Abstract:Following the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, Canadian universities and colleges have felt pressured to indigenize their institutions. What “indigenization” has looked like, however, has varied significantly. Based on the input from an anonymous online survey of 25 Indigenous academics and their allies, we assert that indigenization is a three-part spectrum. On one end is Indigenous inclusion, in the middle reconciliation indigenization, and on the other end deco… Show more
“…In the academic literature, "Indigenization" is becoming a more contested term and practice (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018). In our paper, we associate Indigenization with decolonizing approaches (Battiste, 2013) that aim to reform universities and equalize power relations to achieve Indigenous self-determination (Mihesuah & Wilson, 2004) or "educational sovereignty" (Aguilera-Black Bear & Tippeconnic, 2015).…”
Section: Indigenous Willful Workmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While we would like to suggest that the proliferation of Indigenizing discourses points to some examples of Indigenous peoples' willfulness toward the Eurocentric nature of universities, there is also a growing chorus of scholars critiquing institutional Indigenizing practices (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018). For example, there are debates on the degrees to which universities can change (Tuck, 2018), are actually decolonizing (Andreotti et al, 2015), and criticism of the tendency to Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, Fall 2018, 10(2), pp.…”
As Indigenous peoples employed at a university who are working to Indigenize it from within, in this article, we share our experiences, discuss some of our challenges, and show how we draw meaning and strength from Indigenous stories to ground us in our approach. We use Indigenous, anti-oppressive, anti-racist and decolonizing theories, Indigenous standpoints, embodied experiences, and emotive responses to make explicit the lived work realities of Indigenous people in mainstream universities. Through a dialogic approach, we trace one pathway for explicating Indigenous transgressive leadership in Canadian universities. In our discussion, we situate Indigenizing work as "willful work" (Ahmed, 2014). We call for a "strategic willfulness" as a constructive orientation, for Indigenous leaders to embrace, as we continue to confront the colonial, hetero-patriarchal and whitestream nature of Canadian universities. Most importantly, we underscore the need for Indigenous leaders involved in Indigenizing work in the university to draw from Indigenous epistemological and relational ethics in their leadership work, and to be strategically willful, interruptive and transgressive.
“…In the academic literature, "Indigenization" is becoming a more contested term and practice (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018). In our paper, we associate Indigenization with decolonizing approaches (Battiste, 2013) that aim to reform universities and equalize power relations to achieve Indigenous self-determination (Mihesuah & Wilson, 2004) or "educational sovereignty" (Aguilera-Black Bear & Tippeconnic, 2015).…”
Section: Indigenous Willful Workmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While we would like to suggest that the proliferation of Indigenizing discourses points to some examples of Indigenous peoples' willfulness toward the Eurocentric nature of universities, there is also a growing chorus of scholars critiquing institutional Indigenizing practices (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018). For example, there are debates on the degrees to which universities can change (Tuck, 2018), are actually decolonizing (Andreotti et al, 2015), and criticism of the tendency to Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, Fall 2018, 10(2), pp.…”
As Indigenous peoples employed at a university who are working to Indigenize it from within, in this article, we share our experiences, discuss some of our challenges, and show how we draw meaning and strength from Indigenous stories to ground us in our approach. We use Indigenous, anti-oppressive, anti-racist and decolonizing theories, Indigenous standpoints, embodied experiences, and emotive responses to make explicit the lived work realities of Indigenous people in mainstream universities. Through a dialogic approach, we trace one pathway for explicating Indigenous transgressive leadership in Canadian universities. In our discussion, we situate Indigenizing work as "willful work" (Ahmed, 2014). We call for a "strategic willfulness" as a constructive orientation, for Indigenous leaders to embrace, as we continue to confront the colonial, hetero-patriarchal and whitestream nature of Canadian universities. Most importantly, we underscore the need for Indigenous leaders involved in Indigenizing work in the university to draw from Indigenous epistemological and relational ethics in their leadership work, and to be strategically willful, interruptive and transgressive.
“…We need to think critically about our curricular and pedagogical choices and understand how our cultural histories and worldviews are shaping our decisions. Gaudry and Lorenz (2018) suggested that most postsecondary institutions are guided by Indigenous inclusion policies that focus on hiring Indigenous faculty members who are then required to adapt to the colonial structures of the institution: these policies rarely transform universities and colleges into Indigenous spaces. Gaudry and Lorenz invited us to consider that what is required of us in post-secondary education is to engage in "Decolonial indigenization [which] envisions the wholesale overhaul of the academy to fundamentally reorient knowledge production based on balanced power relations between Indigenous peoples and Canadians, transforming the academy into something dynamic and new" (p. 226).…”
As three white educators working in three different post-secondary contexts, teaching child and youth care (CYC) to diverse undergraduate students, we are interested in exploring the ethical, political, and pedagogical challenges and opportunities of creating learning spaces that can support concrete actions towards decolonizing praxis, social justice, and collective ethics. In order to support each other's developing praxis, we have recently begun meeting monthly to explore various questions and tensions that exist for us in this work. These meetings have been deeply generative for us in that they have produced a sense of solidary and accountability to each other and our developing pedagogies. This paper attempts to capture some of this experience by sharing three perspectives reflective of the challenges and successes each of us have experienced in our respective institutions.
“…This process has, in turn, involved considerable trial and error learning around what “Indigenization” involves. According to Gaudry and Lorenz ():On one end of this continuum, the academy maintains most of its existing structures while assisting Indigenous students, faculty and staff in succeeding under this normalized order, and on the other end, the university is fundamentally transformed by deep engagement with Indigenous peoples, Indigenous intellectuals, and Indigenous knowledge systems for all who attend. […] For most university administrators, however, this transformative vision of indigenization is too destabilizing and so [they] propose more modest goals of increasing Indigenous student enrollment and hiring more Indigenous faculty and staff.…”
Section: Academia's Response To the Trcmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Whereas Tuck and Yang () center land and territorial control as the essence of decolonization, other Indigenous academics such as Fellner () assert that the future vision for true decolonization is uncertain and up‐for‐debate (although we must continue to move toward it). From their online survey conducted with 25 Indigenous academics and allies, Gaudry and Lorenz () concluded that “the university [is] an important site of resurgence, and one that will become more important if indigenization took a more decolonial path” (p. 224). How can a non‐Indigenous psychology professor best use their position of privilege and power as an educator to contribute to the critical decolonization of academia and our field in particular?…”
Section: The Role Of Psychology Professors In Reconciliationmentioning
Highlights• Describes how and why non-Indigenous psychology professors should integrate directives from the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission into their teaching practices. • Reflects on the successes, questions, and ongoing challenges of decolonizing and Indigenizing the teaching of psychology. • The core values and practices of Community Psychology are particularly well suited to the endeavor of decolonizing and Indigenizing academia and its curriculum.Abstract Canada's 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission published 94 Calls to Action including direction to post-secondary institutions "to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms" as well as to "build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect." In response, Canadian universities have rushed to "Indigenize" and are now competing to hire Indigenous faculty, from a limited pool of applicants. However, it is missing the true spirit of reconciliation for non-Indigenous faculty to continue with the status quo while assigning the sole responsibility of Indigenizing curriculum to these new hires. How can non-Indigenous psychology professors change their teaching to ensure that all students acquire an appreciation of traditional Indigenous knowledge about holistic health and healing practices, as well as an understanding of Canada's history of racist colonization practices and its intergenerational effects? Community psychologists, particularly those who have established relationships with Indigenous communities, have an important role to play. In this article, I survey the existing literature on Indigenizing and decolonizing psychological curriculum and share ways in which I have integrated Indigenous content into my psychology courses. I also reflect upon the successes, questions, and ongoing challenges that have emerged as I worked in collaboration with first Anisinaabek First Nations and then Mi'kmaw/L'nu First Nations.
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