Indigenizing the Academy — Making universities more welcoming for Aboriginal peoples By Anne Russell on May 6, 2013 For anyone new to academia, there’s a bit of confusion and trepidation. Why do the professors wear those gowns at Convocation? How do you know when and where to apply for a scholarship? What’s a graduate […]
View the keynote address by Dr Jo-Ann Episkenew, University of Saskatchewan here. 4 R’s of Education Respect, Reciprocity, Relevance, Responsibility Dr. Jo-Ann Episkenew
Students principally spoke to the questions of addressing misconceptions of what indigenization meant: they felt that a separate gathering space was needed where they could feel at home and culturally safe, feeling they could be themselves and not be judged. Also addressed were issues of structural discrimination typical of a Eurocentric post-secondary institution: mentioned as […]
Coyote is in the forest and loses his needle. Owl comes and asks coyote ‘what’s wrong’? Coyote tells Owl ‘I’m looking for my needle.’ Owl says to Coyote ‘I’ll help you find your needle’ and then soars up into the sky and circles the area looking for the needle. He comes back down and tells […]
The process of aboriginal education is improving but very slowly. Only recently, aboriginal people were limited to a grade 5 education. It is only this generation that sees aboriginal people at university. Unfortunately, there is only a 50% graduation rate for aboriginal students from the k-12 system. However, aboriginal students who complete their undergraduate degrees […]
Staff (Caucus) observed that it was very easy to underestimate the challenges involved, and wondered how to make the curriculum more balanced for aboriginal students, and if there were a way to incorporate and promote understanding through staff training and development. It was suggested that ceremonial activities, like sweats, were important to indigenization, as they […]
Indigenizing the Academy workshops produced a lot of reflection around the best way forward for everyone, indigenous and non-indigenous alike. It was noted by Senior Administrators that Student retention was closely tied to support structures, including a culturally safe (decolonized) space, funding support, daycare support, community involvement, aboriginal advisors, elders in residence, and Indigenous faculty and programming. Elders […]
Just because learning was uncomfortable for me does not mean that I need to make it uncomfortable for my students. I try very hard to create compassionate, genuine, reciprocal relationships with my students.