Vianne Timmons signed Indspire award nomination requiring recognition with Indigenous community

A copy of Vianne Timmons's nomination form for the Indspire awards shows the university president signed a declaration attesting to recognition with an Indigenous community, two years before accepting an award designed for Indigenous people, by Indigenous people.

The nomination form obtained by CBC News, dated August 2017, contains three sections that nominees were required to fill out, including contact information, "Canadian Indigenous Ancestry" information, and a signed declaration.

Under Section 2 of the application, Timmons selected "First Nation (including status and non-status on or off reserve)" and specified being of "Mi'kmaw heritage."

She then signed the declaration. The concluding line read, "I am of First Nations, Inuit or Mtis heritage and further that I am recognized with the community(ies) as stated in section two above."

It is not clear what community Timmons is referring to or how "Mi'kmaw heritage" may qualify as a community. She did not respond to CBC News's request for an interview, which included a request to discuss how Timmons reconciles saying she has never claimed identity with attesting to being recognized with a First Nation community.

In the wake of a CBC News investigation thatlooked into her previous statements on her Mi'kmawancestry and her past membership in an unrecognized band, Timmons has reiterated that she feels she has always been clear in making the distinction that she has Mi'kmaw ancestrybut does not claim to be Mi'kmaw.

Being claimed or recognized by a community is often considered a crucial element to a claim to Indigenous identity. According to Tyler Sack, whose graduate studies focused on Indigenous identity, it is not the only factor sometimes Indigenous individuals have been forcibly removed from their community, for example but in his opinion, community recognition supersedes blood relation.

"It's about relationality. It's about placing people in their community and in their family. So there's often subtle language around it questions that are indirect," said Sack, a Mi'kmaw man who considers both Membertou and Sipekne'katik First Nations home, in an interview in February.

"I would ask someone, if I don't know them, 'Where are you from?' And they would tell me. They can place themselves in community, not just about location but who they're related to or who I might know, and we might be related somehow and we can chart that out orally."

Turned down award

The Indspire Awards formerly the Aboriginal Achievement Awards are considered the highest honour the Indigenous community bestows upon its own people, according to the organization's website.

In an interview with CBC News on Feb. 28, Timmons said she was honoured with the award for education in 2019 because of her work helping to keep First Nations University open amid funding cuts.

She said she initially turned it down in 2019, despite having signed the application form two years earlier.

"I went back to them and said,'I do not identify as Mi'kmaw, so I'm not comfortable accepting this.' They came back and said, 'We know you don't identify as Mi'kmaw. It's very clear in the nomination we received. The reason we're providing the award was your work you did, particularly around First Nations [University],'" Timmons said.

She said she accepted the award only after speaking with an elder in Regina who advised that in accepting the award, she would acknowledge her ancestors.

"I advocated publicly for the funding to be reinstated. I worked with the students. It wasn't just me. I worked very closely with the students at First Nations University, and we worked very hard, got the funding reinstated," Timmons told CBC News.

"So that was really the advocacy I had done around post-secondary, inclusion and Indigenization, which was prior to truth and reconciliation."

Paul Dederick, spokesperson for the University of Regina, said the president's office received a request from Indspire on July 25, 2017, to consider nominating Timmons for the award. The university assembled the nomination package, which was then signed by Timmons in August 2017.

"Dr. Timmons approved the submission of the nomination package and the information it contained," Dederick said.

Unrecognized Bras d'Orgroupsays Timmons's membership lasted 2 years

For years, Timmons's professional biographies online and her publicly posted resum noted that she was a member of the Bras d'Or Mi'kmaq First Nation in Cape Breton. The biographies include one used for Timmons's 2018 appointment to the prime minister's independent advisory board for Senate appointments.

Neither the Union of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq nor the federal government recognize the group.

Timmons told CBC News she held a membership for only a year.

"Either [my brother] sent in the genealogy or they asked for it. So they had the genealogy and he registered us as a family with the [Bras d'Or] band," Timmons said.

"And at that time I did acknowledge it. I think it was 2009, around there. And then I looked into it on my own and I didn't feel comfortable identifying as a member of a band that was not official or a member of a band anyway, because I was not Mi'kmaw, I was not raised Mi'kmaw, and so I removed it and never referred to it again."

However, Rose Collins, membership chair of the Bras d'Or Mi'kmaq First Nation group, said Timmons's membership began in 2011 and lasted until 2013.

Documents provided by Collins show a copy of Timmons's family tree, with a note at the top reading, "The following ancestry chart is not in the requested format, but I hope it is acceptable," followed by the date, her name and address, date of birth, place of birth in British Columbia and, "Mi'kmawancestry as per the following genealogy background."

CBC News has asked Timmons to discuss the documents' submission and membership duration, but she has not responded.

Collins said the group does not recognize Timmons as part of their community.

Since Timmonshad not beena member for at least four years at the time, it is not clear if Timmons was referring to Bras d'Or Mi'kmaq First Nation group when she signed the declaration for the Indspire award.

Nomination package referenced Bras d'Or

However, the nomination package notes Timmons has Mi'kmaw ancestry through Bras d'Or.

Timmons was president of the University of Regina for 12 years. It was during her tenure there that the Indspire nomination package was submitted.

Under a section called "Employment history and career contributions," many of Timmons's achievements in education are noted. At one point, the submission notes, "Some of her other research has included the well-being of Indigenous peoples, including members of Mi'kmaq First Nation, a group to which she has ancestry (Bras d'Or)."

Also included in the nomination package were letters of support from Thomas Chase, then vice-provost and academic vice-president academic at the University of Regina, and Emily Grafton, the executive lead of Indigenization.

Grafton said she personally witnessed Timmons's commitment to transforming the University of Regina to an institution that "better supports, represents, and encourages the success of Indigenous students and the well-being of our communities."

"An award of this calibre would not just celebrate Vianne's achievements for Indigenous education and community well-being, but it would be one shared by all those that Vianne works with at the University of Regina to better support and encourage the educational successes of Indigenous peoples," said Grafton.

Chase wrote that amid a severe funding cut by both provincial and federal governments to First Nations University, Timmons worked tirelessly to develop a new strategic plan for the university.

"The lndspire Awards are meant to promote role models for young Indigenous people, and Dr. Timmons, who herself identifies as a woman of Indigenous ancestry, would be an exceptional woman to fill this role," wrote Chase, who is now principal and academic vice-president of Yorkville University's B.C. campus.

Indspire, a registered charity, has not responded to multiple emails and calls from CBC News.

However, the Independent reported through berrygrounds podcast that Indspire responded to journalist Justin Brake in February. In his podcast episode released Monday, Brake said Indspire told him they had reviewed Timmons'snominationrecords and were satisfied she met eligibility criteria.

Timmons did not respond to CBC's questions about the nomination submission.

No details from MUN

Pam Palmater, a member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick, said Timmons should return the Indspire award. If she doesn't, Palmater said, Indspire should rescind it.

In a March 9 interview with CBC News Palmater, a Mi'kmaw lawyer, academic and advocate, said she didn'tbelieve Timmons's efforts to distinguish heritage and identity have been "very honest or accountable."

Jackie Ottmann, president of First Nations University of Canada, has also publicly expressed her disappointment in Timmons's acceptance of the award.

• Mi'kmaw lawyer, academic calls on MUN to investigate president over statements on Indigenous heritage

Timmons's 2019 CV, released publicly by Memorial University, mentions Indspire in two places: once under a heading of "awards, honours and scholarships" and again under "non-academic chairs and appointments," where it notes she acted as a juror in 2019 for the 2020 awards, for the categories of education and lifetime achievement.

On March 13, the university's governing body, the board of regents, announced it would be convening a roundtable of Indigenous leaders and individuals as it discusses Timmons's claims and the issue of identity. As of Wednesday, no new details on the process had been released.

The university's Office of Indigenous Affairs has asked that the university community give them space to gather and discuss.

Timmons issued an apology March 13 and has voluntarily stepped away as president and vice-chancellor of Memorial University while the process unfolds. She will be paid during her six-week leave of absence.

"While I have shared that I am not Mi'kmaw and I do not claim an Indigenous identity, questions about my intentions in identifying my Indigenous ancestry and whether I have benefited from sharing my understanding of my family's history have sparked important conversations on and beyond our campus," Timmons wrote in a statement.

"I have been reflecting on this feedback from the Indigenous community, and I sincerely regret any hurt or confusion sharing my story may have caused. That was never my intention and I deeply apologize to those I have impacted."

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