Danielle Geller in 2025 (photo: David Murphy)
Representation matters when it comes to enacting meaningful long-term change in both UVic’s teaching and administration arenas, which is why the Faculty of Fine Arts is particularly excited to announce the appointment of Danielle Geller as our first Associate Dean Indigenous.
“Creating the role of Associate Dean Indigenous was important for the Faculty of Fine Arts because it helps us to fulfill our commitment to equity and reconciliation,” notes Dean Allana Lindgren. “Professor Geller is an ideal choice because she is a natural leader with a clear vision for moving Fine Arts forward in a good way through Indigenization.”
Recognizing the importance of Indigenous academic leadership, Geller is one of seven Indigenous professors in the Faculty of Fine Arts and one of four new Associate Deans Indigenous across UVic. These senior academic roles are a significant step in advancing UVic’s Indigenous Plan—xʷkʷənəŋistəl | W̱ȻENEṈISTEL | Helping to move each other forward—and reflect our shared responsibility to uphold ʔetalnəwəl | ÁTOL,NEUEL | respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationship with all things.
About Danielle Geller
A professor with our Department of Writing since 2019, Geller is also an acclaimed memoirist and writer of personal essays. Her first book, Dog Flowers (One World/Random House, 2021), was a finalist for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes’s Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and the Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes.
Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker and The Paris Review Daily, among others, and have been anthologized in Sharp Notions: Essays on the Stitching Life, The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins, This Is the Place: Women Writing About Home and The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature.
She received her MFA from the University of Arizona and, in addition to UVic, also teaches creative writing at the low-residency MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is a daughter of the Navajo Nation: born to the Tsi’naajinii, born for the bilagaana.
What does it mean to you to step into the role of Associate Dean Indigenous?
Stepping into this role feels both humbling and deeply important. I come into this position as a visitor to these territories, and with that comes a responsibility—to the university, to our students and most importantly, to the local Nations whose lands we live, learn and create on. For me, this role is about listening first, about understanding the unique needs of Indigenous students, staff and faculty, and about supporting the work already being carried out in community. I see myself as a resource and a collaborator—someone who can help navigate systems and processes, while also recognizing that one process won’t fit every faculty. My hope is to use my strengths, especially in thinking about structures and processes, to create pathways that work for Fine Arts and that honour Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
How do you think this role will help shift or shape the university in a good way?
This role offers a chance to make reconciliation and Indigenization more than just words we use in policy. These are not new ideas, but they are often misunderstood or unevenly implemented. I want to help shift the conversation by making it easier for faculty, staff and students to engage with these concepts in ways that feel meaningful and practical. I don’t see myself as the authority on reconciliation, but I do hope to be a guide and a facilitator—someone who can help our community ask the right questions: What does this look like in practice? How can we ensure the work we do builds relationships and creates real change? The shift comes when we start to see reconciliation and Indigenization as shared responsibilities that belong to all of us.
What does meaningful Indigenous engagement look like in your faculty?
For me, meaningful engagement is never just about adding language to a policy document—it’s about action. In Fine Arts, that might mean creating space for Indigenous voices in the classroom, on the stage, in the gallery or in the stories we tell. It’s about supporting individual faculty and students to bring their own strengths and perspectives into their work and about building a culture where allyship and accountability are part of our daily practices. Engagement also happens on an individual level—each of us asking questions like, “What can I do to support Indigenous students and colleagues? How can I use my strengths to contribute?” When those actions accumulate across a faculty, they start to create a stronger, more supportive environment for Indigenous people in the arts.
Why is Indigenous leadership at this level important?
Representation matters. When Indigenous people are at the table, our voices and perspectives can’t be ignored. Too often, decisions that affect Indigenous students, staff and faculty are made without us present. Having Indigenous leadership at this level ensures advocacy happens in real time—at the policy level, in committee meetings and in conversations that shape the direction of the faculty and the university. It also means bringing our whole selves into the room: our experiences, our histories, our responsibilities to our communities. This isn’t just about structural change, though that’s important—it’s about relationship building, about helping others understand our goals and about aligning our work so that the university can better support Indigenous peoples and communities: “Nothing about us, without us.”
What are your priorities or hopes for the first year in this role?
My first priority is listening. I want to hear directly from students, staff and faculty about the work they are trying to do and the barriers they face. This will help lay the groundwork for setting collective priorities and understanding where change is most urgently needed. I don’t want to come in with a fixed agenda, but rather to co-create one that reflects the realities of our faculty. I also hope to build stronger connections between Fine Arts and the broader supports available on campus, and to begin identifying opportunities for collaboration that strengthen our relationships with Indigenous communities. For me, the first year is about planting seeds—building trust, identifying needs and creating the foundation for meaningful long-term change.
How do you see this role supporting Indigenous students, staff, and faculty?
There are already many excellent supports for Indigenous students, staff, and faculty on campus, but not everyone knows about them or feels connected to them. Part of my role will be to help bridge those gaps—making sure people know what resources exist and creating opportunities for stronger collaboration across units. In Fine Arts, I see this role as complementing and strengthening the work already being done by leaders like Karla Point, our Indigenous Resurgence Coordinator, Carey Newman, Impact Chair in Indigenous Art Practices and Heather lgloliorte, Canada Excellence Research Chair, Professor. Together, we can help expand networks of support, ensure Indigenous students feel seen and cared for, and work with faculty and staff to create a community where everyone has the tools and relationships they need to thrive. Ultimately, my goal is to strengthen community ties both on campus and beyond, so that Indigenous students, staff and faculty feel connected, supported and empowered in their work and learning.