The Human Rights and Equity Office has chosen to adopt I-EDIAA in response to the expressed needs of equity deserving communities at Queen’s. The first “I”, for “Indigenization”, is separated from EDIAA with a hyphen to foreground responsibilities to honour obligations to Indigenous communities which are separate and distinct from equity and inclusion efforts. Further, the distinct placement of Indigenization in this formulation encourages more careful reflection and accountability around exactly how the unit/equity initiative is, in fact, addressing Indigenization before a decision to adopt the full acronym is made.
The two “A’s” toward the end of the acronym stand for “Accessibility and Anti-Racism”. The first “A” is meant to address ongoing and longstanding community concerns about the persistent invisibility of disabled people and voices within equity, diversity, and inclusion work. Anti-racism was included in the acronym in acknowledgement of our institution’s uniquely stark history of white supremacy and racism, and in recognition of the ongoing contributions campus anti-racism movements have made in positively transforming our institutional culture for the benefit of all.