Weaving Knowledge Systems Resource Materials

This article examines the possibilities around what we have come to call a pedagogy of Land. The authors explore what it means to bring a pedagogy of Land into classrooms and communities within urban settings. The authors consider the ways Land as pedagogy might translate from rural to urban contexts while addressing some of the ways this work moves forward in meaningful and relevant ways. Further, the authors share some aspects that have allowed Land to inform both pedagogy and praxis in teacher education focusing on student success, particularly Aboriginal students within schools and teacher education programs. [From Publisher]

Stories build community and create understanding. They are the memories and oral histories of peoples who have taken different journeys to create a home in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver Dialogues Project aimed to create cohesive communities by exploring the stories of Vancouver’s First Nations, urban Aboriginal and immigrant communities. [From Author]

This article focuses on the creation, implementation, experiences, and research surrounding the first online professional development course for principals of First Nations schools across Canada, named the First Nations Schools’ Principals Course (FNSPC). First, we describe the contexts, goals, and designing of the FNSPC. Second, we outline the complexities of bringing Indigenous values into an online educational space. Lastly, we describe how using the Five R’s (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 2001; Restoule, 2008) of respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and relationships recasts the challenges of Indigenizing online education into opportunities for spaces of traditional and non-traditional Indigenous learning through the FNSPC. [From Author]

A 6-Week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Engage with Indigenous knowledge keepers, educational leaders, and resources to enhance your understanding and knowledge of practices that advance reconciliation in the places where you live, learn, and work.
This course will help you envision how Indigenous histories, perspectives, worldviews, and approaches to learning can be made part of the work we do in classrooms, organizations, communities, and our everyday experiences in ways that are thoughtful and respectful. In this course, reconciliation emphasizes changing institutional structures, practices, and policies, as well as personal and professional ideologies to create environments that are committed to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous peoples. [From Website]

At its seventy-first session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“the Committee”) decided to embark upon the task of drafting a new general recommendation on special measures, in light of the difficulties observed in the understanding of such notion. At its seventy-second session, the Committee decided to hold at its next session a thematic discussion on the subject of special measures within the meaning of articles 1, paragraph 4, and 2, paragraph 2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“the Convention”). The thematic discussion was held on 4 and 5 August 2008 with the participation of States parties to the Convention, representatives of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and non-governmental organizations. Following the discussion, the Committee renewed its determination to work on a general recommendation on special measures, with the objective of providing overall interpretative guidance on the meaning of the above articles in light of the provisions of the Convention as a whole. [From Author]

Universities Canada’s proposals to “close the education gap” for Indigenous students.

aboriginal policy studies is an online, peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary journal that, on a bi-annual basis, publishes original, scholarly, and policy relevant research on issues relevant to Métis, non-status Indians and urban Aboriginal peoples in Canada. [From Website]

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson course during which students can expect to acquire a basic familiarity with Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relationships. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) aims to expand the understandings held by many Canadians about these relationships. [From Website]

The Canadian Journal of Native Education is published twice yearly: in spring/summer a theme issue is compiled at the First Nations House of Learning at the University of British Columbia; and in fall/winter a general edition is compiled by the First Nations Graduate Education Program at the University of Alberta. Occasional supplements are also published. [From Website] Available online to 2013 and then in print in Chilliwack Library.

During the past two decades, Native American Studies has emerged as a central arena in which Native American populations in the United States define the cultural, religious, legal, and historical parameters of scholarship and creativity essential for survival in the modern world. Founded in 1985, Wicazo Sa Review is a journal in support of this particular type of scholarship, providing inquiries into the Indian past and its relationship to the vital present. It aims to be an interdisciplinary instrument to assist indigenous peoples of the Americas in taking possession of their own intellectual and creative pursuits. [From Publisher]

As the journal of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) is based in North America but seeks to bridge the distances across the Indigenous world. The editors of NAIS are committed to creating a dynamic intellectual space for the communication and dissemination of excellent scholarship related to Indigenous Studies. [From Publisher]

Studies in American Indian Literatures (SAIL) is the only journal in the United States that focuses exclusively on American Indian literatures. With a wide scope of scholars and creative contributors, the journal is on the cutting edge of activity in the field. SAIL invites the submission of scholarly, critical pedagogical, and theoretical manuscripts focused on any aspect of American Indian literatures as well as the submission of poetry and short fiction, bibliographical essays, review essays, and interviews. SAIL defines "literatures" broadly to include all written, spoken, and visual texts created by Native peoples. [From Publisher]

American Indian Quarterly has earned its reputation as one of the dominant journals in American Indian studies by presenting the best and most thought-provoking scholarship in the field. The journal is a forum for diverse voices and perspectives spanning a variety of academic disciplines. The common thread is AIQ’s commitment to publishing work that contributes to the development of American Indian studies as a field and to the sovereignty and continuance of American Indian nations and cultures. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, AIQ features reviews of books, films, and exhibits. [From Publisher]

Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society solicits any work purposefully engaged in the decolonization process, regardless of discipline or field, encouraging work that actively seeks undisciplinary connections that work both against and beyond the Western academy. We recognize that this is a wide net to cast but feel strongly that decolonization must happen at all levels, in all fields, and all locations; decolonization seeks to explore the relationships between knowledges and tears down the artificial disciplinary demarcations of dominant ways of knowing and being. Colonial power affects all areas of life and thought - this journal seeks to engage and confront that power at every level. [From Publisher]

in education is a peer-reviewed, open access journal based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan, Canada. The journal has been in existence since 1993, but published its first issue as an online journal in December of 2009.

The editorial board invites scholarly articles and reviews of works that explore ideas in teacher education, as well as broader and more inclusive discussions in education. We envision works that augment the latitude and significance of the idea of education, while acknowledging the ubiquitous growth of the digital arts and sciences in the everyday practice of life and how that might (in)form notions of formal and informal education. [From Website]

Features original scholarly research on issues from Aboriginal perspectives in contemporary & historical contexts. It is a multidisciplinary, social science based periodical featuring research from Canada & abroad. Ceased publication 2016 [From EBSCO]

The I-Portal: Indigenous Studies Portal was launched in 2006 at the University of Saskatchewan as a tool for faculty, students, researchers, and members of the community to access digital Indigenous studies resources. Its primary focus is on Indigenous peoples of Canada with a secondary focus on Indigenous peoples of the United States, Australia, Aotearoa – New Zealand, and other areas of the world.

The I-Portal contains full-text electronic resources including articles, e-books, theses, government publications, videos, oral histories, reports, and digitized archival documents and photographs. As of 2022, the I-Portal had over 71,000 records and new content is added on a continuing basis.

The collection is developed through a variety of approaches, including:
1) Articles published in a core list of journals.
2) Resources identified in the reference lists of other publications such as articles, grey literature, books, and theses.
3) Resources suggested by scholars in the area.
4) Focused searches on areas of contemporary interest
[From Website]

The International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH) was established to advance knowledge and understanding to improve Indigenous health. The Journal seeks to bring knowledge from diverse intellectual traditions together with a focus on culturally diverse Indigenous voices, methodologies and epistemology. The Journal is peer-reviewed, online, open-access and shares innovative health research across disciplines, Indigenous communities, and countries. Building on its trusted reputation for sharing community-relevant and high-quality knowledge, the IJIH welcomes submissions within the IJIH mandate from researchers and practitioners in Indigenous health around the world. [From Publisher]

An editorial and advisory board made up of experts in Indigenous issues leads this peer-reviewed journal. Regionally, they represent North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. IIPJ is a peer-reviewed, policy-relevant research journal addressing issues pertaining to Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. At its founding, we felt it was an important time to take up the development of IIPJ because we saw growing similarity in the challenges facing Indigenous Peoples worldwide and yet no dedicated peer-reviewed forum for discussion of these challenges. Whether we look at health, educational attainment, development, social welfare, or any of the many key issues facing peoples of this world, we find important and common concerns being expressed by Indigenous Peoples and their communities. This Journal aims to expose the policy issues related to these concerns by encouraging and giving expression to the very best research, which can then be used as an evidence base to guide policy making. We are also concerned that research and policy be developed in an ethical manner by taking into direct consideration needs and concerns of the peoples themselves. [From Website]

This chapter describes the development and impact assessments of an online, co‐curricular intercultural communication course that weaves together material addressing reconciliation with Indigenous communities in Canada with material about cultural difference and communication across cultures. Considerations for inclusive online course design and for the sequencing of core intercultural communication concepts are described. [From Author]

Building Indigeneity into the curricula at Canadian post-secondary schools requires more than just introducing Indigenous history and knowledge. To ensure systemic change, we must have the courage to engage in uncomfortable conversations with ourselves and in every classroom, boardroom, library, breakout room and theatre within the post-secondary system. [From Website]

First Peoples: A Guide for Newcomers aims to fill the need for clear information in simple language about the First Peoples in Vancouver. It introduces newcomers to three important topics: who are Aboriginal people (or First Peoples) in Vancouver and Canada; a brief overview of the relationship between the Government of Canada and First Peoples; and current initiatives and ways for newcomers to learn more about Aboriginal people in the community. [From Author]

This article presents an evolving transformative praxis referred to as “a potlatch methodology” to establish wholistic truth and reconciliation engagement for diverse classroom compositions, drawing on traditional ways of knowing in the authors' Híɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) communities. The Potlach is a high-context (ancient, culturally and spiritually informed) approach designed to apply intercultural /transformative learning concepts necessary for witnessing greater intergenerational learning and success. At the micro level, the method can be used to engage your students and to design your lessons plans and rubrics; at the macro level, its utility can also serve to respectfully engage community scholars to help indigenize your institution (Wilcox et al. 2008). In this article, we model the ways in which we create inclusive teaching spaces by incorporating our Indigenous languages, storytelling, and ways of knowing and learning into our courses and teaching approaches. For example, as you read the article, you may notice the ways in which we articulate our positionality and sources of knowledge to create an inclusive learning space, or the ways in which we infuse traditional academic writing with storytelling, argumentation, and unique concepts from our cultures, represented in our original languages and spelling in order to decolonize academic discourse. [From Author]

Finding ways to validate and encourage traditional Aboriginal values and customs into modern western (whitestream(f.1)) educational practices must become a priority for teachers who work with Aboriginal students. Circle work, sometimes referred to as "talking circles" (Four Worlds Development Project 1985) is one of many customs that can be adapted for classroom use, parenting (Bruyere 1984), healing (Hampton et al. 1995), and culturally relevant sentencing and justice treatment programs (Ross 1996). While serving as a useful tool for behaviour modelling and classroom management, the circle embraces and teaches the traditional values of respect, care, and noninterference (Ross 1992). [From Author]

After several decades of calls for action, overall levels of educational participation and attainment among indigenous people remain much lower than those for Canadians as a whole. Beginning with an overview of recent educational trends, this paper seeks to understand why educational visions expressed by indigenous people several decades ago remain unfulfilled. Focusing on recent federal government legislation for First Nations education, the analysis highlights how government policies and public discourses frequently exclude and undermine indigenous people and their rights despite constitutional recognition of indigenous status within a liberal democratic context. These processes of “democratic colonization”, as the emergence of alternative movements such as Idle No More has made evident, reveal the continuing impact of colonization on indigenous people and their lands and communities, reinforced through many of the kinds of government policies, practices and public opinions around which the movement initially coalesced. This paper explores the various factors that facilitate and impede educational reform within this social context. [From Author]

The question of whether neutrality is possible in academic development invites us to explore the particular place of academic development in our institutions and how academic development is positioned in our particular national and institutional environments. This paper, which reports on a small pilot study of how Canadian academic development is positioned institutionally, will use post-colonial metaphors of development to demonstrate the impossibility of neutrality in academic development work. It will also explore how academic developers might move forward in a decolonizing manner that acknowledges our non-neutrality, respecting the expertise and experience of our disciplinary colleagues, while at the same time ensuring a collaborative teaching and learning environment. [From Author]

Xwi7xwa Library is a centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship. Its collections and services reflect Aboriginal approaches to teaching, learning, and research. Everyone is welcome to visit Xwi7xwa Library. [From Website]

The mission of social work is to help people meet their basic needs and enhance their well-being. Through a strong empowerment orientation, the profession can aid people vulnerable to oppression as a result of racism, discrimination, and poverty. Social work can be a powerful force in advancing the practice of Indigenous education. Social workers and educators working together can use empowerment-oriented strategies to enable Indigenous people to influence educational decisions and practices that affect their lives. These strategies include building strong collaborative relationships with parents, teachers, students, and school administrators to increase their personal and political power; moving away from models that blame the student, family, or culture for Indigenous students' low academic achievement, high dropout rates, and nonconforming behavior; and overcoming oppressive structural aspects of school and community life that create disappointing outcomes for Indigenous children. Social workers and educators must acknowledge their professions' role in the painful legacy of boarding schools and mass removal of Indigenous children from their homes. Honest and meaningful dialogues with Indigenous peoples on this subject will promote respect for and validation of their narratives, survival, and experiences. Social workers can advance Indigenous education by assuming various roles: human services broker, teacher, counselor, staff developer, and social change agent. Social workers can use their understanding of social policy to analyze social problems and programs relevant to First Nations communities, and students of social work with field practicum experience in Indigenous communities can bring important cultural knowledge and understanding to schools. [From Author]

Elements of Indigenous Style provides guidelines to help writers, editors, and publishers produce material that reflects Indigenous people in an appropriate and respectful manner. Gregory Younging, a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, has been the managing editor of Theytus Books, the first Aboriginal-owned publishing house in Canada, for over 13 years. Elements of Indigenous Style evolved from the house style guide Gregory developed at Theytus in order to ensure content was consistent and respectful. This guide contains: A historical overview of the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in literature; Common errors and how to avoid them when writing about Indigenous peoples; Guidance on working in a culturally sensitive way; A discussion of problematic and preferred terminology; Suggestions for editorial guidelines. [From Publisher]

Learning Bird was founded on the principle that students learn best when the content they are engaging with is interesting and relevant to them. This is why we work in collaboration with schools and communities to integrate local Indigenous culture, language, history, and teachings into the content. We help communities infuse their voices into classrooms across Canada, to the benefit of all students. [From Website]