shared territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm Peoples, colonially known as Burnaby, BC. Ashley is the Indigenous Initiatives and Instruction librarian with Simon Fraser University Library, an instructor in the Library and Information Technology program at Langara College, and a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at SFU. Her research looks at library education and Indigenous informed curriculum.
Ashley’s publications: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0631-3107
Sandhya Ghai, Director, Equity Diversity and Inclusion, Simon Fraser University
As an Equity Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner, Sandhya Ghai’s passion lies in cultivating mindful inclusion and fostering safe and brave spaces for individuals and organizations to whole-heartedly continue on a journey of learning, unlearning and relearning. She firmly believes that true equity within any organization can only be achieved when each and every employee embraces both individual and collective responsibility towards systemic change.
Her lived experiences coming from India where she witnessed myriad of inequities based on race, class, gender, age, religion, education, and all kinds of injustices that one can think of to Canada that at least outwardly celebrates diversity and inclusion have sparked an interest in her to delve deeper into the realities of one’s identity and how it can be both empowering and oppressing.
Sandhya holds an MA in Adult Education (University of British Columbia, 2007) and an MA in English (India, 2000). She is a certified Intercultural Practitioner (Norquest College, 2018). Being immersed in the EDI space since 2017 and having the experience of working with several organizations to drive meaningful transformation, she is grateful to finally witness the needle shifting from merely raising awareness to having courageous conversations and tangible impact.
Mark Jordan, Associate Dean of Libraries, Digital Strategy, Simon Fraser University
Mark is a settler who currently works and lives on the unceded Traditional Coast Salish Lands including the Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ), Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations. He is originally from Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island), which is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. His work at SFU includes promoting Indigenous Data Sovereignty and reducing the colonial bias in online and digital systems created by libraries.
