Unravelled: Canadian astronomy conference rebuked by Mi’kmaw professor for handling of Indigeneity panel

A prominent Canadian astronomy society pulled the plug on a panel discussion about improving Indigenous representation in astronomy in a move publicly rebuked by the Mi’kmaw astronomy professor set to moderate the event.

The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) invited Professor Hilding Neilson, an assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Toronto, to moderate the discussion at the CASCA 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held from May 10 to 14, 2021.

According to Professor Neilson, the panel was important as it could enable an open dialogue between Indigenous perspectives and the leadership of astronomy organizations including CASCA, the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy, and the National Research Council.

But in April, Professor Neilson was informed that CASCA had cancelled the panel due to “pressure on the schedule.” He later received a tip from a CASCA member on the Online Organizing Committee (OOC) that the stated cause may have been inaccurate. 

A subsequent email exchange on the cancellation, reviewed by The Strand, took place from April 26 to 28 between Professor Neilson and Professor Sara Ellison, CASCA president and a Physics and Astronomy professor at the University of Victoria.

On April 28, Professor Ellison wrote to Professor Neilson via email that CASCA’s leadership did not intend to mislead Professor Neilson about the panel’s cancellation. 

The reasons behind the cancellation were threefold, she wrote: to expand a previous session on Indigenous cultural awareness with writer Bob Joseph, member of Gwawaenuk Nation; to allow attendees “personal time to reflect and recover” after Joseph’s session; and to establish a rhythm to “build-up to […] the very specific topic of the [Thirty Meter Telescope] mid-week and finally the broad-reaching [Long-Range Plan] discussion on Friday.”

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) controversy concerns the construction of an astronomy facility on land considered sacred to the Mauna Kea kia’i people in Hawaii. The Long-Range Plan (LRP) is a “vision for the highest priority projects in astronomy in Canada from 2020 to 2030,” according to CASCA’s website.

“I hope these details help to clarify that the Board put a lot of effort and thought into how to bring indigenous [sic] discussions and education to the community at the AGM,” she wrote. “It is certainly not that we are trying to dodge any tricky questions and aiming to be covert.  We know the community wants to have these conversations – we are trying to help prepare them for having them, as we are absolutely committed to indigenous inclusion and the LRP recommendations.”

In his response, Professor Neilson thanked Professor Ellison for her honesty, but strongly criticized the motivations for cancelling the panel. “The response is even more frustrating for me,” he wrote. “I understand that the session with Bob Joseph can be emotional for participants and that it might be hard for settlers to face another session right after.”

“That is a reason to move the session but not to cancel it,” he wrote to Professor Ellison. He contended that the TMT and LRP sessions were not sufficient substitutes due to their lack of Indigenous speakers. He also forwarded that the decision prioritized the feelings of settlers over the interests of Indigenous academics in astronomy.

Professor Ellison replied the same day, but did not commit to rescheduling the panel. “To speak to the panel discussion – this is essentially happening in the LRP session on Friday,” she wrote. “It may not [be] called a panel in the program, but it is me, Chris Wilson, Stefi Baum and Locke Spencer, plus we have invited other key people represented in the LRP (including several who were on your list, such as Luc Simard and Don Brooks) to be on hand to answer questions.”

The next day, Professor Neilson publicized his disagreements with the decision on Twitter, where he reiterated the contentions he previously emailed, drawing 62 retweets and nearly 375 likes across the thread. He also withdrew from another scheduled talk, “Indigenizing the Drake Equation,” from the conference on April 26, citing the lack of transparency behind the cancellation.

In an email to The Strand, Professor Ellison wrote: “The Board was actively promoting an Indigenous session (for the first time at an AGM). It is absolutely untrue that our intention was to limit Indigenous content.” 

On May 10, Professor Ellison addressed the dispute in the opening remarks of the conference. “In preparing for this conference there was a genuine misunderstanding between the Board and the OOC regarding the planning of the session on Indigenous cultural awareness,” she said in a statement reviewed by The Strand. “This misunderstanding has had very serious consequences.”

“What is abundantly clear to me—and to everyone in the CASCA leadership—is that in planning this conference we failed to meet the expectations you had for discussing critical issues regarding Indigenous rights,” she said. “And for that, we are profoundly sorry. I want to apologize again to Hilding Neilson and to the committees involved in the organization of this meeting.”

She stated that the CASCA Board reaffirmed its commitment to a full implementation of “the recommendations regarding Indigenous rights” in CASCA’s LRP. She also said that the CASCA Board will work to create “more opportunities to participate in an open discussion about Indigenous rights.”

The plan’s recommendations include the establishment of a CASCA committee to engage Indigenous communities; expanded research opportunities for Canadian undergraduates from marginalized groups; diversity targets to increase CASCA members from marginalized groups; and the creation of guiding principles centred on consent for astronomy projects on Indigenous territory.

Professor Pauline Barmby—co-chair of CASCA’s LRP, an astrophysics professor at Western University, and an attendee at the conference—wrote to The Strand in a capacity independent of the organizers and CASCA that Professor Neilson’s contributions to the plan “were very valuable and influential in our recommendations.”

She remarked: “There were mismatched expectations and poor communication by all parties involved. I don’t find this particularly surprising: like Prof. Neilson almost all of the (volunteer) conference organizers are professors, and most of us are pretty exhausted. That tends not to lead to clear communication, especially about an issue that requires careful listening.”

“I absolutely would not dispute Prof. Neilson’s assertion that Canadian astronomy has a long way to go in terms of engaging with Indigenous peoples, and that action is more important than words,” she continued. “I think that the very high attendance at the Indigenous Cultural Awareness session that was part of the conference is a good sign and a good start. I’m hopeful that in-person sessions at next year’s conference will be even more productive.”

Professor Terry Bridges, conference attendee and a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Okanagan College, wrote to The Strand: “What happened to Hilding was awful, and many CASCA members such as myself were very upset about what happened,” noting that his views do not represent CASCA’s Equity and Inclusivity Committee (EIC) that he serves on, nor CASCA’s leadership. He confirmed that “there is internal ongoing CASCA work, including the CASCA Board and the EIC, underway to ensure that a situation like this doesn’t happen again.”

Professor Neilson criticized the statement for lacking a firm commitment to changing its course of action to the previous events. “That is the politest racism or anti-Indigeneity that I have experienced yet,” he remarked to The Strand. He later outlined firm calls to action on Twitter, including withdrawal of support for the TMT, the hiring of Indigenous faculty, and scholarships at every level for Indigenous academics.

Professor Ellison declined to respond to Professor Neilson’s individual assertions in The Strand’s interview, letting the statement stand as CASCA’s response.