“Describe your best structured learning experience. It may be in a formal
K-12 or higher education school settings, apprenticeship, or experience
through your own teaching. What made it memorable and worth writing
about?”

During my Bachelor of Education, I enrolled in a program called the Post Degree Professional Program in Indigenous Education.  As described on their website, “The Indigenous Education post-degree professional program is designed to enhance relational accountabilities with local Indigenous people and communities. It provides aspiring teachers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) with a relevant, relational, and transformative education designed to foster a deeper understanding of First Nations, Inuit and MĂ©tis histories, cultures, and ways of knowing and being.” {Updating}

Day one I recognized this program would be different.  It was an enormous change from the style of learning I was used to in University.  Instead of sitting at desks and listening to the Professor lecture, we sat in a circle, facing one another.  Instead of taking notes, we learned through shared readings, stories and by sharing thoughts and reflections.  My reflection after day one was… this is the first time anyone in my educational career in post-secondary had asked me HOW I was doing, emotionally.  I felt seen, heard, validated, and quite vulnerable.  I wasn’t used to sharing my feelings, in fact, I cried more than anyone in the group when it came time to share.  

Perhaps the most profound thing I realized during my time in this program was that it was the FIRST time I had learned about Residential Schools in my entire life.  I learned about Roman history, World Wars, and Civil Wars in highschool Socials classes – but not once did I hear about the colonization history in Canada and the effects on Indigenous Peoples.  I remember thinking that I was robbed of this knowledge.  I also distinctly remember that I would never let my students go without this knowledge in their lives.  They deserve to know the history of their own country, so they have a clearer understanding and don’t carry biases or racism forward in their lives.

Another take away from the program was the way in which Indigenous Peoples learn and teach their young.  I’m grateful that I learned this at a time when I was about to embark on my teaching career, as it formed and shaped my pedagogy and my belief in teaching in a pragmatic, experiential, and reflective way.  Historically, Indigenous Peoples don’t teach in a linear or analytical way, they teach in a natural, experiential way.  The Elders teach by doing, the young watch and learn, and practice by mimicking their elders.  They teach through storytelling and oral language is how lessons are passed on.  

We had the honour of working with an Indigenous Elder and I noticed many differences between my traditional schooling and the way he taught.  He reminded me of my Papa, who would let me help him in his woodwork shop.  My Papa was calm, patient, and forgiving.  He would let me help him, but much of the time I just watched him work, watched how he slowly moved and carved wood into beautiful shapes.  Pace was one of the biggest differences between my usual lecture-based classes, and the Indigenous ways of learning and teaching.  The Elder seemed to slow time, unaffected by a clock or a regimented schedule.  I was so used to working in a structure that I remember finding this difficult, and thinking, “When is this due?”  

Our elder showed us how to make a paddle.  We each received a large piece of wood and he taught us how to hand carve the wood into a paddle.  The previous year’s class had made a canoe together, and we looked at the beauty of it as we formed our own paddles.  The work we did embodied an Indigenous way of learning.  We sat together, opened our hearts and shared stories, speaking our lives to one another.  There was no checklist of things we needed to accomplish; the act of creating something together was the act of learning. 

Later in my Career, I had the honour of working with two Indigenous Support Workers, one of which is an Indigenous man from our local Okanagan Indian Band.  I gained respect for this man, who again, exemplified this calm, commanding of respect, attitude.  I once again enjoyed this style of teaching he provided my students.  He taught my kids how to use a bow and arrow, and how to play lacrosse, which historically has its roots in Canadian Indigenous culture.  

We learned about reconciliation, and what it means to actually reconcile for Indigenous People.  I learned reconciliation is about action, about creating connections, and healing through sharing stories and culture.  We visited Tribal Schools on the Coast and learned how Indigenous communities are taking back their culture with language revitalization and celebrating culture.

We participated in a Seafood Festival on the Sea, where we hustled and bustled to cook fresh seafood caught by local Indigenous peoples, and served it to their community.  What I noticed was these events weren’t always “glamorous”.  Lying just below the surface of these families was generational-trauma, socio-economic conditions, and issues stemming from dependency on drugs and alcohol.  As a class, we explored the underlying factors contributing to some of the things we saw and the lasting impacts on Indigenous communities.  I felt my preconceived notions melting away and being replaced by empathy, understanding, knowledge, and a voice.  A voice grew for those students who I would teach in the future and I have continued to use it.  One example I will use is from an interaction I had this year with a colleague.  Armed with my arsenal of understanding of Indigenous history and family dynamics, I helped one of our Indigenous students through the year with additional support.  Honestly, it was mostly providing this student with adequate food, and encouraging them to get to school.  Many factors at home were preventing them from attending regularly.  Long story short, another teacher suggested that failing them might be a motivator for this student, and I was able to diplomatically disagree.  I hope I was also able to impart some wisdom about supporting our Indigenous students and the reasons we need to make extra efforts to provide them with guidance.

I think about this program often and smile.  I made strong connections with fellow educators and shaped my pedagogy to be embedded with the following ideas:

Education is not about checking boxes.  

Life shapes us.  Some students need more support than others.

Sharing circles can help us all grow.

Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces.  

My role as an educator is to help students cultivate their strengths.

Learning is not always linear.  

Celebrate Indigenous culture.

Teach about Indigenous history in Canada.