November 17, 2020
Watch: Dan Levy Encourages, Matches Donations to Indigenous History Course
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Dan Levy, the out co-creator and star of the just-concluded comedy series "Schitt's Creek," liked a course on Canadian Indigenous History that he took from the University of Alberta so much that even though the course is free he took to Twitter to urge his fans to make donations in support of the faculty. Putting his money where his Twitter video was, Levy promised to match all donations up to a total of $25,000.
Levy had previously posted on Twitter about starting the course, inviting fans to "Come learn with me?" in an Aug. 17 tweet.
"I thought, if I'm going to sign up and learn, maybe some other people would want to join me and we could do this as a group," Levy explained at the time.
Now, after 13 weeks of study, Levy is so enthused that he's sent out the call for the course to receive not just attention from would-be students, but their financial support as well.
Noting that "the faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta is the only faculty of Native Studies in North America," Levy said he was "urging all of you to donate if you can to the faculty, and I am going to match you dollar for dollar, up to $25,000."
Added Levy: "That is a lot of money we can raise for an incredibly deserving faculty."
Levy spoke to the media about the course, saying, "If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we actively need to relearn history – history that wasn't taught to us in school," reports Canadian outlet CTV News.
"Indigenous Canada is an online course 'that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada,' created and offered by the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta," the CTV story said.
"The course, which can be taken for credit by students at the Edmonton university, is also being made free to anyone to audit," CTV added, noting that, "The course got a boost amid the Black Lives Matter movement".
The Huffington Post noted that "The University of Alberta's faculty of Native Studies started in 1972, and offers courses in Indigenous law, land claims, health, art, language, and other disciplines."
Added the Huffington Post: "If you missed the Indigenous Canada course Levy took, it's being offered again, still free and online, with a new session starting on Sunday, Nov. 15."
Watch Levy's Twitter video below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
