Emma Posca is a PhD candidate at York University and a settler educator specializing in Indigenization and decolonization. Her dissertation examines Indigenous Framework Plans across Ontario postsecondary institutions to analyze how colonial legacies are addressed within the academy. She has an extensive teaching dossier spanning Indigenous Studies, Sociology, Engineering, Human Geography, and Equity Studies at York University and Yorkville University. As a Course Director, she designs and delivers decolonial curricula for non-Indigenous learners, including institutionally adopted courses and faculty-focused seminars. Her teaching emphasizes reconciliation, critical self-reflection, and institutional accountability through experiential and inclusive pedagogical practices. 

In this episode, Emma discusses the research behind her dissertation examining Indigenous Framework Plans across Ontario postsecondary institutions. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, her work analyzes how universities publicly frame commitments to Indigenization and reconciliation, and what these policy documents reveal about institutional priorities, accountability, and colonial legacies within higher education.

Throughout the conversation, Emma reflects on how the research began not with a traditional research question but with a sense of discomfort experienced while teaching about decolonization and reconciliation within the academy. That curiosity led to a broader investigation of institutional language across 47 institutions, revealing patterns of repetition, aspirational commitments, and the ways policy documents can sometimes signal progress while avoiding measurable responsibility.