Please Note

Important Changes to IPJP

The Indigenous Peoples and Justice Programs are currently in the process of being restructured. The IPJAK (Sociology) and the IPJAK/LLB (Sociology and Law) programs offered through IPJP will be discontinued, however, the Aboriginal Public Administration (APA) will continue to be offered through the Department of Political Studies. Please contact Blair Pisio at
b.pisio@usask.ca or 966-1666 for further information.

Please Note: No new students will be accepted to the IPJP Minor, IPJAK, IPJAK/LLB program. Students who have begun work on these programs prior to May 2011 will be allowed to finish the program, per College of Arts and Science regulations. Academic equivalents for IPJP 301.3, 302.3, 402.3, and 403.3 courses have been or are being identified and will continue to be available to students so they can complete their program requirements. Students who require one or more of these courses to complete their program requirements must contact the Undergraduate Student Office for information on which substitute course to take.

For further information please contact Dr. Harley Dickinson (Vice-Dean, Social Sciences), Dr. Winona Wheeler (Depatment Head, Native Studies) or Dr. Joe Garcea (Department Head, Political Studies)

Letter to IPJP students from Harley Dickinson, Vice-Dean

The Indigenous Peoples and Justice Programs (IPJP) are intended to create a focus at the University of Saskatchewan for teaching and research related to Indigenous peoples and justice. It developed out of a widespread sense that the criminal justice system has failed Aboriginal people and out of concerns about the adequacy of current legal and constitutional paradigms to address Aboriginal issues. It is also part of a broader commitment by the University of Saskatchewan to do more to address the needs of Aboriginal people. An important goal of IPJP is to foster partnerships between Aboriginal communities and scholars in a number of academic disciplines; partnerships which are based on respect for Aboriginal knowledge, a mutual interest in meeting the needs of Aboriginal communities, and a sharing of knowledge and expertise.

The proposal that gave rise to IPJI (IPJP) was developed under the Priority Determination Process for the University of Saskatchewan and  was approved by the University Council on January 25, 2001. A key element of its articulation and implementation has been collaboration between the College of Arts and Science (specifically, the Department of Political Studies and the Department of Sociology) and the College of Law.  This collaboration between members of the legal and social science communities at the University of Saskatchewan implicitly recognizes the broad scope of issues underlying the relationship between Aboriginal people and the justice system.

One of the key goals of IPJP is to foster interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate academic and research programs that explore Indigenous Knowledge and ways of knowing in the realms of justice, law and social order. To achieve this goal four capstone courses have been created to act as the central feature of IPJP. The four capstone courses will provide a foundation on which participating departments and colleges can further develop their academic programs to reflect Indigenous peoples and justice while retaining their disciplinary distinctiveness.

August 31, 2011