Indigenous Education Philosophy

ECCU 200

Hillary Gladish

Introduction

According to research (Bell and Brant, 2015), Aboriginal people of Canada have experienced cultural loss and this void
has been filled with shame, isolation and repression. These unhealthy ways have been transferred to many Aboriginal
children, who, through the workings of oppressive colonial institutions, have been denied their culture (pp 6). The public
school system has a responsibility to reverse this shame and isolation by helping teach all students the possibility for a
positive Indigenous identity. In my opinion, cross-cultural experiences (such as language, cultural programming and use of
land or project based learning) for First Nation and non-First Nation teachers and students alike are essential to foster
relationship and eradicate racism. I am convinced non-First Nations and First Nations people alike have an ethical
responsibility to participate in reconciliation, and I hope to facilitate this process through my classroom and my teaching.

My indigenous education philosophy rests on the premise that land is a teacher. It is vital that students recognize our
interdependence with the environment and respect it. The second premise is the importance of intercultural understanding
and the celebration of diversity wherein learning environments are created that recognize and value differences, and
communities are built free from prejudice and intolerance. The third premise of my philosophy is around the concept of
holistic education, which incorporates the four aspects of indigenous education (ways of being, seeing, knowing and
doing). Finally, my philosophy is Yukon-centric. I believe that education in Yukon must reflect the connection First Nations
have to the land and resources of the Yukon. Education must also recognize the value of Yukoners and respect the
contributions of First Nations. In addition, I believe that knowing and understanding where you come from is important to
understanding the wider world and what role you play within it.

Indigenous Education

Visions and Goals Responsive education system to the learning needs and support required by students, especially
Yukon First Nation (YFN) students; improving learning outcomes of YFNs and closing the academic gap between First
Nations and non-First Nations; understanding history and cultural demographic of students; recognizing the land and
waters are within the traditional territories of YFN; and undertaking reconciliation work to address impacts of colonialism,
especially the residential school system (First Nation Education Commission, 2016).

The following four ways of learning are important aspects in holistic education, and can be incorporated into daily lessons.
I find that they are closely linked to First Peoples Principles of Learning (FNESC, 2015).

Ways of Being Learning is embedded in memory, history and story. The Assembly of First Nations suggests that
language is at the heart of indigeneity because language passes on our culture, traditions, history, legends, and
spirituality from one generation to another (Smith, 2012). Ways of Seeing Learning requires exploration of ones identity.
Knowing who you are and where you come from is essential today even as it was generations ago. Ways of Knowing
Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge. This is how students develop experiential knowledge. Ways of
Doing Learning requires recognizing the consequences of ones actions. Believe it is possible to make a difference.
Learning is often done in a hands-on, minds-on way that values interactions and experiences. I believe all our students
can be agents of change.

Contemporary World

Inuit leader, Mary Simon suggests that Indigenous population often finds itself caught between, and caught up in, two
cultural worlds, one Indigenous and the other non-Indigenous (Smith, 2012). This means Indigenous peoples are
navigating complex social spaces, often with insufficient educational access to their Indigenous knowledge, histories,
culture and languages (Ibid). It is important to focus on rebuilding (education) systems so that they incorporate outcome
based curriculum, which provides students with skills and tools needed to function for life.

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Teaching and Learning

Preparing and Planning

In preparing and planning, I will focus on preparing classes that are land-based, and utilize elders-in-the-class, as well as,
traditional ways of learning and doing, emphasized by Yukon First Nations. I will also strive to respond to the
recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, such as to develop culturally appropriate
educational materials, especially around Indian Residential Schools. In its Interim Report (2012), the Commission
concluded that Canadians have been denied a full and proper education as to the nature of Aboriginal societies, and the
history of the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.

Inclusion of Worldview, perspectives and content

As a Yukon teacher, I aspire to learn about and build into my classroom, not only cultural recognition but an honouring of
the worldview and community practices my students bring to the learning environment (Yukon First Nation Literacy
Framework, 2015). I believe that teachers can help bridge the cultural divide by providing experiential/land-based learning
opportunities and validating the cultural knowledge that First Nation students bring to the classroom. I recognize that
teaching and learning takes place where Yukon First Nation culture, history and language are integral parts of the
classroom, school, the community and on the land. Therefore, I will strive to weave culture and curriculum together.

Teaching and Learning

Through my experiences and observations, I have come to believe that project-based, experiential and hands-on learning
emphasizes and encourages different learning styles. I am reminded that as an educator, I must strive to be flexible and
creative in differentiating my lessons as not all students learn in the same way. It is my responsibility to foster a teaching
style that incorporates diversity of teaching methods and strategies. I am a strong advocate of hands-on and minds-on
learning.

My commitment as a teacher is to deconstruct Aboriginal stereotypes and address systemic racism in the classroom and
beyond. As an educator, I believe that I cannot stand for status quo in education, and must endeavour for improvement
and evolution in my practice.

Learning Resources

One of the major challenges identified in the Yukon First nations Education Summit was to empower parents to become
more involved in their childrens education and to have more engagement with Elders in the education process so that
they can pass along their teachings, stories, language, songs and skills (2017). I will therefore strive to value participation
of parents and reach out to them. Parents should be involved in developing a vision of education for their childrens
schooling. Parents can also participate in learning opportunities through school wherein parents and children learn
together.

There are various organizations in Yukon that help teachers connect with their communities, especially First Nations
Programs and Partnerships Unit (FNPP) which has a focus on cultural inclusion in education and provides a connection to
Elders and fluent speakers, as well as, resources for cultural programming. Other resources include Council of Yukon First
Nations (CYFN) Education and First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), as well as First Nation Education
Council (FNEC). These organizations provide Yukon First Nation (YFN) perspectives in education, develop capacity for
educators such as pro-D days, develop and implement relevant curriculum, programs and courses, and strive to improve
education outcomes and engagement for YFN students. They also emphasize the importance of collaboration between all
stakeholders in education to meet the learning needs and supports required by YFN students.

Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting

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I will ensure that I use formative assessment to track my students understanding. I will be fair in my evaluations, and
endeavour to keep parents and community members up to date on the progression of their students. Assessment can
include peer and self-assessment to evaluate understanding.

Relationships and Protocol

Public education in Yukon must be rooted in collective values and aspirations of all its citizens to support all learners in
developing the essential skills, knowledge and personal qualities that they [students] need to thrive in life (Public
Education in Yukon Overview, 2017). I think it is essential that Yukon First Nations and Government of Yukon work
together to determine what needs to be done to improve the learning outcomes for First Nation students.

In my understanding, the relationships required for reconciliation can only be built and sustained with a full understanding
of the history of prior relationships entailed between First Nation and non-First Nation. St:l educator Bill Mussell gives
an insightful view of what a positive relationship could be like (FNESC and FNSA, 2015 pp 6):

Relationship is a key value in Aboriginal cultures; one must at all times recognize the value of the other and
demonstrate respect and a willingness to discover and honour uniqueness in a relationship, whether it is with
people, land, creatures, or the Creator. One is called upon to be open to learning and to become changed for the
better by the other; everyone and everything is a potential teacher in the ongoing journey to wholeness. In [a]
relationship, one must be willing to take responsibility for the impact of ones behaviour toward the others, as well
as responsibility for managing and learning from ones responses to the others behaviour. ... This traditional way
of understanding relationships can be a model for revising the imbalanced relationship between Indigenous
peoples and Canadians generally.

Protocol includes connecting with community members about the way their First Nations relate to the land, to special
places, and to their Elders. It also means recognizing importance of natural phenomenons that occur and what their
significance is to the First Nation peoples (e.g. the ice going out in spring time). It is vital to be respectful of the cultural
traditions, teaching and art forms of Aboriginal people.

Yukon Context
The Yukon is represented in my philosophical framework by the outline of the territory. It includes demarcations of the
traditional territory of the 14 Yukon First Nations to show the connection First Nations have to the land and resources of
the Yukon. Education in the territory must reflect the value of Yukoners and respect the contributions of First Nations.
Therefore, First Nations perspectives, values, beliefs and world view must be included in curriculum development,
implementation and evaluation.

Conclusion

In an article on equity issues, associate professor at University of Alberta, Malinda Smith discusses diversity from
immigrant and an indigenous perspectives, suggesting that one strong case for diversity is the ethical case or
antidiscrimination, which states that diversity is the right thing to do in order to ameliorate social inequities and to fairly
reflect the existing social reality (2012). She goes on to highlight the importance of this perspective because not only
does it focus on amending discrimination that arises from prejudice and bigotry but also the individual, cultural and
institutional barriers that unfairly disadvantage the marginalized. This has reinforced my commitment to antidiscrimination
and made me realize how important it is to entrench equality rights that increase diversity and our focus on it.

As emphasized in my indigenous education philosophy, it is vital that as a teacher, I foster a sense of mutual responsibility
and respect, intercultural understanding and intergenerational learning, as well as a sense of idealism wherein each
student believes it is possible to make a difference. To this end, in order to grow as a society, we need to be able to
communicate with each other in a cross-cultural setting that respects, encompasses and embraces our common northern
values for our future prosperity and success (personal conversation with Elder and former Chief of Teslin Tlingit Council
and founding member of the YESAB organization, Dave Keenan, 2016).

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References:

Bell and Brant, 2015. Culturally Relevant Aboriginal Education. Toronto: Pearson

FNESC and FNSA, 2015. Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guide. Retrieved from First
Nations Education Steering Committee and First Nations Schools Association

FNESC, 2015. First Peoples Principles of Learning. Retrieved from www.fnesc.ca Accessed April 13, 2017

First Nation Education Commission, 2016. Cultural Inclusion Standards in all School as defined by the First Nation
Education Commission (Reviewed by FNEC, April 20, 2016). Council of Yukon First Nations and FNEC

Public Education in Yukon Overview, 2017. Whitehorse: Yukon First Nations Education Summit

Smith, M., 2012. Indigenous, immigrant, inclusive: Three perspectives on diversity. Canadian Federation for the
Humanities and Social Sciences.

Truth and Reconciliation Interim Report, 2012

Yukon First Nation Literacy Framework, 2015 in Excerpts for Reflection and Discussion from the Yukon First Nations
Literacy Framework Workshop Working Together, Moving Forward. Whitehorse

Conferences and Personal Communication-

Personal Conversation with Elder and former Chief of Teslin Tlingit Council and founding member of the YESAB
organization April, 2016

Yukon First Nations Education Summit, 2017. Whitehorse

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