U of T Indigenous Student Trip to New Zealand 

From June 21 to July 7, 2024, 18 Indigenous students at U of T and two accompanying staff members from First Nations House went to New Zealand. The experience was open to all students with registered student status at U of T and was organized jointly by First Nations House, Learning and Safety Abroad at Centre for International Experience and by Education New Zealand to visit Wellington, Rotorua & Auckland, and Experiential Education New Zealand for the South Island.  

Activities included visiting Indigenous, Māori tribes across NZ, learning about their relationships with land, business, co-governance, urban tribal relationships, arts and more. Costs for students were covered through Global Skills Opportunity Funds, managed by the Learning and Safety Abroad Team at CIE with additional support for per diem expenses from First Nations House. Both students and staff members said it was an intense, yet transformative experience. Plans to host Māori students from New Zealand in Toronto in 2025 are ongoing.