Leona Sparrow is one of seven individuals who were recognized by alumni UBC for their contributions to positive change at UBC and beyond at the 2014 Alumni Achievement Awards on Wednesday, November 19, 2014.
Leona received the Alumni Award of Distinction for her valuable advice to improve the UBC’s relationship with the Musqueam Indian Band and other First Nations. Leona is the Director of Treaty, Lands, and Resources for the Musqueam Indian Band on whose traditional territories UBC’s Vancouver campus is located.
“This is Musqueam territory, and this has been a learning place for our people for thousands of years.” – Leona Sparrow
Leona brokered a Memorandum of Affiliation between UBC and Musqueam in December 2006. Over the years, she served as an advisor to the President, the Faculty of Law, and the Museum of Anthropology. Additionally, Leona influenced academic policy through her time on the UBC Senate between 1993 – 2003.
As an undergraduate student in the 1970s, Leona asked herself and others at UBC, “where is the place for Aboriginal students on campus?” Leona noted that there were only twelve Aboriginal students when she first began studying here. Today, there are close to 1,000 self-identified Aboriginal students. Thanks to the questions and advice from alumni like Leona, UBC continues to make progress at finding a place for Aboriginal students.
View photos from the 2014 Alumni Achievement Awards.
Read the UBC Vancouver Aboriginal Strategic Plan Implementation Report.