The Indigenous-Ukrainian Relationship Initiative started as a joint initiative between the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at MacEwan University and the Kule Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta. Read more: About

Upcoming Events

The Indigenous-Ukrainian Relationship Initiative (IURI) invites you to a special online event – a conversation with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair entitled “Ukrainian people are my people too: an Indigenous perspective on relationality, war, and reconciliation.”

Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation. He is an award-winning writer, editor and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba who was named by Maclean’s magazine in 2022 as one of the most influential people in Canada. Niigaan is a multiple nominee of Canadian columnist of the year (winning in 2018) and his commentary appears weekly on multiple platforms across Canada – from the pages of The Winnipeg Free Press to TV shows on CBC, APTN and on his co-hosted podcast Niigaan and the Lone Ranger. His first book Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre (McClelland & Stewart, 2024) was a national bestseller that won the 2024 Governor General Award for Non-fiction. He is a former secondary school teacher who won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

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Current Projects

Visiting Neighbors, Learning from the Land

Visiting Neighbors, Learning from the Land is a participatory research project of the Indigenous Ukrainian Relationship Initiative. The core of the project was a two-day event on the land that took place in the summer of 2023 for a group of 25 participants. The visiting happened at two historic sites located in east central Alberta – the area east of Edmonton with historically large Indigenous and Ukrainian populations – Métis Crossing and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.

Throughout 2024, Maryna Chernyavska and Larysa Hayduk have interviewed many of the project participants and are currently working on analyzing the interviews and compiling a project report to be shared with the participants for feedback.

Learn more about our past projects and events on the Projects & Events page.