Towards Indigenizing University Policy

This paper explores some of the challenges associated with Indigenizing Canadian universities.  Like Indigenous scholars elsewhere, we seek guidance on how to undertake university Indigenization, and failing to find other examples we have decided to share our experiences here.  This case study describes one event (hosting a feast and round dance) which provoked institutional policy reforms.  We identify the ways in which our struggle to reform policy was often hampered by epistemic ignorance (Kuokkanen, 2007).  We also explan how we are coming to understand our responsiblities for also addressing epistemic ignorance at the same time as we are changing the organizations in which we work. ôma masinahikanis kitâpahtamok ohi kâ-mônîskâkocik kakwe-iyiniwastacik kihci-kiskinwahamâtowikamikohkwa. peyakwan ôki iyiniwak kâ-atoskecik ekotowihk, kiskiyihtamok e-nohtepayihk awiyahk ta-nîkânistahk. mistahi nanitonamohk tânisi ka-isi-nâkwaniyek mâka wîyawâw sôskwâc âcimosôwak ôma e-isi-wâpahtâkik. Tâpiskôc ôma peyak (e-kîstîpohk ekwa e-pîcicînihke) ekwa kî-tâwakiskamok ohi wiyasiwâcikanisa kakwe-mîskotastâcik. ekota wâpahtamok poko kwayas kakwe takwastâcik wiyasiwâcikanisa ekosi nawâc ta-miyo-mâmawi-atoskewak

Decolonizing Listening: Towards an Equitable Approach to Speech Training for the Actor.

This article confirms and deepens an understanding of the negative impact of teaching culturally embedded speech standards to actors who are “othered” by a dominant “somatic norm” within the performing arts. The author analyzes evidence from a three-year longitudinal study of actors within a UK conservatory in relation to the critical frame of the somatic norm and colonized listening practices in the performing arts. The author identifies conscious and unconscious bias within traditional training methods and proposes a decolonizing approach to listening within foundational speech training. The ideological shift outlined follows the “affective turn” in the humanities and social sciences and moves away from the culturally embedded listening at the core of “effective” speech methods, which focus solely on clarity and intelligibility. The outcome of this research is a radical performance pedagogy, which values the intersectional identities and linguistic capital of students from pluralistic backgrounds. The revised curriculum offers an approach to affective speaking and listening that assumes an equality of understanding from the outset, and requires actors, actor trainers, and, ultimately, audiences to de-colonize their listening ears

Kiskinawacihcikana: Aboriginal women faculty experiences in the academy

This ethnographic case study examines the experiences of five Aboriginal/Native American women faculty working in universities in Canada and the United States. By using interview, observation and document analysis the author has sought to understand the cultural negotiations of the participants. The hiring of Aboriginal faculty raises new questions about faculty roles and experiences, in much the same manner that the hiring of women and other visible minority faculty raised questions about the structures and culture of the university. These women have successfully attained status positions as tenured and tenure-track faculty. While some of their experience may be explained by their gender, their experiences as Aboriginal women are unique. These women actively work to decolonize the very structures of the university. They reconceptualize the tradition bound roles of researcher, committee member, and teacher. By doing so they make themselves hyper-visible to the lateral oppression of other Aboriginal faculty, and they are vulnerable to the structural oppression that binds a colonial organization. By telling their stories here, these women leave trail-markers for other Aboriginal people who may seek an academic path

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy : Working Towards Decolonization, Indigeneity and Interculturalism

This book convincingly argues that effective culturally responsive pedagogies require teachers to firstly undertake a critical deconstruction of Self in relation to and with the Other; and secondly, to take into account how power affects the socio-political, cultural and historical contexts in which the education relation takes place. The contributing authors are from a range of diaspora, indigenous, and white mainstream communities, and are united in their desire to challenge the hegemony of Eurocentric education and to create new educational spaces that are more socially and environmentally just. In this venture, the ideal education process is seen to be inherently critical and intercultural, where mainstream and marginalized, colonized and colonizer, indigenous and settler communities work together to decolonize selves, teacher-student relationships, pedagogies, the curriculum and the education system itself. This book will be of great interest and relevance to policy-makers and researchers in the field of education; teacher educators; and pre- and in-service teachers

Miýo-pimātisiwin Developing Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Theory (ICRT): Improving Indigenous Health and Well-Being

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls upon those who can effect change within Canadian systems to recognize the value of Indigenous healing practices and to collaborate with Indigenous healers, Elders, and knowledge keepers where requested by Indigenous Peoples. This article presents the Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Theory (ICRT) as a decolonized pathway designed to guide research that continuously improves the health, education, governance, and policies of Indigenous Peoples in Saskatchewan. Decolonizing practices include privileging and engaging in Indigenous philosophies, beliefs, practices, and values that counter colonialism and restore well-being. The ICRT supports the development of collaborative relationships between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous allies who seek to improve the status of First Nations health and wellness