“How do I Indigenize a lesson?” is a question I have had since I started my journey in becoming a teacher. At first, I imagined that Indigenizing my teaching meant adding in Indigenous elements such as sharing circles and planning lessons to be outside. Throughout my time in this program, I have realized Indigenization is so much deeper and starts with my relationships.
Today, I had a guest speaker come into my class and discuss weaving Indigenous content into teaching authentically, and she started by having us connect to our relationship with the land and our place. I focused on my journey to Cranbrook and explained my excitement to create a deeper connection to the community now that I am building my future here. After, we continued discussing weaving Indigenous stories to build a relationship between students, their personal identities, and cultural Identities.
After leaving class, I understand that to teach Indigenous worldviews meaningfully, I must first understand the context of the territory I am on and acknowledge the Indigenous People’s who live here now and the generations before me. I grabbed a quote from the Indigenous Enhancement Agreement earlier “The opportunity to share our cultures with friends through school-wide activities and events, Access to our languages, Opportunities for all students to learn the history of Indigenous peoples, Opportunities to learn about Indigenous people today and current events,” which are wishes from our local Indigenous youth. As I discussed with my peers, all of these wishes involve teacher support. Therefore, in connection to my reflection, it is my role to Indigenize my teachings to support my students, so they feel safe, valued, seen, and embraced. Which connects to the University of Victoria teacher competency #6 practise respect for all learners from all cultures, including, specifically, Indigenous learners, because it is my duty to nurture my relationship with my Indigenous students to provide them with all the wishes in the Indigenous Enhancement Agreement.
I really enjoyed having a guest who is a teacher in the community right now. I gained a tremendous amount of insight in only having an hour with her. She gave us a great activity, “Who I Am” poems, which I am excited to bring into my practicum class, because after listening to her explain the importance of celebrating our stories and being key to our relationship to land and place, I believe it is a great first step to supporting my Indigenous students.
Some books on my to-read list to continue my education are…
Books are hyperlinked.
