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Elise Meeting Next Steps -- Program Director / Graduate Path Prep

IAIP Research
outreach--n-renaud-concordia

Elise Meeting Next Steps -- Program Director / Graduate Path Prep

Date prepared: 2026-06-02
Source issue: https://github.com/miadisabelle/Etuaptmumk-RSM/issues/225
Chronicle companion: /home/jgi/.hermes/voice-episodes/miadi-chronicle/2026-06-01-episode-029-the-house-learns-to-hear-the-pr/program-director-next-steps.md

Decision Frame

The Elise meeting produced a concrete route-finding plan:

  • Undergraduate / preparatory options: Indigenous Land-Based Education microprogram and First Peoples Studies BA.
  • Graduate-level options: INDI and HUMA.
  • Human contact split: FAS Graduate Programs for formal program mechanics; Nicolas Renaud for fit, supervisory direction, and First Peoples Studies route-finding.

Key Verified Points

  • Indigenous Land-Based Education is listed publicly as a Fall/Winter 12-credit microprogram with an August 1 application deadline.
  • First Peoples Studies BA is listed publicly as a BA with a 45-credit major and 24-credit minor. Issue #225 paraphrases 42 credits; verify before using.
  • INDI supports individualized master's and doctoral research outside normal disciplinary boundaries, with a supervisory committee.
  • HUMA is a 90-credit Humanities PhD based in CISSC, with interdisciplinary research and research-creation possibilities.
  • Nicolas Renaud's Concordia profile lists him as Program Director for First Peoples Studies and as accepting INDI MA/MSc thesis supervision inquiries.

Email To FAS Graduate Programs

To: FAS Graduate Programs FASgradprograms@concordia.ca
Subject: Question about INDI and HUMA pathways for interdisciplinary Indigenous media / AI research

Dear FAS Graduate Programs team,

Elise from Undergraduate Admissions suggested I contact you about graduate pathways in the Faculty of Arts and Science, especially INDI and HUMA.

I am exploring a possible interdisciplinary graduate project involving Indigenous media sovereignty, community cinema capacity, research-creation, and relational AI/digital tools. The project would likely sit across First Peoples Studies, film/media practice, Indigenous research methods, and digital technology.

Elise mentioned two possible graduate-level paths:

- INDI, for an individualized program when a project does not fit one existing discipline;
- HUMA, for an interdisciplinary humanities path with flexible supervision and a defined topic.

Could you advise on a few practical points?

1. For a project combining First Peoples Studies, research-creation/film, Indigenous community accountability, and AI/digital media, would INDI or HUMA usually be the better starting point?
2. Is INDI available at the master's level for this kind of interdisciplinary project, and is HUMA only a doctoral pathway?
3. At what stage should a prospective applicant identify supervisors or advisory committee members?
4. How much prior confirmation from faculty is expected before applying?
5. Would it make sense to speak first with Nicolas Renaud, Program Director of First Peoples Studies, to clarify fit and possible supervisory direction?

I am trying to understand the correct route before preparing any formal application materials.

Thank you,

Guillaume

Email To Nicolas Renaud

To: Nicolas Renaud n.renaud@concordia.ca
Subject: Route-finding question: First Peoples Studies, community cinema, and interdisciplinary graduate paths

Dear Mr. Renaud,

Elise from Concordia Undergraduate Admissions suggested I contact you because my questions about First Peoples Studies became more specific than admissions logistics.

I am trying to understand what Concordia pathway could hold an interdisciplinary project involving Indigenous media sovereignty, community cinema capacity, research-creation, and relational AI/digital tools. One concrete question behind this is how Indigenous communities, including Innu relations I have been learning with, can build more autonomy in making films and media for their own communities rather than depending on outside technical teams.

Your work in Indigenous cinema, documentary/experimental film, Wendat wampum-related installation practice, and First Peoples Studies seems especially relevant to helping me understand the right route. I am not asking for a commitment or partnership at this stage. I am trying to understand whether this direction belongs closer to First Peoples Studies preparation, an INDI MA/MSc, a HUMA research-creation path, or another Concordia route.

Would you be open to a short conversation, or would you prefer that I first send a one-page concept note?

Thank you,

Guillaume

Questions For Nicolas

  1. Does this project sound closer to INDI, HUMA, First Peoples Studies undergraduate preparation, or another route?
  2. Could First Peoples Studies anchor or contribute to a supervisory committee for this kind of work?
  3. What would make the project accountable if it involves Innu community relationships and community cinema autonomy?
  4. Would a one-page concept note, portfolio, CV, or IAIP prototype description be useful before a meeting?
  5. Are Jason Edward Lewis and Rilla Khaled the right AI/digital Indigenous futures contacts, or should another faculty/lab be consulted first?
  6. If graduate admission is not the immediate move, would the land-based microprogram or specific First Peoples Studies courses be the better foundation?

Captured Context To Keep Simple

Use this as listening context, not as a long biographical preface:

  • Renaud's official Concordia profile is the strongest source: Program Director for First Peoples Studies, INDI MA/MSc thesis supervision inquiries, filmmaker/installation artist, and research areas spanning Wendat worldview/history, Iroquoian cultures, colonialism/decolonization, Indigenous ecologies, wampum belts, Indigenous cinema, documentary, experimental film, and video installation.
  • The same profile anchors Brave New River / La Nouvelle Rupert and the 2013 Hot Docs Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award.
  • Holiday Native Land is relevant because it critiques settler-colonial tourism/archive imagery and the colonial imagination of land and Indigenous people.
  • Florent Vollant: I Dream in Innu is relevant because it directly connects Renaud's film practice with Innu language/music.
  • Wendat background should stay private and respectful: it can help with orientation, but do not explain Wendat history back to Renaud in outreach.
  • Disambiguation: ignore Brent Renaud search results; the relevant contact is Nicolas Renaud at Concordia.

Resources

One-Page Concept Note Skeleton

Working title:
Community-held cinema and relational AI: toward Indigenous media sovereignty infrastructure

Current question:
How can technical systems, research-creation, and First Peoples Studies methods support Indigenous communities in making and holding their own film/media work without reproducing extractive production patterns?

Current relationships and responsibility:
I have existing learning relationships connected to Innu community contexts and Sundance/talking-circle spaces. These are not credentials or permissions; they are responsibilities that require careful protocol, consent, and humility.

Possible outputs:
- community cinema workflow / training model;
- research-creation film or prototype;
- IAIP/relational AI prototype for organizing knowledge, consent, sources, and narrative memory;
- written thesis or research-creation dossier.

Concordia fit to clarify:
- First Peoples Studies as grounding;
- INDI MA/MSc for individualized interdisciplinary work;
- HUMA PhD if the project becomes research-creation across humanities/fine arts/social sciences;
- Applied AI / Indigenous Futures contacts for the digital side.

Immediate ask:
Which path is institutionally and ethically appropriate, and what should I prepare before approaching supervisors?

Sequence

  1. Send the FAS Graduate Programs email.
  2. Prepare the one-page concept note.
  3. Send the short Nicolas email, with or without the concept note depending on polish.
  4. Review Nicolas Renaud's official profile and one or two public works before meeting.
  5. Decide whether the land-based microprogram should be an August 1 parallel application path.