Marion Buller has been named the next chancellor at the University of Victoria.
Buller, who is a member of the Mistawasis Nêhiyawak , a First Nation 70 km west of Prince Albert, has been a judge for 27 years and was the chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Buller said she was excited to hear she would become the next chancellor of the university where she received her bachelor and law degrees.
She said her education, experiences and previous roles have helped her establish goals for her new position.
“Time and age give you a different sense of perspective about what’s important and about the work that needs to be done,” she said. “I think the work that I have done has really taught me about the importance of relationship building and collaboration.”
Buller said she has a few goals she’ll be working towards as chancellor.
“I think one of them, of course, will be to build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on the campus but also to really strengthen the relationships between the university as an institution and local First Nations.”
Buller was the first Indigenous woman to be appointed as a judge in British Columbia.
She said Indigenous women like herself deserve roles like chancellor and they shouldn’t hold back from achieving these positions.
“Indigenous women all across Canada, doesn’t matter who you are, we all have a lot to offer and I don’t think we should be shy about saying, ‘we have a lot to offer and we know the changes that have to be made, and we know how to do it.”
Buller will begin her three year term as the university’s twelfth chancellor on Jan. 1.
(PHOTO: Marion Buller was a judge for 22 years and served as the chief commissioner for the National Inquiry into MMWIG from 2016 to 2019. Photo courtesy of UVic Photo Services.)