Award-winning Tłı̨chǫ Dene author Richard Van Camp will return to the University of Victoria as Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence for 2024/25.
Van Camp, who is a recipient of the Order of the Northwest Territories, will be welcomed to the territory in a ceremony at First Peoples House at a later date.
My hope for our time together is that you get on out there and reclaim your family stories, recipes, songs, harvesting techniques, traditions, ceremonies, names and anything you need to make your path way more fun and brighter ahead—not only just for you, but for your family, for your community and for future generations.
—Richard Van Camp, 2024/25 UVic Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence
The Distinguished Alumni Award recipient will offer two online courses called Recovering Family Medicine through Story, offered in parallel through the Department of English to current UVic students and the wider community through Continuing Studies. During his term as the Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence, the Eisner-nominated author will also offer one-on-one writing workshops to students from the UVic and En’owkin Centre communities, as well as an on-campus graduate seminar in summer 2025.
The new Storyteller-in-Residence program at UVic presents an exciting opportunity to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, particularly storytelling, into the learning environment. Storytelling has been a vital practice for sharing our oral history, traditional knowledge and culture across generations. This initiative is a significant step towards decolonizing education, offering Indigenous students and community members a unique chance to experience post-secondary education in a way that honours and respects our traditions.
—Qwul’sih’yah’maht Robina Thomas, Vice-President, Indigenous
The Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence program aligns with UVic’s commitment to ʔetal nəwəl | ÁTOL,NEUEL | Respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationship with all things, which focuses on UVic’s relationships with one another, with the lands and waters and with all living beings, by welcoming students and community members to share space together and explore the healing power of stories.
Backgrounder
Tłı̨chǫ Dene author Richard Van Camp will join the University of Victoria as the 2024/25 Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence, offering courses to current students and community members through the Department of English, in partnership with Continuing Studies.
About Richard Van Camp
A recipient of the Order of the Northwest Territories, Richard Van Camp is an alumnus of the University of Victoria’s creative writing program (BFA ’97), as well as the En’owkin International School of Writing and the University of British Columbia. He is an Eisner-award-winning and best-selling author of 28 books, including comics, short story collections, novels, nonfiction, and children’s books. He has offered mentorship as the Storyteller in Residence for Calgary Public Library and the Writer in Residence at the University of Alberta, Yellowhead Tribal College and MacEwan University, and as a mentor for the Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle.
Community engagement
Van Camp will teach two undergraduate courses called Recovering Family Medicine through Story, offered in parallel through the Department of English to current UVic students and the wider community through Continuing Studies. Offered online starting in September and January, the courses will feature live sessions alternating each week with independent learning activities supported by Indigenous teaching assistants. Van Camp will feature guest speakers, storytellers, filmmakers, and artists in addition to his own insights and stories.
He will deliver a series of one-on-one writing mentorship sessions with students from the University of Victoria and En’owkin Centre communities during the 2024/25 academic year. At least half these sessions will be held for Indigenous participants. Van Camp is also scheduled to deliver an in-person graduate seminar in summer 2025.
Funding and support
Several departments at the University of Victoria collaborated to provide support for the Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence program: Department of English, Continuing Studies, University of Victoria Libraries, the Office of the Vice President Indigenous, the Office of the Vice President Research and Innovation, the Office of the Vice President Academic and Provost and the President’s Office.
UVic’s pledge
As part of the Distinctly UVic strategic plan, ʔetal nəwəl | ÁTOL,NEUEL | Respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationship with all things reinforces UVic’s commitment to implement core local, national and international responsibilities and calls to action that support the rights and sovereignties of Indigenous Peoples—for example, UNDRIP, DRIPA, the MMIWG Report and the TRC Calls to Action. By centring the languages and teachings of the local Nations and honouring the teachings we each carry with us, UVic is committed to centring Indigenous ways of knowing and being in teaching, learning, researching, services and wellness.
