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Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning
Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning
Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning
The Pathways into Indigenization were created by Dana Wesley (MA) and Shaun Longstreet (Ph.D) to guide the College in efforts towards Indigenization and Reconciliation. The Pathways provide five entry points into doing this important work at the College.
This page builds on the Pathways, which mark different entry points into Indigenization. Staff are encouraged to start where they are personally. Fundamentally, we all start from a basis of self-awareness of our own intercultural horizons, a willingness to learn, and openness to engage other perspectives. At any rate, there is a continual need to build upon a foundation of cultural safety and racial equity. When one is competent with the basic elements of the pathways into Indigenization, then incorporating more complex and nuanced elements of the pathways will be more likely to succeed.
The five pathways are outlined below. For the first four of the 5 pathways, there are expandable sections with brief resources that could be used to build upon one's knowledge and competencies. The Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning has a line-up of activities and sessions every semester that tie into the 5 pathways. We are also keen on having one-on-one discussions with faculty on any of the pathways into Indigenization.
Please note that while The Five Pathways into Indigenization and Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being are interconnected, they are not the same.
The Five Pathways document offers a structured guide for staff and institutions to begin or deepen their journey into Indigenization. It outlines how individuals and organizations can reflect on their own practices, shift institutional policies, and take steps toward decolonization. This document functions as a roadmap for engagement, encouraging staff to move toward more inclusive and culturally safe practices. However, it is important to recognize that it is not the knowledge itself. It speaks about Indigenous knowledge and how to respect and engage it, but it does not and cannot contain that knowledge.
Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being are not frameworks or strategies. They are living and relational. These place-based systems of knowledge are grounded in Indigenous cultures, languages, histories, and relationships with the land. These ways of knowing are held and transmitted by Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and community members through story, ceremony, land-based learning, and kinship networks. They are not tools to be extracted or content to be inserted into Western systems. Rather, they require humility, permission, and accountability. They exist independently of institutions and cannot be fully understood through policy or curriculum alone.
While the Five Pathways document serves as an important starting point, it is institutional in nature and intended to support individuals in understanding their roles in processes like cultural safety, anti-racism, and decolonization. It helps create conditions within the college where Indigenous knowledge might be respectfully engaged, but it does not replace that knowledge. To conflate the two risks reducing living knowledge systems to checklists or strategies, rather than approaching them as relationships that must be nurtured and honoured.
To foster a more inclusive and equitable learning environment, all staff must first practice critical self-awareness and progress towards cultural safety. This journey should then extend to the practice of cultural humility, where individuals recognize the value of diverse perspectives and actively seek to learn from different cultures. Additionally, incorporating universal design principles into teaching and student support services will help ensure accessibility, equitable and a more culturally safe college. It is essential to critically examine and challenge the influence of white normativity, privilege, and assumptions in college services, policies and curricula. Antiracism actively seeks to challenge and deconstruct structures and practices that foster discrimination.
Examples of actions toward Cultural Safety and Anti-Racism can include:
- What is Cultural Humility? The Basics
- 10 Keys to Everyday Anti-Racism
- Being an Anti-Racist Educator | Inclusive teaching | Teaching Guides | Teaching Commons
Decolonization dismantles systems rooted in colonization, which have historically favored the knowledge, practices, and values of settler communities and institutions at the expense of Indigenous Peoples. This requires self-awareness, cultural humility, and an awareness of institutional inequities. Decolonization confronts and decenters Eurocentric and settler practices that shaped and continue to influence the educational system. By undertaking this process, instructors open up curricula to encompass a wider array of perspectives, allowing for a more inclusive and diverse range of viewpoints and values to be incorporated into the educational framework. Every staff person can examine college services, procedures and policies to take action and address inequities within them.
Examples of actions toward Decolonization can include:
- Toward Decolonizing Pedagogy Series
- Pulling Together: A Guide for Teachers and Instructors; Open Textbook
- Decolonization Is for Everyone | Nikki Sanchez | TEDxSFU
- Pedagogy of the Decolonizing | Quetzala Carson | TEDxUAlberta
To foster inclusivity and respect for Indigenous communities, College staff may incorporate Indigenous voices and content within a variety of contexts. This entails actively seeking out and including the perspectives and scholarship of Indigenous Peoples. It is imperative for non-Indigenous staff to approach this entry point with a great deal of respect, humility, and intentionality, remembering the historical marginalization and ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous communities. Non-Indigenous individuals must refrain from speaking about, or on behalf of, Indigenous Peoples, as this perpetuates the erasure of their autonomy and reinforces colonial power dynamics. It is also essential for the college to create spaces that amplify and uplift Indigenous voices, without overburdening Indigenous colleagues. The College honours the diversity and individuality of Indigenous cultures and knowledge systems.
Examples of what Incorporating Indigenous Voices and Content can include:
- Appropriate Use of Indigenous Content; Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers
Meaningfully incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing in services, procedures and curricula is an opportunity for deeper learning for all students' educational experiences. Instructional staff may contribute to this by intentionally designing activities and assessments, that not only accommodate but also encourage Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Non-instructional staff can add to and/or rethink services, processes and policies that encourage more holistic and land-based ways of thinking and doing. A deeper appreciation for diverse worldviews and cultural traditions is gained by incorporating and/or highlighting Indigenous perspectives, knowledge, and practices. Engaging in activities that encourage multiple touch points, such as participating in Dialogues with Indigenous Peoples, creates valuable opportunities for the college to directly interact and learn from Indigenous communities.
Examples of what Integrating Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing can include:
Indigenous pedagogy encompasses a variety of approaches. For example, the use of narrative practice or story work, as described by Q’um Q’um Xiiem (Dr. Jo-ann Archibald, Stó:lo). Indigenous pedagogies emphasize a more holistic approach to learning by integrating oral traditions, stories, and land-based teaching methods. They highlight the importance of understanding and respecting the relationality between people, plants, animals, and the environment. All college staff have a role in education. Supporting Indigenous pedagogy can nurture a deeper appreciation for diverse knowledge systems and foster a more comprehensive understanding of the world.
Examples of what Indigenous Pedagogy can include: