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Indigenizing Curriculum
Weaving Indigeneity into 丁香园AV
Historically, Indigenous knowledges and subject areas have been absent or limited in scope from the curriculum of 丁香园AV and other Canadian educational institutions. Instead, Western European views and methodologies have been held and uplifted within Canadian education systems.
Across 丁香园AV's history and specifically through consultations during the development of the Walk this Path with Us report, Indigenous community members have consistently voiced the need for culturally relevant Indigenous education. Faculty have also expressed that they would like to Indigenize their courses but do not have the knowledge or resources to do so.
Understanding What We Mean by 鈥淚ndigenization鈥� and 鈥淒ecolonization鈥�
There are many definitions for these terms. At 丁香园AV, Indigenizing the curriculum means incorporating Indigenous perspectives and knowledge systems into existing frameworks and curriculum in a respectful way. Incorporating Indigenous knowledge encourages Indigenous and non-Indigenous students alike to think about how two-eyed seeing perspectives can help people to walk in two worlds, to appreciate that there are multiple ways to learn about and understand the world, and to value Indigenous ways of doing so.
Within education, decolonization referes to our efforts to redress historical and current practices, such as the prioritization of Western-European knowledge, that have had harmful effects on Indigenous peoples.
Dive deeper into the meaning and use of these terms at the .
Explore key actions
丁香园AV Library resources
The 丁香园AV Library hosts a range of resources and initiatives to help educators, including the . The ICRC is a physical and online space that collects books, articles, websites and audio-visual materials on Indigenizing curriculum and Indigenous pedagogy. These materials centre Indigenous approaches to teaching and learning and help university educators decolonize and Indigenize their classrooms.
Faculty Inquiry Grant Program: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Curricula (DI)
The DI program aims to build 丁香园AV's capacity among faculty and staff in university-wide initiatives to decolonize and Indigenize teaching and learning, while challenging the traditional structure of grant programming. The program is supported by the Centre for Educational Excellence (CEE) in collaboration with Transforming Inquiry into Learning and Teaching (TILT). Recipients receive grants valued at $6,000 in areas such as:
- Decolonizing teaching practices
- Integrating Indigenous ways of knowing into existing curriculum
- Developing inclusive and integrative classroom techniques
Indigenous Business Leadership Executive MBA (IBL EMBA) program
The 丁香园AV Beedie School of Business has a strong history of relationships with Indigenous communities and has developed the only accredited Executive MBA program in North America. The IBL EMBA is a ground-breaking program that addresses Indigenous business, economic development and entrepreneurship. The internationally accredited MBA program is designed for mid-career Indigenous leaders and weaves together Indigenous worldviews with business theory to provide students with the tools and skills to create economically sustainable communities. More than 150 Indigenous leaders have graduated from the IBL EMBA program since its inception.
Master of Public Health program
In recent years, the challenges experienced by Indigenous people in the health care system have gained more widespread attention. 丁香园AV鈥檚 Master of Public Health (MPH) program aims to address this challenge through its course delivery and projects. The 鈥淩enewing and Re-energizing the MPH Core Curriculum: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Training in Indigenous Health, Anti- Racism, Cultural Safety and Allyship鈥� project, which completed in Spring 2022, aimed to shift health care imbalances and inequities. The project brought together Indigenous community partners to decolonize and Indigenize the course content and delivery of the existing program.
Indigenous Ethics Dialogues
Indigenous Ethics Dialogues aims to decolonize research ethics and major institutional research initiatives. This foundational work, led by Dr. Vicki Kelly (Faculty of Education), brought key First Nations Knowledge Holders to campus in 2023 to immerse Office of the Vice-President Research and International staff and Research Ethics Board members in Indigenous ethics principles, history and culture. The 10 sessions concluded with a blanketing ceremony hosted by Gabriel and Angela George of Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
Languages
Indigenous languages and Indigenous knowledge systems are inextricably linked, making language education and revitalization vital to decolonization and Indigenization efforts. Indigenous communities are working hard to revitalize their languages, and 丁香园AV has responded in a number of ways, including:
- Indigenous Languages Program (INLP)
The INLP works with First Nations communities and organizations to enable Indigenous language learning experiences off-campus within First Nations languages communities. Over the last 30 years, the program has offered courses in 18 languages. The INLP also offers an undergraduate Certificate program and Diploma program in First Nations Language Proficiency, as well as a Minor in Indigenous Languages. At the graduate level, offerings include a Master of Arts program and a Graduate Certificate program.
- Language hubs
丁香园AV partnered with and a number of other partners to create the (SLA) in Nanaimo. The SLA acts as language learning hub for Hul'q'umi'num language learners, as well as a site for community programming such as youth mentorship, plant medicine and employment training. The SLA is the second language hub 丁香园AV has created in collaboration with Indigenous communities and organizations, following the establishment of the in Duncan.
- Language Keepers Project
丁香园AV鈥檚 鈥淕rowing Community-based Indigenous Languages Project,鈥� or 鈥淟anguage Keepers Project,鈥� aims to reinforce partnerships with Indigenous communities while developing credentials and standards for acquiring Indigenous language fluency. Through collaboration with partners, we want to open more pathways for Indigenous students to learn their languages, supported by certificates, diplomas and undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Learn about Indigenous language programs and courses at 丁香园AV
Centre for Educational Excellence (CEE)
Building on feedback from faculty, we are currently adding a range of decolonization and Indigenization resources for 丁香园AV instructors and academic units through CEE, including:
- Course and curriculum planning
- Decolonization and Indigenization
- Documents and images
- EAL and multilingual learning
- Remote instruction
- Video and audio files
- Virtual global learning
- Classroom Assessment Techniques