Over the last several years, along with many of my\ncolleagues in post-secondary education, I have begun to learn about the\nsignificance of decolonization. At this point, I feel as though I am only on\nthe very first steps of a journey that will extend much deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first learned about residential schools in 2013, and was\nshocked and surprised at my ignorance about this sad chapter in the history of\nCanada\u2019s relationship with Indigenous Peoples. During the next several years, I\nattended several presentations and workshops where I explored basic concepts\nrelated to indigenization and decolonization with colleagues. At that point,\nhowever, I knew that knowing the foundational principles was not enough; I\nneeded to embark on a deeper path of decolonizing my educational practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning of my journey, I initially felt anxious. At\nfirst, I wasn\u2019t sure what was causing these feelings; other than perhaps\nuncertainty and a desire to enter a challenging and sensitive space. As I probed deeper, I became more curious\nabout this anxiety. I reflected on the\nfact that in my previous work in Southeast Asia, I often supported Indigenous\npeople in creating curriculum that highlighted their language and culture. When\nI was in a context outside of my own country, I could easily identify how\nIndigenous Peoples had been oppressed by the dominant culture. As I returned to\nliving and working in Canada, I could no longer take the position of an\noutsider. I slowly began to see that the journey of decolonization would require\nme to first face the reality of my own position as a member of the dominant\nculture that has caused harm to Indigenous Peoples. In their eye-opening and\nprovocative book, Lowman and Barker (2015) challenge non-Indigenous Canadians\nto wrestle with the identity of being Settlers on land that is stolen and thus\nnot legitimately theirs, grappling with the ethical implications of this\nreality. I began to realize that my first challenge in exploring decolonization\nwas to consider my own Settler identity along with its implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission\u2019s 2015 Calls\nto action are directed to educators. Because of the legacy of the residential\nschool system, decolonizing education is moral imperative in the reconciliation\nprocess. The TRC calls educators to integrate Indigenous knowledges and\npedagogies into post-secondary classrooms (62.ii). In response to this challenge, I am beginning\nto seek opportunities to learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing. Marie\nBattiste (2013), a Mi\u2019kmaq educator, highlights the groundedness of Indigenous\nways of knowing in as interconnections between the land and the community.\nWhile common themes between Indigenous knowledges exist, each Indigenous People\nhas their unique epistemology, captured in its language and relationship with a\nspecific land (Battiste 2013; Tanaka 2017). As Battiste emphasizes, these knowledges and\nways of knowing must be included in the curriculum in their own right; Battiste\nchallenges educators to move away from Eurocentric approaches to knowledge. As I explore the area of Indigenous\nknowledges, I realize that I am only a beginner in exploring a vast field. I am\nstruck by how little I know about the land on which I live, and wonder how my\nperceptions of what it means to know might be shaped by Indigenous\nepistemologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the difficulties of moving forward in the journey, I\nam realizing that learning about Indigenous ways of knowing opens up\npossibilities for holistic and transformative education. Battiste (2013)\nhighlights the concept of the learning spirit<\/em>, which includes the\nself-knowledge that fuels learners on their educational and life path,\nintegrating the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the person.\nCajete (in Tanaka, 2017) emphasizes the learner-centeredness of Indigenous\npedagogies, with their focus on activating innate capacities for learning and their\ntransformational approaches to learning. These pedagogies, as Tanaka (2017)\nnotes, have the power to form holistic, transformational learning experiences\nfor all learners. In my own growth as an\neducator, I am learning to see the cognitive content as only a small part of\nthe learning process, and am increasingly motivated by seeing learners grow and\ndevelop, rather than master content. As I learn about Indigenous pedagogies, I\nam inspired by how they challenge me to deepen and grow my practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As my personal journey of exploring what it means to\ndecolonize my understanding of teaching and learning develops, I look forward\nto learning together with my colleagues. \nOne of my next learning steps will be to participate in the Reconciliation through Indigenous Education MOOC<\/em><\/a> offered through UBC beginning on April\n1. Though I have much to learn, my\nanxiety and uncertainty about decolonizing my teaching practice is being\nreplaced by hopeful excitement about the possibilities for holistic and\ntransformational learning that will foster hospitable learning environments for\nIndigenous students, and for all learners at KPU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Special thanks to Andrea Niosi for her feedback and\nassistance with this post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/p>Battiste, M. A. (2013). Decolonizing education: nourishing the learning spirit<\/em>. Saskatoon: Purich Publ. Limited. Over the last several years, along with many of my colleagues in post-secondary education, I have begun to learn about the significance of decolonization. At this point, I feel as though I am only on the very first steps of a journey that will extend much deeper. I first learned about residential schools in 2013,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","iawp_total_views":35,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[28,30,29,31],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diversity","category-high-impact-practice","tag-decoloinization","tag-indigenous-education","tag-indigenous-students","tag-reconciliation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Lowman, E. B., & Barker, A. J. (2015). Settler: identity and colonialism in 21st century Canada<\/em>. Winnipeg, Manitoba Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing.
Tanaka, M. T. D. (2017). Learning and teaching together: weaving Indigenous ways of knowing into education<\/em>. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: calls to action<\/em>. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2012. Retrieved from https:\/\/nctr.ca\/assets\/reports\/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"