Yarrow – Achillea Millefolium – Latalba – CC 2.0

It’s hard to put into words what I experienced during the first Indigenous Professional Development Day of the year. I learned and felt so much! (*Heart and head explode*). Indigenous Education is incredibly important for me as a learner, and as an emerging educator. I had the fortune to go to a mostly indigenous elementary school, so, even in the 90’s I was somewhat immersed in the community and culture. “Native art”, story time (told by elders), community potlatches in the gym, and soapberry ice cream eating were regular activities. They were my friends, my teachers, and, if anything,  more knowledgable and respected by me than my classroom teachers. Much of my learning on this Pro-D day centred around decolonization practices, as an adult, living in the society and community that I do today. Through classes I have taken, and my own research and experience, I have learned about the horrors of Canada’s colonial past and subsequent trauma cycles that are prevalent today. Though I understood before the day began that reconciliation is ongoing, I did not realize to what extent.The notion that decolonizing is not just apologizing for the past, but disrupting the present social structures is a powerful one. I learned that decolonization is challenging your own way of thinking (daily!), including the idea (deeply ingrained in us whether we like it or not) that western culture is the only way. Recognizing other ways of doing and presenting learning is of the utmost importance as we move forward in education, as is revitalizing the ways of being and knowing prior to colonization. Changing the understanding of the past will help the decolonization process, but this is only part of the foundation.

I would like to indigenize my classroom, and, from what I understand, this means to bring in Indigenous knowledge, to recognize that it is valid; A way of saying, “this culture has knowledge to contribute”. But before indigenizing, comes decolonizing, and this environment must be created. This will help create safe spaces for all students to be who they are. This is my ultimate goal as an educator. Since embedding reconciliation in the classroom must first start with defining what reconciliation is, this will be my first step. Even just modelling this inquiry and effort for students is a step in the right direction.

Something else that inspired me was the notion that Indigenous Education belongs in Math and Science. One thing I did not like about my first practicum was that  I felt as though little had changed since I was in that same science classroom 15 years ago. I want to be an agent of change, and my next steps after defining reconciliation is to exemplify the fact that, like in Indigenous culture, education is process driven, not product driven. More formative a less summative assessment will therefore be vital. I want to take time to build relationships with my students, and give them the opportunity to build relationships with both each other, and the land. In order to get out of the narrow view of what education is, we must teach relationships, and connect to spirit/life.

After defining and creating an open and ongoing dialogue about reconciliation and decolonization, I would like to learn (and teach) the Dakelh words for local plants, as indigenous languages teach us about nature, and connect us to the land. I will aim to build relationships with the indigenous community, in turn connecting my students. I will continue to study and use the FNESC and Climbing the Mountain resources, in addition to exploring other sources such as The Walking Curriculum. Ultimately, thinking and blogging about reconciliation is great, but having concrete steps and actually DOING is the only way to truly make change happen.