Cross-Cutting Themes and Examples

Introduction
The 5Rs Model
Themes & Examples
Critical References
Why a Sea Urchin?
Acknowledgements
Contact

The themes, activities, and approaches detailed in the tabs below offer you ideas and examples to enrich your online course design by integrating principles of Indigenous pedagogy. Each Theme draws attention to cross-connections with the 5Rs, and then offers you additional resources, examples and readings to explore and adapt.

 

+ Decolonization

It is not converting Indigenous politics to a Western doctrine of liberation; it is not a philanthropic process of ‘helping’ the at-risk and alleviating suffering; it is not a generic term for struggle against oppressive conditions and outcomes. The broad umbrella of social justice may have room underneath for all of these efforts. By contrast, decolonization specifically requires the repatriation of Indigenous land and life. Decolonization is not a metonym for social justice.

(Tuck & Yang, 2012, p. 21).

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Decolonization Is for Everyone | Nikki Sanchez | TEDxSFU

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How is this lesson/activity cultivating radical solidarity to support indigenous nations, as more than allies/accomplices to their cause?
  • Respect: How does this lesson/activity acknowledging the complexity of decolonization and our complicity in impeding it?
  • Relevance: How is this lesson/activity relevant to decolonizing education?
  • Responsibility: How is this lesson/activity working towards Indigenous sovereignty and self-governance?​
  • Reciprocity: How is this lesson/activity committed to the repatriation of Indigenous land and life?

Resources

Why decolonize online learning spaces? Visit The 5R’s: Decolonizing the online space to learn more.
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education. Society 1(1), 1–40.
Pedagogical examples:

  • Visit UBC’s Decolonizing Teaching, Indigenizing Learning resource site for ideas and resources to assist with deocolonizing your course design
  • Visit the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (GTDF) arts/research collective’s website which supports collaborations around different kinds of artistic, pedagogical, cartographic, and relational experiments that aim to identify and de-activate colonial habits of being, and to gesture towards the possibility of decolonial futures.

 

+ Truth and Reconciliation

A decolonizing place of encounter between settlers and Indigenous people …by making space for collective critical dialogue – a public remembering embedded in ethical testimonial, ceremonial, and commemorative practices…This entails a public truth telling in which settlers link critical reflection, enlightened vision, and positive action to confront the settler problem head-on. Truth as an act of hope nurtures peaceful yet radical socio-political change that is the necessary foundation of reconciliation

(Regan, 2010, p. 16)
Shirley Anne Swelchalot qas te Shxwha:yathel Hardman speak about the simple message of reconciliation and how it asks for humility from us, as educators

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How is this lesson/activity providing opportunities to change and strengthen Indigenous-settler relations while addressing restitution and reparations for loss of land and Indigenous rights?
  • Respect: How does this lesson/activity acknowledge the impacts of settler-colonialism to Indigenous peoples and prioritize improved educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples?
  • Relevance: How is this lesson/activity relevant to the Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: Calls to action?​
  • Responsibility: How is this lesson/activity rethinking practices and beliefs that influence what we teach and how we teach, allowing us to consider how we might better advance Indigenous ways of knowing in educational spaces?
  • Reciprocity: How is this lesson/activity committed to truth telling and making space for collective critical dialogue?

Resources

Reconciliation Canada’s toolkit and Discussion Guide offer excellent resources.
Regan, P. (2010). Unsettling the settler within: Indian residential schools, truth telling, and reconciliation in Canada. UBC Press.
Learn more in UBC’s MOOC: Reconciliation through Indigenous education

 

+ Digital Storytelling

 

Digital storytelling allows for creative expressions of Indigenous storied traditions through audio, video, and multimodal narrations, which can help foster pride and understanding among Indigenous educators and learners. Digital storytelling has thus become an important educational tool that gives space, voice, and agency to Indigenous people, especially as this mode of expression can support and uphold oral traditions

(Sam et al., 2021)
Dr. Johanna Sam describes how she embraced digital storytelling for learning and teaching

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will sharing this story connect the listeners to the experiences of Indigenous peoples in order to hold themselves accountable to their complicity in the continuous violence Indigenous peoples encounter?
  • Respect: Am I following protocols and practices that make me ready to share this story?
  • Relevance: Are the digital stories that I am using relevant to Indigenous peoples, the context of the students and/or the land I am situated in?
  • Responsibility: How is sharing this story committed to reconciliation, decolonization or/and Indigenous sovereignty?
  • Reciprocity: How will sharing this story give back to the peoples/communities I am speaking of/for?

 

Resources

Visit the Grease Trail Digital Storytelling Project
Sam, J., Schmeisser, C., & Hare, J. (2021). Grease Trail storytelling project: Creating Indigenous digital pathways. KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies, 5(1).
Learn More about Indigenous Storywork on Dr. Jo-ann Archibald’s website.

 

+ Land-based Learning

How can we take a land-based course and make it suitable for online or remote teaching? The answer to that question was equally obvious. We could not. Land-based education is, at its core, learning from the land. There is no substitute for that experience, and no way to replicate it online. We could, however, search for ways to modify, adjust, accommodate or replace teaching and learning activities we had used in the past to reach or at least approach some of the pedagogical goals of our land-based curriculum

(Wilson, 2021)
Dr. Jennifer MacDonald describes some of her approaches to land-based learning online.

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will this learning provide opportunities to engage and cultivate relations with the land regardless of being in an online setting?
  • Respect: How is this learning holding reverence towards land and waters?
  • Relevance: How is this learning relevant to the land you are situated in?
  • Responsibility: How is this learning holding us accountable and deepening our understanding of why we must and how we can protect the land?
  • Reciprocity: How is this learning upholding the principle of giving back what we take from the land?

Resources

Explore the website of the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, an Indigenous land-based initiative
Wilson, A. (2021). Queering land-based education during Covid19. Journal of Global Indigeneity 5 (1), 1–10.
Learn more in the Dechinta report Indigenous land-based education in the era of COVID-19.

 

+ Experiential Learning

The first principle of Aboriginal learning is a preference for experiential knowledge. Indigenous pedagogy values a person’s ability to learn independently by observing, listening, and participating with a minimum of intervention or instruction. This pattern of direct learning by seeing and doing, without asking questions, makes Aboriginal children diverse learners.

(Battiste, 2002, p. 15)
“First Nations Experiential Learning Cycle” from First Nations Pedagogy Online.

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will this experiential learning provide opportunities to engage and cultivate relations?
  • Respect: Am I following protocols and practices that hold me accountable to facilitate this experiential learning?
  • Relevance: How is this experiential learning relevant to Indigenous ways of knowing and being?
  • Responsibility: What are the philosophical and spiritual traditions of this experiential learning? Where did it come from?
  • Reciprocity: How is this experiential learning upholding principles of mutual accountability and solidarity?

Resources

O’Connor, K. B. (2009). Northern exposures: Models of experiential learning in Indigenous education. Journal of Experiential Education, 31(3), 415–419.
Learn more about experiential learning at Experiential education at UBC

 

+ Multimodal Learning

The term multimodal literacy describes communication practices that use two or more modes of meaning…is dynamic and able to be modified by users, rather than being a static code.

(Mills & Doyle, 2019, pp. 521-522)

 

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Lydia Heberling (University of Washington) speaks about how reading multimodal literature can support Indigenous sovereignty

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will this multimodal learning activity provide opportunities to engage and cultivate relations?
  • Respect: How is this multimodal learning activity in alignment with Indigenous ways of learning?
  • Relevance: How is this multimodal learning activity relevant to Indigenous ways of knowing and being?
  • Responsibility: How is this multimodal learning activity giving space for students to express their understanding in meaningful ways?
  • Reciprocity: How is this multimodal learning activity mutually beneficial to both the student and the learning community?

Resources

Learn more about Indigenous pedagogy and multimodal learning on the Indigenous Ways to Multimodal Literacy website
Mills, K. & Doyle, K. (2019). Visual arts: A multimodal language for Indigenous education, Language and Education, 33:6, 521-543,
Pedagogical examples:

 

 

+ Intergenerational Learning

Elders are gaining their rightful place as cultural teachers as they tell stories to students in band and public schools, to postsecondary students, and to adults.

(Archibald, 2008, p. 67)

 
Dr. Angelina Weenie discusses how and why she involves Elders in her work and in her online teaching.

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will this learning provide opportunities to engage with and cultivate intergenerational relations?
  • Respect: Am I following protocols and practices to include intergenerational teachings in a good way?
  • Relevance: Is it relevant to bring intergenerational teachings to my lesson design?
  • Responsibility: Have I created an ethical space where all are held accountable to receive intergenerational teachings in a good way?
  • Reciprocity: How is this intergenerational learning beneficial to both the student and community?

Resources

Read Elders’ Teachings on Jo-ann Archibald’s Indigenous Storyworks website.
McLeod, Y. G. (2012). Learning to lead Kokum style: An intergenerational study of eight first nation women. In Kenny, C., Ngaroimata Fraser, T. (Eds.), Living Indigenous leadership: Native narratives on building strong communities (pp. 17–47). UBC Press.
Explore As I remember it: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the life of a Sliammon Elder

 

 

+ Holistic Learning

Stemming from [Indigenous worldviews] comes the understanding that “we are all related.” Indigenous theory is rooted intimately within Indigenous epistemologies, worldviews, cultures, and traditions. Indigenous wholistic theory is wholistic and multi-layered, which encompasses the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical elements of being. We also acknowledge our past, present, and future….It forms a framework to Indigenize our thoughts and actions…Indigenous wholistic theory is whole, ecological, cyclical, and relational. The Medicine Wheel, four directions, and circles have been used as an effective and appropriate means and tools to develop healing strategies. They offer a multilevel strategy that is circular in nature and which has been practiced for thousands of years…

(Absolon, 2019)

 
One version of a Medicine Wheel framework (from Absolon, 2019)

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will this holistic learning provide opportunities to create a harmonious healthy learning community?
  • Respect: How does this holistic learning acknowledge Indigenous ways of learning and revere where the knowledge comes from?
  • Relevance: How is this holistic learning relevant to Indigenous ways of knowing and being?​
  • Responsibility: How is this holistic learning honouring Indigenous teachings and traditional practices?
  • Reciprocity: How is this holistic learning interrelated between the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical dimensions?

Resources

Bell, N. (2014, June 9). Teaching by the medicine wheel: An Anishinaabe framework for Indigenous education. EdCan Network.
Pedagogical examples:
Learn More: Absolon, K. (2019). Indigenous wholistic theory: A knowledge set for practice. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 14(1), 22-42.

 

+ Learning with Community

Community-based education begins with people and their immediate reality. Above all, it allows them to become meaningfully involved in shaping their own futures through the school and other agencies in their community.

(Corson, 1998, p. 240)
Dr. Jo-ann Archibald speaks about the importance of integrating community engagement throughout our scholarly and teaching work.

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How is this lesson/activity engaging in respectful relations and appropriate ways to support local communities?
  • Respect: How is this lesson/activity acknowledging the complexity and impact of historical educational approaches for community engagement?
  • Relevance: How is this lesson/activity relevant to local communities?
  • Responsibility: How is this lesson/activity listening to and supporting communities’ priorities, as well as consulting and collaborating with them?​
  • Reciprocity: How is this learning giving back to the community we are learning from?

Resources

Corson, D. (1998). Community-based education for Indigenous cultures. Language Culture and Curriculum, 11(3), 238-249.
This video (24 mins.) by the BC Principals’ & Vice-Principals’ Association offers perspectives on how schools can respectfully build bridges with Aboriginal communities in support of student achievement.

 

+ Oral Traditions

The Elders would serve as mnemonic pegs to each other. They will be speaking individually uninterrupted in a circle one after another. When each Elder spoke they were conscious that other Elders would serve as ‘peer reviewer’ [and so] they did not delve into subject matter that would be questionable. They did joke with each other and they told stories, some true and some a bit exaggerated but in the end the result was a collective memory. This is the part which is exciting because when each Elder arrived they brought with them a piece of the knowledge puzzle. They had to reach back to the teachings of their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. These teachings were shared in the circle and these constituted a reconnaissance of collective memory and knowledge. In the end the Elders left with a knowledge that was built by the collectivity

(Augustine, 2008, p. 2-3)
Shirley Anne Swelchalot qas te Shxwha:yathel Hardman speaks about listening and speaking in learning.

Connecting with the 5Rs

  • Relationships: How will sharing this oral tradition connect the listeners to the experiences of Indigenous peoples in order to hold themselves accountable to their complicity in the continuous violences Indigenous peoples encounter?
  • Respect: Am I following protocols and practices that make me ready to share this oral tradition?
  • Relevance: How is this oral tradition relevant to Indigenous ways of knowing and being?​
  • Responsibility: How is sharing this oral tradition committed to reconciliation, decolonization or/and Indigenous sovereignty?​
  • Reciprocity: How will sharing this oral tradition give back to the peoples/communities I am speaking of/for?

Resources

Learn about podcasting as an approach to capturing and sharing spoken word, on Teachings in the Air’s Podcasting at home website.
Augustine, S. J. (2008). Oral histories and oral traditions. In R. Hulan & R. Eigenbrod (Eds.), Aboriginal oral traditions: Theory, practice, ethics (pp. 2–3). Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
Learn more in the Indigenous oral Histories and primary sources section of The Canadian Encyclopedia.