In May of 2025, the University of New Brunswick unveiled two new stoles that were added to the university’s graduation regalia. The first stole is for students from Africa or the African diaspora, and the second stole is for Indigenous students. Dr. Nadia Richards, UNB’s Associate Vice President Human Rights and Equity, explained that these stoles are meant as a visual reminder, and celebration of overcoming, the systemic barriers that Black and Indigenous students at UNB face on the way to graduation. Dr. Richards emphasized that the African students’ stole specifically centers an identity that has often been “vilified” and instead celebrates Black resilience and contributions to Canada through symbols rooted in pan-African identity and culture. Todd Ross, UNB’s Associate Vice President Indigenous Engagement, or Piluwitahasuwin, explained that the Indigenous students’ stole is similarly rooted in symbols that reflect Wabanaki identity, with the purple and white motifs reflecting both traditional treaties—done in purple and white quahog shells—and aspects of the Wabanaki land that UNB is situated on. While not encompassing a pan-Indigenous identity, the stole’s Wabanaki focus reminds students, staff, and faculty that we are all visitors on Wabanaki land. Importantly, both Todd and Dr. Richards noted that these stoles are part of UNB’s larger commitments to truth and reconciliation, as well as the accountability outlined in the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism that the university signed earlier this year.
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