Opinion: Repurposed seminary could fulfill U of S Indigenous goals

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The University of Saskatchewan was founded two years after the founding of our province, in 1907. Since then, the campus has grown to include many buildings of historic, cultural and architectural significance.

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One of these buildings is the former Lutheran seminary located on a serene and scenic plot on campus near the South Saskatchewan River.

The University Board of Governors has inexplicably decided to demolish this historic building despite receiving at least two serious Indigenous-centred proposals to fund the renovations needed to repurpose the building.

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This in addition to separate appeals to save this architectural treasure from the Canadian national committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the National Trust for Canada.

Based on the university’s own communications, this decision is hard to understand for two key reasons: a late and dubious cost estimate from an Ontario-based architectural firm and an unwillingness to strategically partner with the very Indigenous communities their values apparently espouse.

According to a CBC interview (Dec. 30, 2024) Wade Epp, the associate vice-president of campus operations, estimated the restoration cost would be at least $26 million, excluding utilities.

Independent local architectural and engineering firms (BBK Engineering Saskatoon; Wallace Krueger Architects; Paley & Consulting Electrical Engineers; Daniels Wingerak Engineering) estimated the cost to be $22 million

Rather than engaging Saskatchewan-based engineering and architectural companies, who employ many U of S graduates, for a cost assessment, the university hired a Toronto firm, which returned with a confounding $60-million estimate.

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In any case, the renovation and operating costs for the project are the responsibility of the proponents, not the university.

The university’s board of governors rejected all proposals citing financial unviability. Based on what? Their own estimate was closely aligned with the ones submitted. Furthermore, the two proposals submitted had already secured committed investors and partners.

One wonders how many engineering/architectural firms they needed to engage before they found one with an outrageously high quote to justify demolition.

The university’s website boasts numerous Indigenous strategic documents acknowledging the university’s responsibility to ensure decisions are moral, respectful and ethical and do the ‘right’ thing alongside Indigenous people.

The University Plan 2025 is nīkānītān manācihitowinihk | ni manachīhitoonaan (which means to lead with respect) and to be the “university the world needs.”

This apparent disinterest in honouring their own Indigenous engagement strategic priorities is more than a little disingenuous and disrespectful, hardly in keeping with the values advocated.

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Both Indigenous proposals for the seminary buildings strategically align with the core values, goals and principles the university claims they are committed to.

The proposal by the Saskatoon Tribal Council to realize a centre for Indigenous excellence, in particular, would create potential for Indigenous cultural spaces, student housing, ceremony sites and learning hubs.

Restoring the seminary would, therefore, achieve two critically important goals: preserving an irreplaceable, national architectural landmark while also providing a much needed culturally and physically safe space for Indigenous students to thrive and succeed.

Former senator Murray Sinclair reminded us that “we have a shared responsibility to honour and join in the journey of reconciliation; to repair, redress and heal relationships; and nurture an ethical space in which we can explore how we relate to each other through the lenses of history, culture and lived experience.”

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It “is about forging and maintaining respectful relationships. There are no shortcuts.”

The U of S Indigenous strategic plan recognizes the university’s moral obligation to translate policy into practice. There couldn’t be a better litmus test to demonstrate how genuine these sentiments are.

Peter Martin is a contractor concerned with marginalized groups in Saskatoon.

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