The former University of Regina President Vianne Timmons apologized for claiming indigenous ancestry.. University of Regina Campus .Currently, Timmons is the president of Memorial University (MU) of Newfoundland and Labrador..In a public statement released Monday, she told the MU board of regents that she would “temporarily” step back and work with an indigenous-led roundtable for the next steps..“While our initial understanding was President Timmons did not claim indigenous identity, we have received a lot of feedback from the community,” said MU Board of Regents Chair Glenn Barnes in a statement..“We have received important questions about the president’s actions and we believe we have a responsibility to indigenous peoples and a fiduciary duty as a board to explore these questions further.”.READ MORE Fake indigenous professor loses Sask honorary doctorate.Timmons claimed her father’s great-great-grandmother was Mi’kmaq and for several years listed in her professional credentials an “unrecognized” Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia..Timmons now says she only claimed to have Mi’kmaq heritage, which contradicts her claim on her professional credentials..Timmons said questions about her indigenous background prompted “important conversations” around whether she benefited from claiming an indigenous ancestry..READ MORE Fake indigenous professor resigns from the University of Saskatchewan.While growing up, Timmons father told her to be ashamed of their indigenous history and she claimed to be indigenous in the “spirit of reconciliation and respect for indigenous peoples.”.MU released a statement saying Timmons is taking a voluntary paid leave of absence for six weeks.
