Elder Carleen Thomas Chancellor Installation with Emily Carr University

Elder Carleen Thomas Chancellor Installation with Emily Carr University

News & UpdatesElder Carleen Thomas Chancellor Installation with Emily Carr University

Elder Carleen Thomas Chancellor Installation with Emily Carr University

May 11, 2022

Alongside Tsleil-Waututh family, Musqueam & Squamish relatives, Chief & Council, and Tsleil-Waututh leaders, Elder Carleen Thomas, ‘Unsakhalote’, became the new Chancellor of Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

This is a special moment for our community and historically, as Carleen is the first Indigenous person to hold the Chancellor position at Emily Carr University. At the Installation ceremony, Carleen was presented by her sister Leah George-Wilson, with a cultural address from relative Gabriel George, and blanketed by her sister Deanna George. Carleen was recognized for her spirit and passion in education and support of decolonization, and her commitment for following her father’s footsteps in continuing to share Tsleil-Waututh knowledge with us, students, the broader community, and for future generations to come.

Carleen is an educator, a former elected council member who held the Community Development portfolio for health & education, and the Special Projects Manager for the Treaty, Lands & Resources department for Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She was appointed by the Board of Governors and assumed the position of Chancellor of Emily Carr University on August 3, 2021.

Congratulations Carleen!

Here are some highlight photos from the ceremony:

Latest Articles

səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and the City of Burnaby have signed a historic agreement, outlining a process for government-to-government engagement for projects in Burnaby.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and UBC researchers have published groundbreaking research demonstrating severe colonial impacts that have devastated Burrard Inlet and səlilwətaɬ rights since European contact.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) is seeking the services of a professional consultant to submit proposals to work collaboratively with the TWN Emergency Program to complete an Evacuation Plan for the Tsleil-Waututh community.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) has been leading a project, in collaboration with the Province of BC, to update the water quality policy that applies to səlilwət (Burrard Inlet), called the Water Quality Objectives.
A house post carved by səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) artist Zac George Sko-Kay-Lem, commissioned by the City of Vancouver, is now installed at šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn, the plaza outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in downtown Vancouver.
After the unthinkable tragedy that claimed a child’s life on our traditional waters, səlilwətaɬ Chief and Council recognize and call for better safety measures, signage, and enforcement, both at the boat launch at Whey-ah-Wichen and on the water to help keep Tsleil-Waututh Members and the public safe.