A student activist group is holding the “Break The Chain Protest”, at Nipissing University on Thursday April 3rd because they say the school has failed improve Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility (EDIA) for Indigenous students.
705BLACKFLY.COM spoke to a student who wishes to remain anonymous. We will refer to them as ‘X’.
“Folks who are needing equity-based services, anything to do with reconciliation, especially after the Equity Centre’s closure in September 2024, is a topic on a lot of our minds right now,” X says. “A lot of students feel afraid to speak up and that is an environment that has been fostered by Nipissing University.”
According to a news release, Nipissing University is currently undergoing an independent EDIA and reconciliation audit through the external organization, ParriagGroup. X told us that services to Indigenous students have been drastically cut.
“We have not had a director of the office of indigenous initiatives for multiple months. That position has remained vacant. It has not been filled. We also lost our holistic wellness program, our Indigenous-led holistic wellness program since November.”
The group says multiple students have met with from Nipissing University’s President, Dr. Kevin Wamsley, and were told that due to being a “small university” the facility did not have the budget or staff to reopen the centre.
The Equity Centre opened in 2016 but was closed last year following the completion of a third-party, independent investigation into a complaint by a student about a social media post the centre made in 2023. The content of the post has not been released but the centre maintained that the post was “misinterpreted” and “misconstrued.”
X says not reopening the Equity Centre leaves a gap in services for students in need of support.
“When I started at Nipissing University in January 2023 all those offices were full. You could walk into the office of Indigenous initiatives, and you could speak to anybody. You could speak to the manager, you could speak to the director, you could speak to any of those staff members, you could sit in the lounge, you could speak about these things, and now things have eroded to a point where it is really difficult to speak about that on campus.”
Thursday’s protest will also address an alleged incident between former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and student activist Cheyenne Sego. Sego alleges that during a donor social in March where Harris was presenting a $2 million donation, she approached him to ask what he would be doing to reconcile with indigenous youth after the Ipperwash Crisis.
In September 1995, protesters occupied the former Ipperwash Provincial Park due to a dispute over Indigenous land. Protestor Dudley George was shot and killed during the incident. The Ipperwash Inquiry, headed by Justice Sidney B. Linden, concluded that then-Premier Harris had “likely” made the statement “I want the f—king Indians out of the park.”
Sego alleges that Harris said that “still agrees with the statement” and that he used a brochure to move her aside so that he could leave.
“How dare this white, abled man have the audacity to put his hands on me as an indigenous woman?” Sego told us. “Especially in the MMIW (Missing and Murder Indigenous Women and Girls and two spirit) crisis right now. Like, how dare he after reiterating his racist beliefs?”
Sego says she has contacted Harris’s office but did not receive a response. The student protest is calling for the Harris Learning Library at the university be renamed due to the incident.
Sego met with Dr. Wamsley following the alleged incident but says she received no support. She claims that Wamsley stated, “I’m sorry but we’re not changing the library name. Mike is a politician and politicians don’t apologize.”
On the evening of the incident with Harris, Sego had received an award recognizing student activism in the student community and off campus.
Sego says she found the incident traumatic because of the psychological impact of the recent discovery of the bodies of Indigenous women at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The women are believed to be the victims of a serial killer.
“The crisis with the landfill in Winnipeg right now with all the missing and murdered indigenous women. We’re neglected. We’re tossed aside.”
705BLACKFLY.COM contacted Nipissing University about the allegations and received the following statement from the marketing and communications department on behalf of the University and President and Vice-Chancellor Kevin Wamsley.
“Nipissing University is aware of a student-led protest being planned for Thursday, April 3, 2025, calling on the University to uphold its commitments to EDIA and Reconciliation.
The University is committed to continued dialogue and action related to EDIA and Reconciliation as outlined in our Strategic Plan Pathways: Our Commitments to Water, Land, and People.
Nipissing University understands the students’ concerns and frustrations, and supports their efforts to protest for a more inclusive university.
The University has extended an invitation to meet with organizers of the protest to engage in a dialogue, hear their concerns, and learn more about the desired outcomes for the protest. At this time, a response to the meeting invitation has not been received.
Over the last two years, Nipissing University has been working on creating the conditions for an Equity Audit to identify barriers to equitable access, opportunities, and resources, and to evaluate the University’s efforts towards Reconciliation. Nipissing University has recently engaged an independent third party to carry out this audit. The audit is currently underway and we expect to present the recommendations to the Board of Governors by the end of the summer. The final report will include insights and recommendations to shape policies, programs, and practices that benefit the entire community.
While we can’t comment on individual student cases, including the interaction between a student and Mr. Harris, which is under investigation, we can share that all concerns brought forward by members of our community are taken seriously and handled with the utmost care through our Respectful Workplace and Learning Environments Policy.”
The students say they want a peaceful protest at the university. Volunteers wearing high visibility vests will be onsite. Shuttles will be available to transport people to the College Dr/ South Access Rd intersection, and first aid and water for protestors will be made available.
The group is encouraging anyone – including Indigenous and non-Indigenous supporters – to join the protest.
Agenda of Events
11:30am – meet up at starting point (roundabout, meeting next to bus stop/
closest to Founders House)
12pm – start of protest at roundabout
1pm – travelling to College Dr/ South Access Rd intersection (beside NUSU
Student Centre)
1:30pm – start of protest at College Dr/ South Access Rd
3pm – end of protest
We are following this story and will provide updates.
