Weaving Knowledge Systems Resource Materials

This article explores the discourse practices of an Indigenous, community-based charter school and its efforts to create space for Indigenous both/and identities across rural–urban divides. The ethnographic portrait of Urban Native Middle School (UNMS) analyzes the discourse of making ‘a space for you’, which brings together rural and urban youth to braid binary constructs such as Indigenous and western knowledge, into a discourse of Indigenous persistence constraining contexts of schooling. We use the concept of ‘reterritorialization’ to discuss the significance of UNMS’s community effort to create a transformative space and place of educational opportunity with youth. The local efforts of this small community to reterritorialize schooling were ultimately weakened under the one-size-fits-all accountability metrics of No Child Left Behind policy. This ethnographic analysis ‘talks back’ to static definitions of identity, space and learning outcomes which fail to recognize the dynamic and diverse interests of Indigenous communities across rural – urban landscapes. [From Author]

The chapters in Parts 2 and 3 are written alternately from within Indigenous and Western paradigms. Parts 2 focuses on the legacy of racism, trauma, and dislocation. [From Publisher]

Whole issue of the journal. The article on page 48 has a focus on Canadian Aboriginal students.

In high school Brad hid his heritage from his best friends. He wasn't the only one. As an Indigenous Educator, Brad seeks to ensure First Peoples move forward with courage.

Brad Baker is a member of the Squamish Nation and is presently working as a District Principal for the North Vancouver School District. His passion is bringing the history of First Nations to the classroom to allow a better understanding of how we as a society can move forward in a collaborative manner. Brad was the recipient of the national Indspire Guiding The Journey Indigenous Educator Award in Leadership in 2014. Brad believes that conversation on the tough topics of Aboriginal Education will lead to reconciliation which will enhance the learning environment for all learners. GO FORWARD WITH COURAGE. [From YouTube]

Indigenous students face immense educational disadvantage in mainstream schooling which leads to a number of negative consequences for them as individuals and for their communities. Therefore, the issue of teaching literacy with principles derived from research informed by Indigenous ways of knowing is of critical importance. This article reviews adolescent literacy learning in general and the challenges faced especially by Indigenous students in Western classrooms. Next we discuss the importance of cultural sensitivity in literacy teaching and describe a literacy education program based on principles for teaching literacy to Indigenous students using Indigenous research practices. We found that Indigenous students need teachers who establish relationships with them; classroom activities that encourage active involvement, inclusion of their cultural background, power sharing in the classroom, and use of a variety of sign systems — especially oral and visual ones — in order to improve their literacy. [From Author]

This is a process article for weaving indigenous and mainstream knowledges within science educational curricula and other science arenas, assuming participants include recognized holders of traditional ecological knowledge (we prefer “Indigenous Knowledge” or “Traditional Knowledge”) and others with expertise in mainstream science. It is based on the “Integrative Science” undergraduate program created at Cape Breton University to bring together indigenous and mainstream sciences and ways of knowing, as well as related Integrative Science endeavors in science research, application, and outreach. A brief historical outline for that experiential journey is provided and eight “Lessons Learned” listed. The first, namely “acknowledge that we need each other and must engage in a co-learning journey” is explained as key for the success of weaving efforts. The second, namely “be guided by Two-Eyed Seeing”, is considered the most profound because it is central to the whole of a co-learning journey and the article’s discussion is focussed through it. The eighth lesson, “develop an advisory council of willing, knowledgeable stakeholders”, is considered critical for sustaining success over the long-term given that institutional and community politics profoundly influence the resourcing and recruitment of any academic program and thus can help foster success, or sabotage it. The scope of relevance for Two-Eyed Seeing is broad and its uptake across Canada is sketched; the article also places it in the context of emerging theory for transdisciplinary research. The article concludes with thoughts on why “Two-Eyed Seeing” may seem to be desired or resisted as a label in different settings. [From Author]

Written mainly by First Nations and Metis people, this book examines current issues in First Nations education. [From Publisher]

A number of universities have introduced Indigenous student-specific programming to improve recruitment. These programs target the needs of Indigenous students and often impart a sense of comfort or belonging that may be more difficult to obtain in a mainstream program. The University of Saskatchewan, College of Nursing, implemented a Learn Where You Live delivery model that challenged the university community to think differently about outreach and engagement. This is best described by redefining distance such that student services and supports would no longer be localized to a main campus but redesigned for distribution across the province. Sustaining this model meant the College leadership had to find new ways to support faculty to engage in teaching and learning opportunities that would be context relevant and aid student recruitment and retention. The new position of Strategist for Outreach and Indigenous Engagement was created to lead opportunities for faculty and staff to gain knowledge and expertise in policy development, negotiation and implementation for success in the distributed delivery model. The framework of Two-Eyed Seeing was adapted to guide the introduction and ongoing implementation (Bartlett et al. 2012). [From Author]

The purpose of the current qualitative investigation was to examine Aboriginal undergraduates’ (N = 6) experiences with racial microaggressions at a leading Canadian university. The research team analyzed focus group data using a modified consensual qualitative research approach (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). The authors identified 5 distinct themes that represented Aboriginal students’ experiences with racial microaggressions on campus: (a) encountering expectations of primitiveness, (b) enduring unconstrained voyeurism, (c) withstanding jealous accusations, (d) experiencing curricular elimination or misrepresentation, and (e) living with day-to-day cultural and social isolation. Some themes were similar to previous research, whereas others were novel to the current investigation. Implications for future research and campus interventions are discussed. [From Author]

Learning About Walking in Beauty: Placing Aboriginal Perspectives in Canadian Classrooms comes from the Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies (CAAS) with funding support from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF). Walking in Beauty is a term that speaks of conducting oneself in harmony with all of the living world, and is respectfully borrowed from the Navajo People.

In 2000-2001, the CAAS conducted a national Student Awareness Survey, measuring awareness, attitudes and knowledge of facts about Aboriginal Peoples' histories, cultures, worldviews and current concerns. Five hundred and nineteen young adults (460 Canadian, 35 Aboriginal and 24 Newcomer students in first year university and college courses across Canada) responded to this 12-page survey. The survey questionnaire was developed and administered by Aboriginal and Canadian educators, scholars, traditional Elders and advocates within the 300-member CAAS network.

The Learning About Walking in Beauty report includes the findings from this survey, together with pedagogical, social and historical analyses. The report offers a pedagogical framework and proposals for learning about "walking in beauty" together. [From Website]

UFV’s College of Arts held its third annual Student Leadership Symposium: Mobilizing Hope virtual event on January 5, 2021 from 9-4 pm. The event included a "Building Hope Through Radical Truths" lunch panel with UFV’s Race and Antiracism Network (RAN). This session was facilitated by RAN co-chair Sharanjit (Sharn) Kaur Sandhra and RAN member Brett Pardy, and included six student panelists: Aleeta Victoria-Eve Sepass, Harlajvanti Sidhu, Sarah Shirin, Shannon Pahladsingh, and Tanveer Saroya. [From YouTube]

A Guide for Front-Line Staff, Student Services, and Advisors is part of an open professional learning series developed for staff across post-secondary institutions in British Columbia.

Guides in the series include: Foundations;[1] Leaders and Administrators;[2] Curriculum Developers;[3] Teachers and Instructors;[4] Front-Line Staff, Student Services, and Advisors;[5] and Researchers.[6]. These guides are the result of the Indigenization Project, a collaboration between BCcampus and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training. The project was supported by a steering committee of Indigenous education leaders from BC universities, colleges, and institutes, the First Nations Education Steering Committee, the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association, and Métis Nation BC. [From Author]

The purpose of this paper was to review literature on Blending Indigenous Healing Approaches and Mainstream Traditional Approaches, specifically for intergenerational trauma. Indigenous people have endured many forms of assimilation that continues to impact their health, safety and well-being. It appears mainstream healing approaches are ineffective on its own, a plausible solution would be to blend Indigenous healing approaches into appropriate mainstream healing methods. [From Author]

This study addresses the identification and self-identification of Aboriginal people within the
educational context across Canadian jurisdictions. [From Author]

To explore how the threat of prejudice can interfere with a learner’s ability beliefs, expectancies of success and subjective task value 165 Métis post-secondary students were asked to consider themselves applying for a job with a non-Indigenous employer. Participants were grouped into high and low Métis identifiers and then placed into one of three groups: (1) Employer-prejudiced, (2) Employer non-prejudiced, and (3) Employer’s attitudes about Indigenous peoples unknown. A 2x3 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the relationship between Métis identity (high/low) and five concepts: (1) expectations about being hired, (2) value placed on being hired, (3) learners’ beliefs about the mock employer’s integrity, (4) the extent to which learner’s held negative over-generalized negative beliefs about non-Indigenous people, and (5) actual task performance. Although there were no interaction effects a number of main effects are reported. While students with a stronger sense of Métis identity reported more overall optimism about being hired that those learners with a weaker sense of Métis identity, they nevertheless reported less motivation to perform an assigned task to the best of their respective abilities. Students in the prejudiced condition reported lower expectations about being hired and less motivation to perform the assigned task to the best of their ability. Students in the prejudiced condition also reported stronger negative generalized beliefs about both the mock employer and non-Indigenous people in general. Although the students in the prejudiced condition reported less motivation to exert high effort on the assigned task, their actual performance on the task was not related to whether or not the hypothetical employer was described as prejudiced, non-prejudiced, or neither about Indigenous peoples. Future studies should explore how one’s sense of Métis identity and other minority group identity can influence reactions to a threatening academic environment and suppress academic motivation. [From Author]

There is a wealth of research showing the demotivating effects of prejudice on the academic achievement of historically marginalized social groups. However, there is a lack of research involving Metis students. The purpose of the present study was to examine how the task performance and attitudes of Metis post-secondary students can be influenced by prejudice. Data from 165 Metis post-secondary students were analyzed. The participants were asked to role play applying for a job with a non-Aboriginal employment manager, who may or may not have held negative attitudes towards Aboriginal people. The study involved a 2 X 3 research design. The participants were categorized into two groups: High and low Metis identifiers. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) Prejudiced (manager held negative attitudes about Aboriginal people); (2) Unknown attitudes (students were not given any information about the manager’s attitudes), and; (3) Non-prejudiced (manager thought favourably about Aboriginal people). The participants completed a battery of questionnaires, the scores of which functioned as dependent variables: the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) was used to assess verbal fluency, and to infer motivation; the Selection Attitudes (SA) Scale was used to assess the students’ expectations of being hired, the value they placed on being hired, their motivation to perform the verbal task, as well as their beliefs about the manager’s sense of fairness; and the Stereotyping of Whites (SW) Scale which assessed the extent to which the participants stereotyped the non-Aboriginal employment manager. The Metis Identity (MI) Scale was used to categorize the participants into high or low Metis identifiers. As a preliminary procedure, a psychometric investigation was conducted on the Metis Identity (MI) and Selection Attitudes (SA) Scales. The investigation found the MI Scale to be a reliable measure of high or low Metis identity. The SA Scale consisted of four subscales: expectations, valuing, motivation, and fairness. The valuing subscale was shown to be unreliable and therefore removed from the SA Scale. The primary analysis tested six research hypotheses, which considered the extent to which the high and low Metis identifiers responded to the questionnaires within each of the three research conditions (Prejudiced, Unknown attitudes, Non-prejudiced). It was hypothesised that, while the reactions of the high and low Metis identifiers would not differ significantly in the Prejudiced condition (i.e., where the possibility of prejudice was likely and imminent), the reactions of the high identifiers would be significantly more negative than the reactions of the low identifiers in the Unknown and Non-prejudiced conditions (i.e., where the possibility of prejudice was either ambiguous or unlikely). The hypotheses were not supported. Although there were no significant interaction effects that would support the hypotheses, there were several main effects for both the Metis identity and Prejudice factors. The high Metis identifiers reported more motivation and overall optimism about being hired than did the low identifiers. There were also several main effects for the Prejudice factor. Participants in the Prejudiced condition reported less of an expectation of being hired than those students in either the unknown attitudes or non-prejudice conditions. The participants in the Prejudiced condition also reported less motivation to perform the verbal fluency task to the best of their ability than did the participants in the unknown attitudes condition. The participants in the Prejudiced condition also stereotyped the manager more negatively than those participants in the other two, less threatening conditions. Even though the participants in the Prejudiced condition reacted more negatively to the possibility of prejudice than did those in the Unknown attitudes and Non-prejudiced conditions, whether the participants were high or low Metis identifiers did not significantly influence their reactions. In addition to the primary analyses, multiple regression analyses were performed with the COWAT and motivation as dependent variables. The analysis found that length of post-secondary education, reported motivation, and perceived fairness predicted the COWAT. The Selection Attitudes (SA) Scale and Metis Identity (MI) Scale predicted reported motivation. The study showed that Metis post-secondary students can react negatively to perceived prejudice, especially when it appears to be likely and imminent. However, their reactions may have little to do with whether they are high or low Metis identifiers. Since the perceived possibility of prejudice can influence Metis post-secondary students, it is important for non-Aboriginal educators to be aware of their attitudes and beliefs about Metis students in order to better appreciate how these beliefs can influence their students for the better or worse. [From Author]

In July 2008, IAHLA and FNESC presented to the provincial government a policy background paper titled Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education in British Columbia: A Place for Aboriginal Institutes.” That paper provides information and six recommendations to advance the formal recognition of Aboriginal-controlled post-secondary institutes as a critical component of the British Columbia post-secondary system. The policy background paper has proven to be an effective and valuable document for facilitating consultations with Aboriginal-controlled institutes and First Nations communities throughout BC, and for advancing key issues with government and other relevant stakeholders. [From Website]

Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors. [From Author]

The FPPSE Project shares stories from Indigenous students with the goal of improving the postsecondary experience for future generations. [From Website]

Focuses on the place of education in renewing Indigenous culture and tradition. The film is part of a larger Social Science and Humanities Council funded study and is based on interviews with the children and grandchildren of residential school survivors first interviewed for a 1986 study done by Celia Haig-Brown. The offspring are actively engaging in regenerative educational initiatives such as art, language immersion schools, traditional wilderness camps and filmmaking. Helen Haig-Brown, Celia's neice and the daughter of one of the initial residential school survivors interviewed, is not only a participant and co-investigator in the project but the film's director and co-writer. The research explores with selected children and grandchildren of the survivors of residential schools the place of education in renewing culture and language. In this case, education refers to both formal schooling and other less direct approaches to teaching and learning. Specifically, the guiding question is: What is the role of education in the regeneration of Aboriginal/First Nations cultures and languages? How does it serve the re-creation of indigenous knowledges in contemporary contexts? [From Website]

This study developed out of a need to discuss Eurocentrism in Indigenous education and to provide what the Elders describe as an appropriate educational experience. The purpose of the study was, within a northern context, to discuss Indigenous education, and how educators and Elders perceived their cultural models, values, and aspirations of Indigenous resilience. This study deals with Indigenous resilience based on knowledge held by Indigenous educators and Elders with respect to the traditional teachings and values within Indigenous cultures in Northern Manitoba. We present the perspectives held by these constituents with respect to the notions of Indigenous resiliency. Two Indigenous researchers of Dene and Cree nations share their perspectives based on interviews with Indigenous Elders about traditional education in Northern Manitoba. Interview results demonstrate that a traditional, culturally appropriate model of education is significant to Indigenous resilience development. [From Author]

This study examines the educational experiences of 39 First Nations youth, ages 16-20 years, from two, First Nations, on-reserve, communities in northern Ontario, who share their reflections and experiences of reserve and public schooling. We drew on the Indigenous metaphor of the “new warrior” to analyze how these youth experienced and responded to educational challenges. Their conversations describe how racism framed their
schooling experiences and how they made use of their Indigenous sources of strength, which included family and community structures, to address the inequalities in their schooling. [From Author]

This toolkit is intended to assist with efforts to create and continue the establishment of respectful dialogue and partnership arrangements between Aboriginal institutes, First Nations communities, public post-secondary institutions, industry partners, and the Ministry of Advanced Education.

It provides background information and sample templates for the creation of agreements that reflect equitable and collaborative partnerships between post-secondary institutions, including Indigenous, public and private institutions. [From Website]

Aboriginal people are alarmingly under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related careers. This under-representation is a direct result of the lack of academic success in science and mathematics, an issue that begins early in elementary and middle school and often escalates in secondary school with the majority consequently doing poorly, not completing these courses and often dropping out. This makes them ineligible to pursue STEM-related paths at the post-secondary level. The greatest challenges to success in these courses are the lack of relevancy for Aboriginal learners and, as importantly, how they are taught; impediments that are also paramount to the increasing lack of success for many non-Aboriginal students in STEM-related courses. This paper explores how Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning and those of the 21st century learners of today very closely parallel each other and illustrates how the creative multidisciplinary approach of a liberal education might be the way to enable early academic engagement, success and retention of Aboriginal learners in the sciences and mathematics. [From Author]

This handbook was created to help answer questions and to prepare students for the next step in their education journey. The contents reflect the concerns and struggles of Indigenous students who are currently enrolled in, or have graduated from a post-secondary institution. The handbook covers a wide variety of topics including: finding suitable childcare in an urban setting; accessing affordable housing; and, meeting new people in an unfamiliar city. This handbook is meant to serve as a living, dynamic document to build upon. [From Website]

The survey conducted by Indspire focused on students’ experiences on campuses across the country post-Truth and Reconciliation. This report reflects the feedback students provided and is structured in a way that moves between the very personal lived experience of “I” tied to the words of individual students to a more collaborative “we” in the body of each section. This represents Indspire’s commitment to ensure the power of student voice resonates in a way that individual perspectives feed into a broader, collaborative and inclusive reflection of the Indigenous students who were part of this conversation. [From Author]

Achievement gaps between underrepresented minority (URM) students and their white peers in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classrooms are persistent across many white-majority institutions of higher education. Attempts to reduce this phenomenon of underperformance through increasing classroom structure via active learning have been partially successful. In this study, we address the hypothesis that the achievement gap between white and URM students in an undergraduate biology course has a psychological and emotional component arising from stereotype threat. Specifically, we introduced a values affirmation exercise that counters stereotype threat by reinforcing a student’s feelings of integrity and self-worth in three iterations of an intensive active-learning college biology course. On average, this exercise reduced the achievement gap between URM and white students who entered the course with the same incoming grade point average. This result suggests that achievement gaps resulting from the underperformance of URM students could be mitigated by providing students with a learning environment that removes psychological and emotional impediments of performance through short psychosocial interventions. [From Author]

This study involved the use of personal interviews of six Aboriginal students at the University of Alberta in the fall of 1999. This article includes a brief literature review of other articles that consider adult Aboriginal people as library patrons and a section on Indigenous knowledge and values. Findings include three main concerns: a lack of Indigenous resources in the library system; a lack of resource or research development concerning Indigenous issues; and a lack of services recognizing the Indigenous values of “being in relationship” and reciprocity. [From Author]

YouTube Video of lessLIE (Leslie Robert Sam): Coast Salish Artist walking around UVIC campus discussing his art.

In 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) described Canada’s residential school policy, established in the 1880’s and active through most of the 20th century, as ‘cultural genocide’. Earlier that same year, Maclean’s magazine described Winnipeg as Canada’s most racist Winnipeg. Winnipeg, situated on Treaty One territory, has the largest Indigenous population of any Canadian City. Situated in the centre of the City, The University of Winnipeg is seeking ways to respond to the TRC Calls to Action and is exploring ways to Indigenise. In this paper I describe the pedagogical approach of a small university department purposefully situated outside of the main campus in a low-income inner-city neighbourhood with a large Indigenous population. The department integrates critical, place-based pedagogies rooted in an understanding of systemic oppression. We agree that reconciliation begins with acknowledging the truth about the past and present damage caused by colonial policies. Despite the fact that what we have learned is essential to reconciliation in the postsecondary education context, we face many obstacles in a political context driven by neoliberal austerity that threatens our approach and makes reconciliation near impossible to achieve. [From Author]

Across Canada, systemic barriers have created an environment where Indigenous learners encounter various obstacles to accessing and persisting through post-secondary education, resulting in an educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. The federal government has recognized the importance of and made it a priority to address this gap. Although the proportion of Indigenous high school graduates and the count of Indigenous students entering into the post-secondary system have been increasing, the Indigenous post-secondary attainment rate remains significantly lower than that of non-Indigenous learners. [From Author]

The issue of Indigenous engagement, participation and success in the sciences is a concern both in Australia and in Canada. The authors of this paper have taught Indigenous students in tertiary enabling programs, undergraduate science and science education. Their experiences bridging Indigenous and Western cultures in science and science education through Both-Ways (BW) or Two-Eyed Seeing (TES) pedagogical and methodological approaches form the data for this paper. Their teaching experience with tertiary level Indigenous students using BW/TES pedagogies serves as case studies for the epistemic insight (knowledge about knowledge) they have gained. Each of the case studies considers the role of the Nature of Science (NOS) and potential conflicts through engagement with the two knowledge paradigms. Rather than being in conflict, the two worldviews are seen as complementary, a situation leading to epistemic insight. [From Author]

Student success is facilitated by strong bonds between families and schools, including a shared sense of purpose and mutual trust. However, for Indigenous peoples these relationships are often broken, undermined by the legacy of residential schooling and assimilative educational practices. Drawing on interviews with 50 Indigenous (mainly Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Métis) and non‐Indigenous parents and educators, this paper examines the ways in which issues of class and race shape interactions between teachers and Indigenous parents. The interviews reveal that legacies of racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples in schooling affect family/school relations among middle‐class (MC) and lower‐class (LC) parents in different ways. MC parents intensify relations with the school while, in comparison, LC parents tend to disengage as a consequence of their negative schooling experiences. [From Author]

Indigenous students remain one of the least represented populations in higher education. They continue to account for only one percent of the total post-secondary student population, and this lack of representation is felt in multiple ways beyond enrollment. Less research money is spent studying Indigenous students, and their interests are often left out of projects that otherwise purport to address diversity in higher education. Recently, Native scholars have started to reclaim research through the development of their own research methodologies and paradigms that are based in tribal knowledge systems and values, and that allow inherent Indigenous knowledge and lived experiences to strengthen the research. Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education highlights the current scholarship emerging from these scholars of higher education. From understanding how Native American students make their way through school, to tracking tribal college and university transfer students, this book allows Native scholars to take center stage, and shines the light squarely on those least represented among us. [From Publisher]

The Inuit Bachelor of Education (IBED) and the associated Inuktitut language training, developed by the Nunatsiavut Government, has been an opportunity to explore the relationships between cultural identity and learning an Indigenous heritage language as a second language. Language holds the collective knowledge of a group and cultural identity is one’s own perception of connection to the group. A group of preservice teachers are being interviewed twice a year for three years. This study uses narrative methods to give voice to the pre-service teachers’ experiences through their personal stories of learning Inuktitut. The narratives thus far reflect how language learning may contribute to an increased awareness of, and connection to, one’s Indigenous group. The strengthening of cultural identity can enhance wellbeing, which has implications for the learning of these pre-service teachers and the impact on their future students. This is a preliminary report from the on-going research. [From Author]

What is nation building? This article explores the perspectives of a group of students at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in 2014 during a time of cultural revitalization and upon the restoration of Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation. As demonstrated by the vignette, nation building has become a popular term in academia as well as in the words spoken by Native leadership. From the vantage point of various roles, but primarily as an educator, I wanted to uncover how nation building was articulated through the eyes of tribal college students who: studied nation building curriculum; heard from the experiences of speakers invested in Indigenous communities; engaged in service learning projects that served Native children; and who were immersed in an educational setting that was grounded in valuing the sovereignty of tribal nations. Celina shared her story with me during an interview. She was a key participant in a phenomenological study that was completed shortly after the gas station event described above. The purpose of the study was to capture the collective phenomenological experience and pay tribute to the many projects that led to the accomplishments of students like Celina. These students shared the common experience of taking a set of Native Studies–centered courses and attending SIPI from 2013–14 during a general education movement in cultural relevancy. These courses were designed to establish an understanding of nation building through Indigenous education pedagogy. [From Author]

Since time immemorial humans have explored ways of transmitting knowledge to their young. Devising a variety of ways over the millennia, various cultures have developed methodologies that suit the adult that they hopefully assume the child or children being raised will become. [From Author]

The increasing participation of Aboriginal students in Canadian higher education had been attributed to the development of services for students in institutions of higher education. Pigeon (2001) studied the relationship between students and student services in the evolution and delivery of these services. This article reflects on an important facet of this original research used to conduct this project. It highlights the importance of developing a culturally sensitive research process when exploring Aboriginal issues. The research process of this study included the use of technology, the development of a Web site to enable such a process. Lessons learned from conducting this research are shared in relationship to research process, care principles and guiding values. [From Author]

Globally, neoliberal education policy touts youth entrepreneurship education as a solution for staggering youth unemployment, a means to bolster economically depressed regions, and solution to the ill-defined changing marketplace. Many jurisdictions have emphasized a need for K-12 entrepreneurial education for the general population, and targeted to youth labeled ‘at risk’. The Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative’s Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP) has been enacted across Canada. This paper applies critical discourse analysis to a corpus of texts, exposing how colonial practices, deficit discourse, and discursive neoliberalism are embedded and perpetuated though entrepreneurial education targeted at Aboriginal students via AYEP. [From Author]

As Indigenous educators who share a passion for innovative approaches using instructional media, we are inspired to explore the ways in which technology can
support teaching and learning from Indigenous perspectives. Several scholars advocate the use of technology in reclamation of First Peoples’ voices, stories and other ways of knowing (Ginsburg, 2000; Iseke-Barnes, 2002; Dyson, Hendriks & Grant, 2007). Reflecting social constructionism, we believe media can be designed to build educator capacity within these special interest areas. By highlighting work that is currently underway within Indigenous education, we invite readers to imagine their own possibilities for transformative and decolonizing pedagogy. [From Author]

The recognition that things needed to change to help Indigenous students enter post-secondary education.

This chapter will highlight some of the challenges and opportunities specific to bringing Indigenous knowledge and perspectives to online learning environments. Drawing on two recent Indigenous education case studies – the author’s experience developing a massive open online course (MOOC) on Indigenous worldviews and codesigning an online course for principals working in First Nations schools across Canada – this chapter will discuss the opportunities and challenges of designing online learning experiences that invite all learners to engage with Indigenous knowledges, worldviews, and pedagogies in culturally appropriate, respectful, and meaningful ways. This research is based on a decolonizing theoretical framework using a critical pedagogical and relational approach to processes of knowledge production, informed by Indigenous
research methodologies and epistemological frameworks. Applying an Indigenous ethics derived from Indigenous knowledge protocols in both the course design and the subsequent analysis of data drawn from evaluations of the course, the chapter argues that indigenizing online learning spaces is possible but also fraught with the same challenges of any learning space not of our own making. [From Author]

Since the sixteenth century, European and Euroamerican observers have puzzled over the identity, roles, and sexuality of the berdache, or what scholars now refer to as two-spirit people, in Native American societies in the Southeast. Over the past generation gender theorists and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) scholars have produced fine studies that aim to demystify two spirits, formerly the domain of anthropological research, and decouple them from the racialized and heteronormative modes of thinking associated with settler colonialism in North America. As this activist scholarship continues to grow, historians of early America have at best played a marginal role in scholarly debates about two-spirit people. This essay represents a historical intervention in the current scholarly discussions about two-spirit people. Focusing particularly on the Cherokees in early America, the following analysis considers the methodological challenges associated with historical studies of two spirits and presents insights into how historians might effectively craft more sophisticated and nuanced analyses of people variously referred to as hermaphrodites, sodomites, berdaches, and two-spirit people in Native American societies of the Southeast. [From Author]

The four questions used on the census to identify Aboriginal peoples yield different concepts for defining different Aboriginal populations. Four commonly used concepts include:
Aboriginal ancestry
Aboriginal identity
Band or First Nation membership
Registered Indian status

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]

Etuaptmumk - Two-Eyed Seeing is explained by saying it refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing ... and learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all.

Spoken word artist, current Halifax Slam Master and recently appointed Poet Laureate for the Halifax Regional Municipality, Rebecca Thomas also holds the position of Coordinator of Aboriginal Student Services at the Nova Scotia Community College. Coming from an indigenous background whose family has been greatly impacted by residential schools, Ms. Thomas has come to recognize the lack of prominence given to First Nations perspectives within the history of Halifax. As a Mi’kmaw woman, she embraces the opportunity to bring her cultural voice to the broader public discussion through the Poet Laureate position, and believes that the arts and poetry can help people heal in ways beyond traditional therapies. “Poetry can give a voice to the voiceless. Poetry can make a powerless person feel powerful. This is why I speak,” said Ms. Thomas. [From YouTube]

As Thompson Rivers University embarks on its goal to become the University of Choice for Aboriginal students, it may be helpful for educators to have a toolkit to assist with engaging and interacting with Aboriginal students. This handbook is intended to be a start in that direction. {From Author]

Achieving Indigenous Student Success presents goals and strategies needed to support Indigenous learners in the classroom. This book is for all teachers, grade 9 to grade 12, who have Indigenous students in their classrooms or who are looking for ways to infuse an Indigenous worldview into their curriculum. Although the author's primary focus is the needs of Indigenous students, the ideas are best practices that can be applied in classroom-management techniques, assessment tools, suggestions for connecting to the Indigenous community, and much more! The strategies and information in this resource are about building bridges between cultures that foster respect, appreciation, and understanding. [From Publisher]

This book argues that two principal factors are inhibiting Native students from transitioning from school to college and from succeeding in their post-secondary studies. It presents models and examples of pathways to success that align with Native American students' aspirations and cultural values. Many attend schools that are poorly resourced where they are often discouraged from aspiring to college. Many are alienated from the educational system by a lack of culturally appropriate and meaningful environment or support systems that reflect Indigenous values of community, sharing, honoring extended family, giving-back to one's community, and respect for creation. The contributors to this book highlight Indigenized college access programs, meaning programs developed by, not just for, the Indigenous community, and are adapted, or developed, for the unique Indigenous populations they serve. [From Publisher]

Following the release of the 94 Calls to Action by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015), Western University approved its first-ever Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP), a document that reflects and seeks to support the long-standing work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous allies at Western. Western’s ISP is a five year plan with multiple strategic priorities designed to facilitate a more inclusive and welcoming campus that supports Indigenous students, faculty, and staff, as well as Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. With this document, Western aims to contribute to the implementation of the ISP and important shifts currently taking place in universities across Canada as they seek to become more receptive, open spaces for Indigenous peoples. [From Author]

Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Jonny's world is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages - and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home for his step-father's funeral, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life. Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of Indigenous life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams. [From Publisher]

Several correlates of Indigenous youth participation in sport and/or physical activities (S/PA) have been recognized; however, there is a paucity of research on the relative importance of these predictors, especially those related to the context in which the youth’s physical activities take place. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to explore the correlates of participation in S/PA among off-reserve Indigenous youth. Using data from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS), our analysis was limited to those between the ages of 12 and 17 who were attending elementary or high school and were identified as having a single Indigenous identity (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit [N=4,790]). Using logistic regression, we first assessed unadjusted the effects of each of the correlates on participation in S/PA. We then examined the magnitude of the independent effects of these correlates, controlling for the effects of others. Sampling weights and bootstrap weights were used to account for the multi-stage sampling design employed in the 2012 APS. The results of the multivariate analysis suggest that, controlling for other correlates, youth’s sex, age, health status, drinking behaviour, participation in Indigenous cultural activities and volunteering in community, as well as parental involvement in school activities, strength of family ties, and living in a lone-parent family had statistically significant effects on participation in S/PA. Further research should explore the relationships between these correlates using meditational models to better understand the nature of their effects on participation in S/PA at this age. [From Author]

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]

American Indian/Alaska Native college students responded to two surveys: one assessing their overall psychological status; the other, their current commitment to the traditions they learned as children. Students described their psychological status in reliable, yet diverse ways: displaced and lost; comfortable and naturally embedded; sick, pessimistic, and lonely; purposeful; self-directed; invisible; optimistic; and, instrumental. In their commitment to cultural traditions, students described themselves as emigrated, adrift, and/or alienated. Self-directed students reported using a student-support office less, as did students reporting higher grades. Students describing themselves as adrift used the office more. Not using the office were two worrisome types: one alienated and in poor health; the other, wishing to blend in with others. These results were interpreted in the larger context of university culture, and a unidimensional model of assimilation versus a bi-cultural model of adaptation. [From Publisher]

Colonialism is a significant problem that impacts how Indigenous (and all) students engage with learning, and how teachers create learning contexts. In this dissertation study, I examined how a Community of Inquiry (CoI), comprised of Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, parents, academics, and community members came together to (re)imagine educational contexts that could better support Indigenous (and all) students. Although much of the research was co-constructed with members of the CoI, the research design, activities, and interpretation were informed by literature discussing colonialism, decolonization, and collaborative inquiry focusing on CoIs. I used a four-dimensional model of colonialism to clarify challenges in the educational system. Decolonizing perspectives were used to critically confront colonialism, and (re)imagine ethical relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples. CoI models offered a way to build on the strength of diverse perspectives. These theoretical considerations were a springboard for investigating how the CoI came together, what they identified as key challenges students and teachers navigated, and the pedagogical principles and practices they co-constructed to support Indigenous (and all) learners in a small school district in British Columbia, Canada. This research was conducted using a critical ethnographic case study methodology, grounded in decolonizing perspectives. Within this approach, research methods were co-constructed with participants to ensure that the research undertaken was situated and responsive to the needs of Indigenous students. Findings from this study highlighted specific CoI structures, such as facilitation, context, communication, and goals that opened possibilities for reflection and transformation among CoI participants. Using these structures, participants co-constructed understandings, grappled with pedagogical questions, and (re)imagined a shared future. Participants built from this foundation to create a set of seven principles and practices that could cultivate supportive learning environments. The principles and practices they co-constructed were designed to inspire educators’ self-reflection, create a space that accepts and builds from the strengths of Indigenous and decolonizing perspectives, and bolster supports for Indigenous (and all) students. Lastly, I discuss how these findings contribute to the literature on CoIs, decolonizing possibilities, and pedagogical practices, and provide suggestions educators may use to open decolonizing possibilities within their own contexts. [From Author]

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]