Alacea Yerxa sits in her lecture waiting for class to begin. As a fifth-year biomedical sciences student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), she’s ready to dive into the course material for the day. But then, something unexpected happens—a moment so simple and crucial, she almost doesn’t notice it at first. Her professor opens the lecture by highlighting the work of an Indigenous researcher.

It was a small moment but for Yerxa it revealed something she hadn’t realized had been missing. As an Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) student, courses in her first year and part of her second year had yet to include an Indigenous perspective. There has never been a single reference. Yet here, it was quietly woven into one of her classes.

“The first time hearing something Indigenous related within my course, I didn’t actually realize I was missing this aspect of my education,” said Yerxa. “That was just one little step, so small, but was so impactful for me.”

Despite this moment, Yerxa, speaking for herself, does not believe that Indigenous students in STEM feel fully represented and supported at TMU.

“I think there are efforts being made, so I would like to acknowledge that,” said Yerxa. “But it’s also a very low to minimal representation.”

She noted that programs like biomedical sciences and biology are where the most efforts are being made to include Indigenous perspectives, but feels the integration continues to be limited in other STEM fields.

Jordan Auger, another biomedical sciences student, pointed out that she also has not come across many Indigenous perspectives in her courses. Although non-Indigenous herself, Auger recalled that in her four years at TMU, Indigenous perspectives had only come up once in her program during a critical thinking course.

The class explored how western medicine has historically borrowed from Indigenous medicine practice without giving proper recognition. Reflecting on the moment, Auger posed a question, “why was that really the only time I’ve heard about it in my education degree as a science student?”

Recognizing this gap, TMU’s Faculty of Science created the role of advisor to the dean, Indigenous education in 2022. The position focuses on advancing Indigenous perspectives, advising on culturally informed pedagogies and helping increase accessibility to STEM for Indigenous students.

An Outreach office for the Faculty of Science—SciXchange—launched Stoodis Science which provides Indigenous and non-Indigenous students opportunities to explore the Indigenous ways of knowing and how they relate to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM).

However the question remains—has this been enough?

For Brooke Filsinger—current advisor to the dean, Indigenous education and PhD student in environmental applied science and management—progress begins with changing the narrative.

“The biggest thing is the idea of seeing more Indigenous people, Indigenous scientists, Indigenous stories and Indigenous science,” said Filsinger. “When I did my undergrad, I didn’t have any examples of Indigenous stories, science or research that was positive. All of it was like these awful things happened and ‘weren’t they bad?’ That’s not the story I want to tell. That’s not the story I want our faculty to tell.”

Yerxa echoed this sentiment emphasizing the importance of moving away from what’s often called a deficit lens—where Indigenous communities are represented through trauma and linked to negative experiences that have happened to them. She believes real representation in STEM comes with Indigenous students hearing their stories in an uplifting context.

Filsinger also stressed that Indigenous students shouldn’t be pigeonholed or stereotyped into only working on Indigenous topics. TMU, she said, needs to reframe the narrative of how Indigenous science is seen—not as an add-on to western science but as a system of knowledge that stands on its own.

Yerxa adds onto the sentiment. “I would say the best way is taking our perspectives at the same level as you take western perspectives,” she said. “And there’s no hierarchy in the knowledge of western versus Indigenous knowledge.”

When asked what coexistence between western and Indigenous knowledge in STEM at TMU could look like, Yerxa explained how it’s about highlighting Indigenous excellence and Indigenous perspectives where they can and integrating those into the curriculum. Recognizing the knowledge that Indigenous communities have contributed to what we know today, helps create a more empowering and inclusive environment.

“We were always scientists and we were always engineers,” said Yerxa. “We just didn’t have the words for it.”

Yerxa said, the bridge between western and Indigenous programming starts with exposure and education for all students. Creating meaningful change means ensuring that Indigenous perspectives aren’t confined to Indigenous-only spaces. Instead, Yerxa said these perspectives need to be shared and taught to non-Indigenous people. There is value in braiding the two together so that Indigenous knowledge takes up space within the traditionally western-dominant STEM space.

From her own personal experience as a PhD student, Filsinger has found that there are a lot of champions and allies at TMU who are supportive of her work that is focused on inclusion for Indigenous peoples. She is finding her way back in her community and part of that is learning her language.

“I have been able to incorporate the little that I know into my dissertation, my research work,” said Filsinger. “There has been support for working in different ways or perhaps my research looking different or the product of my research looking different.”

Despite the growing understanding from TMU, Filsinger explains the barrier preventing Indigenous students from pursuing or feeling represented in STEM.

“The biggest barrier is trying to exist in the space that was designed to not understand how we operate in the world, how we do science and how we understand things,” said Filsinger.

Her reflection speaks to the broader challenge faced by Indigenous students navigating western academic systems. The existing structure of education often clashes with the Indigenous ways of knowing, learning and being.

For Auger, she recognizes her own role in encouraging that change starts with her understanding her privilege—as someone who hasn’t had to face the barriers that Indigenous students have faced—and speaking up about it. Working for Stoodis Science, Auger wants to give back through her position doing Indigenous outreach and stay vocal about the need to create a more inclusive and culturally aware STEM environment.

Yerxa acknowledges that there is work to be done and steps are being taken to get there.

“There are things in the work and there are people behind the scenes making an effort to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the Faculty of Science curriculum,” she said.

If there is one thing she would love to see happen tomorrow, that would be to have an Indigenous science specific course in her program.

“I think that would be probably one of the coolest things,” said Yerxa. “Just seeing certain stories integrated, certain perspectives integrated is a shift in the right direction.”

For Filsinger she would love to see changes in the curriculum and see more representation in the material that is being taught and in the way that it is being taught. She also spoke about how community is important.

“My main priority is to work on creating that community of Indigenous students within science, within STEM, so that incoming students that chose to engage have a place to go,” said Filsinger.

As TMU continues to develop initiatives for Indigenous inclusion, representation and integrate Indigenous pedagogies into the curriculum, students like Filsinger, Yerxa and Auger remind us that progress in representation isn’t about adding new initiatives, but about transforming everyday learning experiences. 

“My hope for TMU is that we would make space for all these understandings, for all of us to bring our own world views, our own experiences and that we would throw out the idea of being objective and instead allow these experiences to add richness to the science we are doing,” said Filsinger.