In this section, we explore what is meant by Indigenization, how it relates to decolonization and reconciliation, why it’s important, and how you, as a curriculum developer, can participate.

If we want to contribute to systemic change, we need to understand the concepts Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but according to Indigenous scholars and activists (see Alfred, 2009; Alfred & Corntassel, 2005; Pete, 2015), they are separate but interrelated processes.

Indigenization

Indigenization is a process of naturalizing Indigenous knowledge systems and making them evident to transform spaces, places, and hearts. In the context of post-secondary education, this involves bringing Indigenous knowledge and approaches together with Western knowledge systems. This benefits not only Indigenous students but all students, teachers, and community members involved or impacted by Indigenization.

Indigenous knowledge systems  are embedded in relationship to specific lands, culture, and community. Because they are diverse and complex, Indigenization will be a unique process for every post-secondary institution.

It is important to note that Indigenization does not mean changing something Western into something Indigenous. The goal is not to replace Western knowledge with Indigenous knowledge, and the goal is not to merge the two into one. Rather, Indigenization can be understood as weaving or braiding together two distinct knowledge systems so that learners can come to understand and appreciate both. Therefore, we recommend that you use the word Indigenization cautiously and take care not to use it when Indigenous content is simply added to a course or when something Western is replaced with something Indigenous. Rather, it refers to a deliberate coming together of these two ways of knowing.

Decolonization

Decolonization refers to the process of deconstructing colonial ideologies of the superiority and privilege of Western thought and approaches. On the one hand, decolonization involves dismantling structures that perpetuate the status quo, problematizing dominant discourses, and addressing unbalanced power dynamics. On the other hand, decolonization involves valuing and revitalizing Indigenous knowledge and approaches and weeding out settler biases or assumptions that have impacted Indigenous ways of being. Decolonization necessitates shifting our frames of reference with regard to the knowledge we hold; examining how we have arrived at such knowledge; and considering what we need to do to change misconceptions, prejudice, and assumptions about Indigenous Peoples. For individuals of settler identity, decolonization is the process of examining your beliefs about Indigenous Peoples and culture by learning about yourself in relationship to the communities where you live and the people with whom you interact.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is about addressing past wrongs done to Indigenous Peoples, making amends, and improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to create a better future for all. Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has stated, “Reconcilliation is not an Aboriginal problem – it involves all of us”

You can think about reconciliation as work to ameliorate a damaged relationship. Imagine that there was an individual who had been abused, lied to, and exploited for years – that person would have a lot of fear, mistrust, and trauma. The abuser would also have negative feelings: shame, guilt, self-blame, and possibly anger toward the victim. The abuser may even blame the victim. Repairing this relationship would mean apologizing, rebuilding trust, hearing each other’s stories, getting to know each other to appreciate each other’s humanity, and taking concrete action to show that the relationship will be different from now on.

With reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we are not only talking about a relationship between two individuals, but we are also talking about a relationship between multiple groups of people and between many generations over hundreds of years. Clearly, the onus for this action is on the party that perpetrated the harm, which in this case is settler society. You can see from this example that reconciliation necessarily involves intensive emotional work for all parties. For Indigenous people it means revisiting experiences of trauma and becoming open to forgiveness, and for settlers it involves gaining in-depth understanding of one’s own relation to Indigenous Peoples and the impacts of colonization, including recognizing settler privilege and challenging the dominance of Western views and approaches.

Interrelationships between Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation

Decolonization is a component of Indigenization, because it means challenging the dominance of Western thought and bringing Indigenous thought to the forefront. Indigenization is part of reconciliation, because it involves creating a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. But these processes have important distinctions. Most notably, reconciliation is primarily a settler responsibility, and decolonization must be led by Indigenous people. In addition, the emotional work of reconciliation is different from that of Indigenization and decolonization, which have less of a focus on making amends for past traumas, and a greater focus on mainstreaming Indigenous thought. Willie Ermine (2007) writes about the ways in which these processes are related, explaining that reconciling Indigenous and Western worldviews: “ … is the fundamental problem of cultural encounters. Shifting our perspectives to recognize that the Indigenous-West encounter is about thought worlds may also remind us that frameworks or paradigms are required to reconcile these solitudes” (p. 201).

Exclusion and misrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples

Academic curricula have primarily been developed in ways that privilege the dominant, Euro-Western culture through the content, approaches to teaching and learning, and values about knowledge. The experiences, worldviews, and histories of Indigenous Peoples have been excluded in education systems, because they were seen as less valuable or relevant. Perceptions of Indigenous Peoples were often misrepresentative and perpetuated stereotypes. This exclusion and misrepresentation was one of the most damaging impacts of colonialism and one of the strongest tools of assimilation. As Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012) writes, “Imperialism has been perpetuated through the ways in which knowledge about indigenous peoples was collected, classified and then represented in various ways back to the West, and then, through the eyes of the West, back to those who have been colonized” (p. 1).

Indigenization is not multiculturalism

When talking about Indigenization, it is important to keep in mind that this process and approach to working in post-secondary institutions is different from approaches that place multiculturalism at the centre. While multiculturalism approaches are also necessary and relevant, they differ from Indigenization at a philosophical, political, and systemic level. A question we often hear when trying to include Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum is: “Why are we not including other ethnic groups if Canada is a culturally diverse country?” In response to this question, it is important to remember the following:

• Indigenization does not require abandoning multiculturalism; both can be practiced side-by-side.
• While multiculturalism as a law and as policy also recognizes Indigenous Peoples, it does not address the social injustices and racist policies to which Indigenous Peoples have been subjected. The history and current situation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada differs in significant ways from immigrants and minority settlers. These differences must be acknowledged to form respectful relationships.
• We all live on Indigenous lands, many of which were never ceded but were stolen by settler governments. Those of us who are settlers are considered to be visitors in the lands of Indigenous Peoples. Out of respect, we must come to know, understand, and value Indigenous culture. This means learning about local cultures, languages, and protocols.

Unfortunately, there is sometimes greater cultural acceptance for multiculturalism than Indigenization, and we still have a long way to go when it comes to respecting and valuing Indigenous worldviews. Jim Silver (2006) illustrates this point: “Canada takes pride for example, in being the destination for many runaway African-American slaves who were fleeing their captors by taking the ‘underground railway’ in search of freedom. Yet Canada’s police force relentlessly hunted down Aboriginal children who had escaped captivity in a residential school” (p. 24).

While multiculturalism presents a valuable approach to honouring diversity, Indigenization is a distinct process that needs to be practiced in its own right, and the two should not be merged together in policy or practice.

The benefits of Indigenization

Indigenization is not an “Indigenous issue,” and it is not undertaken solely to benefit Indigenous students. Indigenization benefits everyone; we all gain a richer understanding of the world and of our specific location in the world through awareness of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. Indigenization also contributes to a more just world, creating a shared understanding that opens the way toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It also counters the impacts of colonization by upending a system of thinking that has typically discounted Indigenous knowledge and history.

Mi’kmaq educator Marie Battiste (2002) emphasizes that we should view Indigenous and Western knowledge systems not as oppositional binaries, but rather as concepts that complement each other, with Indigenous knowledge as a source to fill the gaps within Eurocentric models of teaching, learning, research, and education processes. Similarly, Elder Albert Marshall from the Eskasoni Mi’kmaq First Nation (2012) describes Etuaptmumk, the approach of two-eyed seeing, as a way to learn to appreciate both Indigenous and Western knowledges and ways of knowing, and he says that using these two perspectives can be to our benefit. He contends that by fostering an active engagement with both ways of seeing, we are providing all students with support systems to move toward a decolonized academy.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. A critical part of this process involves repairing damaged trust by making apologies, providing individual and collective reparations, and following through with concrete actions that demonstrate real societal change.

– Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Summary of the Final Report, 2015

The work of Indigenization is a growing focus in this era of reconciliation, which has been driven forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), a multi-year investigation of the residential school system. The TRC gathered information in a variety of ways about the historical and contemporary injustices toward Indigenous Peoples from across the nation. The release of the Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future: Summary of Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June of 2015 marked an important moment in the history of Canada. In the context of reconciliation, Indigenization is one way in which we can contribute to working toward a stronger shared future as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

The report with its 94 Calls to Action emphasizes the need for education to play a key role in service of justice and resurgence of Indigenous Peoples by calling on Canada to provide “the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms” (TRC, 2015, p. 238). If understood and respected, these Calls to Action can serve as a framework toward developing and achieving reconciliation.

Indigenization reflects a commitment to valuing and respecting diverse ways of knowing and being in the world within systems and structures where the processes of knowledge production, legitimization, and dissemination need to be revised. Indigenization is therefore interlinked with decolonization and reconciliation. Through these three powerful processes, we are compelled to re-evaluate the histories and the uncomfortable stories of our country, and once we do this we cannot look back, and we cannot escape them. Through this transformational learning process, we will be in a better position to understand, acknowledge, and appreciate Indigenous worldviews and Indigenous ways of being in the world.

Indigenization of curriculum requires much more than adding Indigenous content. In an education system that has, since its inception and into the present day, valued Western ways of thinking almost exclusively, Indigenization of curriculum requires us to bring Indigenous ways of thinking, being, and learning into course design. This section provides a discussion of Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies and how these can be interwoven in curriculum design and development.

Thoughtfully interwoven Indigenous content and approaches must be informed by an understanding of Indigenous epistemologies (how knowledge can be known) and pedagogies, (how knowledge can be taught). While there is much diversity among Indigenous Peoples, and therefore among Indigenous way of knowing, teaching, or learning, many Indigenous education scholars have argued there are also some notable commonalities among Indigenous societies worldwide (Cajete, 1994; Deloria & Wildcat, 2001; Hampton, 1993; Henderson, 2002; Marker, 2004).

Indigenous epistemologies

Key aspects of Indigenous epistemologies are relationality, the interconnection between sacred and secular, and holism.

Relationality

Relationality is the concept that we are all related to each other, to the natural environment, and to the spiritual world, and these relationships bring about interdependencies. Curriculum developers can apply the concept of relationality by creating learning opportunities that emphasize learning in relationships with fellow students, teachers, families, members of the community, and the local lands.

Sacred and secular

According to Hoffman (2013), “Aboriginal ontologies and epistemologies are rooted in worldviews that are inclusive of both the sacred and the secular. [In Indigenous ontologies] the world exists in one reality composed of an inseparable weave of secular and sacred dimensions” (p. 190). In Western educational approaches, spirituality is often seen as taboo in the classroom. In an Indigenous approach, spiritual dimensions cannot be separated from secular dimensions, and spirituality is a necessary component of learning. This does not mean that students need to embrace a specific “religious” approach or practice, but rather that educators should not ignore spiritual development as a component of learning.

Holism

The principle of holism is linked to that of relationality, as Indigenous thought focuses on the whole picture because everything within the picture is related and cannot be separated. Cindy Blackstock (2007), the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, identifies four interconnected dimensions of knowledge that are common in Indigenous epistemologies: “emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and physical,” which are “informed by ancestral knowledge which is to be passed to future generations” (p. 4). In Indigenous epistemologies, these four elements are inseparable, and human development and well-being involves attending to and valuing all of these realms.

Indigenous philosophies are underlain by a worldview of interrelationships among the spiritual, the natural and the self, forming the foundation or beginnings of Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

– Willie Ermine, 1995

Indigenous pedagogies

A basic assumption of Indigenous education scholars is that there are modes of Indigenous pedagogy that stem from pre-contact Indigenous educational approaches and are still ingrained in Indigenous contemporary culture. The exclusion or devaluation of Indigenous pedagogies can create a barrier to academic success for Indigenous students, limit a genuine understanding of Indigenous culture and history for all students, and prevent people from learning how to exercise highly valuable and useful modes of thought which could potentially address many problems in the modern world. Some key commonalities among Indigenous pedagogical approaches are outlined below.

Personal and holistic

As a result of the epistemological principle of holism, Indigenous pedagogies focus on the development of a human being as a whole person. Academic or cognitive knowledge is valued, but self-awareness, emotional growth, social growth, and spiritual development are also valued. It is a useful for curriculum developers to keep this in mind when creating learning experiences that interweave both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. For example, Indigenous approaches can be brought to life by providing opportunities for students to reflect on the four dimensions of knowledge (emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and physical) when they engage in learning activities. This may also include allowing students opportunities to challenge dominant ideologies that neglect emotional and spiritual knowledge domains.

Experiential

Indigenous pedagogies are experiential because they emphasize learning by doing. In traditional pre-contact societies, young people learned how to participate as adult members of their community by practicing the tasks and skills they would need to perform as adults. In a contemporary setting, an emphasis on experiential learning means a preference for learning through observation, action, reflection, and further action. For curriculum developers, this also means acknowledging that personal experience is a highly valuable type of knowledge and method of learning, and creating opportunities within courses for students to share and learn from direct experience.

Place-based learning

Indigenous pedagogies connect learning to a specific place, and thus knowledge is situated in relationship to a location, experience, and group of people. For curriculum developers, this means creating opportunities to learn about the local place and to learn in connection to the local place.

Intergenerational

In Indigenous communities, the most respected educators have always been Elders. In pre-contact societies, Elders had clear roles to play in passing on wisdom and knowledge to youth, and that relationship is still honoured and practiced today. Some Elders are the knowledge holders of 60 different Indigenous languages in Canada, and language is a key component of Indigenous culture that should be integrated in teaching practices if we are to move toward Indigenization of curriculum. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students can learn a lot from Elders, and curriculum developers can seek opportunities to engage with Elders as experts in Indigenous pedagogies. Section 3 of this resource provides more information about how to respectfully engage with Elders.

Tribal/Indigenous education is really endogenous education, in that it educates the inner self through enlivenment and illumination from one’s own being and the learning of key relationships. Therefore, the foundations for Tribal/Indigenous education naturally rest upon increasing awareness and development of innate human potentials.

– Gregory Cajete, 1994, p. 34

The learning spirit

Tunison (2007) states that “the learning spirit is a conceptual … entity that emerges from the exploration of the complex interrelationships that exist between the learner and his or her learning journey” (p. 10). Tunison notes that “lack of identity, lack of voice, and low self-esteem” can damage the learning spirit. Integration of Indigenous knowledge in post-secondary curriculum will strengthen the learning spirit of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students because holistic learning engages the four knowledge domains that nourish holistic literacy and interweave all aspects of learning: emotional (heart), spiritual (spirit), cognitive (mind) and physical (body).

Understanding Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies is the first step; the next step is taking action to integrate them into curriculum development. Often educators turn to learning activities as a first step in Indigenization. However, including or adapting learning activities without changing other aspects of the curriculum is not a holistic approach to Indigenization, and in some cases can result in trivializing and misappropriating those activities (this is discussed more in Section 4). Interweaving Indigenous approaches should involve considering all of the following aspects of your course design:

• Goals: Does the course goal include holistic development of the learner? If applicable, does the course benefit Indigenous people or communities?
• Learning outcomes: Do the learning outcomes emphasize cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual development? Is there room for personalization, group and individual learning goals, and self-development?
• Learning activities: Have you included learning activities that are land-based, narrative, intergenerational, relational, experiential, and/or multimodal (rely on auditory, visual, physical, or tactile modes of learning)?
• Assessment: Is the assessment holistic in nature? Are there opportunities for self-assessment that allow students to reflect on their own development?
• Relationships: Are there opportunities for learning in community, intergenerational learning, and learning in relationship to the land?
• Format: Does the course include learning beyond the classroom “walls”?

This section provided a brief discussion of Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies. As Indigenous epistemologies are firmly rooted in relationality and in the interconnectedness of sacred and secular, we must engage the social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of knowledge when moving toward Indigenization of curriculum. Elders play a key role in the sharing and passing on of ancestral knowledge, and therefore, are integral to efforts to Indigenize curriculum. This section’s brief summary of Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies is a good place to start, but in reality these concepts cannot be deeply understood through reading; to be fully known they must be experienced through collaborative work with Indigenous people and communities, which we explore in Section 3.

As Indigenization is the process of bringing together Indigenous knowledge systems and approaches with those of the mainstream academy, it is critical that this work be done in partnership with Indigenous people. In Section 2, you learned about the relational nature of Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy. If learning is to occur in relationship, it is essential for curriculum developers to build relationships and work together with Indigenous people. In this section, we will begin to explore how to build relationships with Indigenous people in respectful and meaningful ways.

You may have heard the term protocol in relation to working with Indigenous people. The term protocol includes many things, but overall it refers to ways of interacting with Indigenous people in a manner that respects traditional ways of being. Protocols are not just “manners” or “rules” – they are a representation of a culture’s deeply held ethical system. They also have highly practical applications that may have arisen in a pre-contact context but still apply today. Protocols differ vastly from one Indigenous culture or community to another, and they can be highly complex and multi-layered. Coming to understand and practice protocols appropriately is a lifelong learning process even for Indigenous people growing up within their culture. Following protocols is a significant sign of respect and awareness. It shows that you are taking the time to learn about Indigenous cultures and are challenging the often unconscious bias that everyone should interact in the way that mainstream settler culture dictates. Through following protocols, you can build stronger relationships with Indigenous communities and learn about different ways of interacting.

As a non-Indigenous person who is just learning about protocol, there are a few simple things you can do that are generally common to Indigenous cultures. These include:

• Acknowledging the traditional lands on which you are situated. If you do not know the area, ask someone who knows. Acknowledging the traditional lands is generally done at the beginning of a meeting or event by an Indigenous person local to the area, an Elder, or by the event’s host or facilitator. In terms of curriculum development, this practice can also be used in the classroom and taught to students. It is important to note that unless you are Indigenous to that area, you should not “welcome” people to the area – only someone who is originally from the location can do that. Acknowledgement, on the other hand, is a good thing for anyone to do. See Appendix E for tips on how to acknowledge the traditional lands.

Note: If you are not using the online version of the Curriculum Developers Guide, you can find this document in Appendix E.

• Always introduce yourself at the beginning of a meeting. An introduction should include who you are and where you come from, which means your family’s cultural and geographical background prior to being a settler in North America, (i.e. Where is your family indigenous to?) Do not say you are from Canada or the United States. You may also include who your parents and grandparents are and where they are from. This allows a deeper understanding of your family lineage and situates you in relation to the people you are interacting with.

Beyond these practices, you should be ready to engage in a lifelong learning process. As protocols vary widely between and even within Indigenous cultures, they are not something you can learn about by taking a course or reading a list. They are learned through relationships. Therefore, it is important to find people who you trust to support you as you learn about protocols. There may be people at your university who can support this – for example, staff an office of Indigenous affairs or a colleague who has established strong, positive relationships with Indigenous partners. You will need to ask questions and be prepared to make mistakes and apologize if needed. It may not always be smooth, but with practice your knowledge will grow.

Through relationships with Indigenous people, both within and outside of your university’s context, you will be able to work in partnership with Indigenous people to bring local knowledge and Indigenous approaches into course design.

Principles of interaction

It is important to remember that many Indigenous people and communities have experienced negative interactions with your university or with non-Indigenous institutions in general (for example, the government, the education system, the healthcare system) in the past, and so you may need to work extra hard to build a relationship of trust that overcomes the mistrust that has been planted by colonization. Bob Joseph, a Gwawaenuk Nation member, owner of Indigenous Corporate Training, and former associate professor at Royal Roads University, provides 7 Tips on Building Relationships with Indigenous Peoples.7 Tips on Building Relationships with Indigenous Peoples: https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/7-tips-on-building-relationships-with-indigenous-peoples.

Establishing initial relationships

The first place to begin is by exploring the relationships that already exist within your institution. You would not want to approach a community about working together without knowing if a previous relationship has been established between that community and your institution. If your university has an office of Indigenous affairs or Indigenous education, begin there. You may also want to search the institution website to see if there are existing agreements with Indigenous communities (such as a memorandum of understanding) or an Indigenous plan. If you cannot find any existing relationships this way, you may also want to look into any research that has been done which involved engaging with Indigenous communities, and get in touch with the people from your institution who were involved in that research. Just keep in mind that the research may or may not have been built on positive relationships with Indigenous communities.

If you have no connections and no one from your institution to guide you, then protocol requires that you begin by working to establish a relationship with the local First Nation(s). You can do this by first visiting the local First Nation’s band office in person to introduce yourself and to book a meeting with the Nation’s Chief or member of Council. There may be an employee within the Nation who is the education coordinator. If so, then, they would be the person to connect with, but don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to others as well.

It is also a good idea to bring a small gift as a token of appreciation for the individual’s time and energy. This demonstrates that you’ve prepared and done some research on protocols for engaging with communities. Examples of gifts are coffee, tea, food, sweets, or small and useful items, such as a mug or pen. Traditional medicines (sage, sweetgrass, traditional tobacco, cedar) can also be gifts, but you will need to do your research in advance to understand cultural protocols around traditional medicines.

Establishing these relationships will take time and effort. It important to initiate this relationship with face-to-face contact. Elders say that it’s always better to first visit in person, then call, and then send an email. If you still haven’t received a response, don’t give up. Go back to the office and introduce yourself again. Be prepared if you do connect with someone, you may have to wait a while or only be given a short time to meet. If you continue not to get responses, consider how you can make your request more relevant to the priorities of the First Nation. Keep in mind that many First Nations’ staff are overworked and have limited capacity for additional tasks.

If you have reached out to the First Nation(s) in your area, you may then also consider connecting with Indigenous community groups, such as social service agencies, cultural groups, or arts collectives. Many communities have a Métis organization, which can provide valuable insight into Métis perspectives. Consider contacting a local chapter of Métis Nation British ColumbiaMetis Nation British Columbia, Regional Contacts https://www.mnbc.ca/regional-contactsor Métis Service Providers.BC Metis Service Providers https://www.mnbc.ca/regional-contacts You can also contact Friendship Centres,Friendship Centres in BC https://www.bcaafc.com/index.php/about-us/contact-us/friendship-centres-in-bc which serve Urban Indigenous people of all backgrounds. They exist in 25 communities across B.C. and are another great group to connect with. Many of these groups are involved in education, and they may value working in collaboration with universities.

Intentionality and purpose

As you develop relationships, it is important to reflect and be clear on your intentionality and purpose. Are you seeking permission to share stories from local Indigenous people? Are you looking for advice on developing learning activities? Are you looking for guest speakers to participate in course delivery? Or are you looking for someone to bring a deeper involvement, such as a co-teacher or curriculum adviser?

Following the principles of respect outlined above, it is important to think about how involvement with your project will benefit the communities and help them to meet their goals. Will there be opportunities for people from the community to gain knowledge and skills? Will there be benefits to Indigenous students? Does the community have goals (such as contributing to a greater understanding of their culture or building relationships with the university) that may align with your request? Don’t race out to the community only because you need something. A partnership should never be one-sided, and it is important to recognize that many Indigenous communities are approached with multiple requests to share their time and knowledge, which can strain their operational capacity and their ability to focus on the needs of their own community. Asking someone to contribute to your course development is a big ask that will require considerable time and effort.

For this reason, you will want to consider the issue of compensation. In some cases, honoraria are used as compensation – usually when the interaction is short-lived (limited to several visits). We discuss this approach more in the topic about working with Elders (below). If a longer relationship is required, community members who are not already being paid by their community to do this work (for example as an educational adviser within a First Nation or Friendship Centre) should be compensated on a level that values their work equally to the work of university staff.

In many cases, if you are mindful of the principles and approaches discussed above, you will be able to build strong relationships. But keep in mind that some Indigenous people or communities might not be ready or willing to build relationships with you or your institution. This may be due to negative experiences in the past, or simply due to different priorities or limited human resources capacity. If that is the case, it is important to respect that choice and move on.

Working with Elders

An Indigenous Elder is someone who has lived and continues to live in a cultural way and uses a traditional lens to engage with people. The term “Elder” is not an Indigenous word – it comes from interaction with the Christian church. Indigenous languages have other words to connote this role, such as “wisdom-keeper” (In conversation, Leslie McGarry , 2016 ). Elders play a role of keeping traditional wisdom alive and passing it forward. Although an Elder is usually an older person, not all older people carry the title of Elder, and in some cases Elders can be quite young.

Working with Elders can be highly rewarding. Not only do they bring expertise in traditional knowledge, but Elders also often bring a certain energy to an interaction that impacts people’s mindsets. Elders remind us of the larger picture and the moral and communal reasons for the work that we do together. Elders can also bring a sense of spirituality, laughter, and connection. Review Appendix F for tips on working with Elders.Appendix F: Working with Elders: https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/back-matter/appendix-f-working-with-elders/

Some non-Indigenous people may feel that it is not their role to become involved in integrating Indigenous content. In some cases, this is because they don’t want to make a mistake. It is natural to feel nervous about making mistakes when interacting with Indigenous people and communities. Nobody wants to appear disrespectful or racist. However, in a world that has been saturated in Western-dominated values, and in which Indigenous knowledge has been systematically excluded and devalued, doing nothing is a form of perpetuating this exclusion. It is critical that people from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds contribute to the work of Indigenization. This is everyone’s responsibility.

In fact, learning from mistakes is a common aspect of Indigenous pedagogy, as it involves experiential learning and self-development. In this view, mistakes plus correction equals learning. Indigenous communities and families have a cultural process for “fixing” a mistake by creating a safe place to acknowledge your mistake, to fix it, and then learn from it. This process isn’t about shaming or belittling the individuals, but rather it is intended to raise them up and raise the people up who may have been affected by a mistake. After the process of acknowledging and fixing a mistake, it’s then time to let go, move forward, and continue to work together.

You may feel uncomfortable when you make mistakes, but try to also be grateful for the opportunity to learn and ask questions. This way you can understand and fix your mistakes. Whatever you do, don’t let the fear of making mistakes keep you in a state of complacency with the status quo.

It takes time, but over the years the rewards of building strong networks with Indigenous people and communities will pay off. The knowledge and experience that Indigenous partners can bring to your curriculum will greatly enrich the learning experiences for students. You will gain confidence as you learn about protocols and respectful interactions, and as you develop trusting and mutually beneficial relationships.

As you develop curriculum, keep in mind that to decolonize teaching and learning, it is critical that Indigenous voices be brought to the forefront by including Indigenous success stories, Indigenous cultural approaches, and Indigenous-led research. In recent years, there has been much discussion about what counts as an Indigenous perspective and what is and isn’t appropriate to be shared and used. In this section, we explore these issues and provide you with some guidelines to consider when navigating choices about Indigenous content. We will also explore the importance of local knowledge and the role that curriculum developers can play in supporting Indigenous language revitalization.

By now you have learned that Indigenizing curricula is not about adding content related to Indigenous history or culture; it’s about shifting to an approach that incorporates Indigenous worldviews, including Indigenous pedagogies and approaches to knowledge. In this section, we explore how the complex sources of Indigenous knowledge can contribute to curricula.

Diversity among Indigenous Peoples

In the Foundations Guide,Foundations Guide: https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationfoundations/ you learned about the diversity of Indigenous Peoples. When considering integrating Indigenous knowledge into your courses, it is critical to keep this diversity mind. Some things to consider:

• When you include a resource, identify which Indigenous Peoples it comes from. For example, don’t say “This is an Indigenous story,” but rather “This is a Tsimshian story.”
• If you are including an experience or concept that was common to many Indigenous Peoples (for example, residential schools or the important role of Elders), be sure the curriculum acknowledges that there are important differences as well as commonalities among Indigenous groups.
• Consider how you can integrate Métis, Inuit, and Urban Indigenous peoples’ sources of knowledge into your courses, in addition to First Nations content. This annotated bibliography of Métis resources [PDF]Métis Annotated Bibliography: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/c0a932f4-8d79-4d3d-a5d4 3f8c128c0236/1/FINAL%20Metis%20Bibliography%20for%20Indigenization%20Guides%202017.pdf includes many pre-vetted sources.
• Consider whether you will incorporate concepts from a diversity of Indigenous Peoples, or focus on the local peoples. Depending on the context of the course, either choice may be appropriate.

Diversity among forms of knowledge

In academia, we often think of knowledge as coming from experts in the forms of academic papers, presentations, and research results. In Indigenous communities, knowledge comes from many other sources, for example, from the land, from stories, or from relationships between people.

Personal knowledge

Mainstream academic knowledge often strives to be universal and impersonal. The most respected forms of knowledge are generally studies that can be replicated in different localities and cultures, by different researchers. In Indigenous knowledge systems, knowledge that exists in relationship to specific lands and people is highly valued. In the context of curriculum development, this means creating opportunities for educators and students to share their personal experiences, feelings, and identities as a form of knowledge, and to learn from the experiential knowledge of Indigenous people.

Our entire Western education system moves from narrative to exposition, from story to essay. We beat the story out of people; we punish them for it quite literally. And then what happens is, to re-engage with ourselves, with our spirit, with our land, and to re-engage with Indigenous peoples and other cultures, we must find, seven generations back again, we must find our hearts and our spirits and our kin and our land once again, and we must find those stories once again.

– Allan Luke, 2015

Oral knowledge

Indigenous cultures have long valued oral language to transfer knowledge, and Indigenous Peoples use a variety of complex practices and protocols to pass along oral histories, such as witnessing ceremonies and potlatches. In Indigenous cultures, community members are often trained from a young age in the skills of oral communication. In the context of curriculum, this means considering opportunities for sharing stories, ideas, and experiences orally, rather than through a written assignment or presentation.

Expressions of knowledge

Stories, dances, songs, and ceremonies are important sources of knowledge in Indigenous cultures. It is important to keep in mind that resources may be non-textual in nature. For example, attending a ceremony or community event could be a learning resource. Exploring the local environment with an Elder could be a resource. Learning in a respectful way about a piece of artwork (such as a mask, textile, or regalia) could be a resource. Consider including opportunities for learners to experience these expressions of knowledge.

When selecting resources for your curriculum, it is important to incorporate authentic Indigenous resources. But what does it mean to be authentic? And how can such resources be incorporated in a respectful way? As a curriculum developer, it can sometimes be hard to know if efforts to bring Indigenous content and pedagogy into curriculum are a respectful inclusion or an instance of cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation can be understood as using intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone’s culture without permission. It is most likely to be harmful when the source culture is a group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways (as with Indigenous Peoples), or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive or sacred (Scafidi, 2005). However, it is not always simple to identify when cultural appropriation is occurring. Let’s explore two examples of learning experiences that use creating poles to understand the nuances of cultural appropriation.

In the first example, cultural appropriation occurred for the following reasons:

• Indigenous communities that created totem poles have been exploited through colonialism in many other ways. They were not involved in the assignment to make poles, and they did not grant permission to the teacher to make poles.
• Poles have a spiritual significance, which was not honoured in the activity.
• The creating of the poles was not interwoven with Indigenous approaches but was a one-off assignment within a predominantly Westernized approach.

In the second example, making poles was a respectful activity for the following reasons:

• Indigenous community experts were actively involved.
• The activity was deeply integrated with Indigenous pedagogical approaches.
• The spiritual significance of the pole was recognized by following proper protocols and values.

Cultural appropriation can feel like an ambiguous topic, and the fear of appropriating may lead educators to shy away from Indigenous content or issues. But this is not an acceptable response. Instead, what is required is that educators think through considerations of cultural appropriation carefully. They need to build connections with Indigenous communities so that they can incorporate Indigenous culture in ways that are not harmful or exploitative. This may be harder work than simply adding an Indigenous text, speaker, or activity into a course, but it is the responsibility of all educators to engage in this work.

This history is a shared history. It’s our shared history. If you live on this land, then you’re in a relationship with First Nations people whether you know it or not. So teaching the history, teaching the content is your responsibility. And I say that, but with a word of caution, because you can appropriate, and sometimes make a mistake around appropriating … If you don’t feel comfortable, then that’s an indicator that what you’re planning to do is maybe not a good idea. Sometimes if you think, “If an Aboriginal Elder came into my classroom and saw me doing this, would I feel defensive?” And if you answer yes, then it’s probably not a good idea to do that.

– Susan Dion, 2013

 Authentic resources

Another important consideration is how to recognize authentic Indigenous resources. In some cases, resources dealing with Indigenous content may contain inaccurate information or unfairly represent the unique experiences and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples. This can promote stereotypes and misunderstanding. In contrast, authentic resources can deepen understanding by bringing Indigenous voices and perspectives into the curriculum.

It is not always easy to identify authentic Indigenous texts. According to the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC, 2016), authentic First Peoples’ texts are historical or contemporary texts that:

• Present authentic First Peoples’ voices (are created by First Peoples or through the substantial contributions of First Peoples);
• Depict themes and issues that are important within First Peoples’ cultures (e.g., loss of identity and affirmation of identity, tradition, healing, role of family, importance of Elders, connection to the land, the nature and place of spirituality as an aspect of wisdom, the relationships between individual and community, the importance of oral tradition, the experience of colonization and decolonization);
• Incorporate First Peoples’ storytelling techniques and features as applicable (e.g., circular structure, repetition, weaving in of spirituality, humour).

In trying to decide whether a resource is authentic, you may consider:

• Using pre-vetted resource lists such as the ones developed by First Nations Education Steering CommitteeResource List Developed by the First Nations Steering Committee: http://www.fnesc.ca/learningfirstpeoples/efp/.
• Consulting with the Indigenous education office at your organization.
• Reaching out to other educators who incorporate Indigenous resources and content in their classrooms. Ask them how they chose their resources. What factors did they consider?
• Ensuring that proper copyright and protocols have been followed to obtain permission, particularly when using resources found online (such as songs or artwork).

It is important to recognize that local cultural protocols exist around the use of Indigenous resources. In the mainstream academic system, copyright is used to ensure permission for written resources In Indigenous cultures, oral permission is required to use cultural materials or practices such as legends, stories, songs, designs, crests, photographs, audiovisual materials, and dances. These practices and materials are often owned by specific individuals, families, or groups, and permission to use them may be considered in the context of your relationships with the owners, your intent, and the way in which you will be sharing the practices or materials. If you or your institution have not obtained permission, it is important to investigate and secure permission from relevant individuals, artists, families, Elders, hereditary Chiefs, Band Councils, or Tribal Councils prior to using any materials. Permission may be specific to a single use; if you are using the resource for a different context than permission was originally obtained for, you may need to reach out to seek permission again.

For more information on deciding whether a resource is appropriate, review pages 8–16 of the guide In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K–3 Classroom [PDF].In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 Classroom: http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PUB-LFP-K-3-In-our-Own-Words-for-Web.pdf Although this guide was developed for K–3 educators, it includes many important considerations when choosing authentic Indigenous resources.

As you select resources, you should look for opportunities to connect to the local land and language in the place where your course will be taught. Incorporating local knowledge is a good way to show respect for the local Indigenous people. It also models to local Indigenous learners that their culture is included in the curriculum, and it teaches students about the local Indigenous people.

Local knowledge

Incorporating local knowledge is closely linked with building relationships with local communities. If these relationships are strong, you can incorporate local content in collaboration with the local community, working with Elders and community experts. If these relationships are not strong, consider how you might build such relationships and look to sources of support within your network (for example, Indigenous support services at your institution or colleagues that have existing connections).

Language

British Columbia is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. B.C. is home to 34 unique Indigenous languages, which represents approximately 60 per cent of First Nations languages in Canada. This map shows the names and locations of Indigenous languages in B.C.Names and locations of Indigenous languages in B.C.: http://fp-maps.ca/language-family/printed-language-maps Unfortunately, due to policies of forced assimilation, many of these languages are endangered, with less than 10 per cent of the community members speaking the language. The majority of the fluent speakers alive are elderly, and it is critical that they have opportunities to pass on their linguistic knowledge before it is too late.

Language is closely linked to culture, and many cultural concepts cannot be accurately translated into other languages. For example, many Indigenous languages have words to describe concepts that don’t exist in English. When languages are lost, culture is also threatened. For that reason, language revitalization is very important to many Indigenous Peoples.

As a curriculum developer, you may want to consider ways you can bring concepts from the local language into your course. For example, are there values, principles, or themes in your course that could be expressed through Indigenous languages? Integrating local Indigenous language into your course would certainly require collaboration from community members.

Incorporating Indigenous resources appropriately is complex. When including a resource in your curriculum, there are many important factors to consider, and each decision is highly contextualized; it may depend on the relationship you have with the source of the resource, the way in which you are using the resource, and the context of the course. The authenticity of the resource may also be a complex consideration, taking into account both the identity of the creator and their relationship with the subject of their work.

This complexity is not a reason to exclude Indigenous content. Indigenous content has valuable lessons for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners, and it has been excluded for too long. While it may seem daunting, it is important to remember that relationships are the key to navigating these decisions. When you have strong relationships with Indigenous communities and experts, you can turn to this community for support when making decisions about resources.

In the previous sections, we learned about the exclusion of Indigenous knowledge from academia. This exclusion and the parallel privileging of Western knowledge above other systems of thought are examples of systemic oppression. In this section, we will explore the concept of systemic oppression and ask you to reflect on your positionality within the system of oppression that exists in the world today. This will help to inform the role you play in Indigenization of the curriculum. Understanding and promoting an anti-oppressive approach is critical to supporting the work of Indigenization.

In the Foundations Guide,Foundations Guide: https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationfoundations/ you learned about the many tactics that have been used throughout history and into the present to reinforce the oppression of Indigenous Peoples in Canada by settlers. Some examples include the creation of reserves and the theft of Indigenous lands; the residential school system, and other efforts to promote assimilation; social and economic restrictions created by the Indian Act and other federal and provincial laws and policies; personal racism toward Indigenous Peoples that resulted in denied opportunities and exclusion; and the omission of Indigenous history and knowledge in education systems. These acts of colonization are instances of how systemic oppression against Indigenous Peoples has been practiced since Europeans first arrived in the Americas.

In this section, we will seek to understand different forms of oppression as they apply to Indigenous Peoples. Anti-oppression theory is important because it provides a framework for understanding the world and your own place in it, questioning and challenging your practices, and creating new approaches that counter oppression and lead toward reconciliation and decolonization.

What is oppression?

Oppression is exploitation based on perceived difference of a group of people who share a social category (such as race, class, cultural background, religion, gender, sexuality, age, language, or ability). Characteristics of oppression include:

• Systemic: It is systemic and societal. It is not just individuals with prejudiced beliefs and actions, but rather is embedded within the structure of society.
• Power imbalance: It involves a dominant or more powerful group exploiting a less powerful group based on perceived differences between the groups. There is always a power imbalance at play.
• Denial: The powerful group often denies that oppression exists or accepts it as being normal or right.

Forms of oppression

There are multiple ways in which oppression can manifest. Oppression can be categorized into personal, cultural, and structural or systemic. In our society, all three of these forms are operating at all times in an interconnected manner (Thompson 1997).

Personal oppression comprises the thoughts, behaviours, and actions that constitute a negative judgment or treatment of an oppressed group. Here are some examples:

• A student raises her hand during a class discussion of a book by an Indigenous author and asks, “Why are Aboriginal people so screwed up?”
• After a faculty meeting about the university’s Indigenous plan, a professor comments that he doesn’t understand why “Indigenous people always get special treatment.”

Cultural oppression includes shared societal values and norms that allow people to see oppression as normal or right. Here are some examples:

• It is considered “normal” that an English course would include only white, male authors, but it is considered something special when non-white or female authors are included.
• It is assumed that everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in Canada. (Some Indigenous people do not celebrate the holiday because of its colonial origins.)
• It is expected that all Indigenous people are spiritually wise experts in Indigenous culture and protocol.

Structural (or systemic) oppression is manifested in societal institutions (such as governments, religions, education systems, health care, law, and the media). Here are some examples:

• Indigenous people are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and child welfare system. Meanwhile, Indigenous people are underrepresented in positions of power within government.
• First Nations schools receive less per-student funding than provincial public schools (Drummond & Rosenbluth, 2013).
• Indigenous reserves are located in isolated areas with few job prospects, contributing to poverty and dependency.

Oppression can manifest in different ways. It may be conscious or unconscious. Unconscious oppression is especially hard to tackle, because it is less visible and overt. However, both conscious and unconscious oppression can manifest in one’s attitudes and beliefs or in one’s behaviour. For example, an employer may be less likely to hire an Indigenous employee because of preconceived beliefs that the employer may or may not be conscious of. Or a professor may have different expectations for Indigenous students because of an unconscious bias.

If you are a non-Indigenous person engaged in the work of Indigenization, then you can better understand your role in this movement as being an ally to Indigenous people. An ally is someone from a privileged group who is aware of how oppression works and struggles alongside members of an oppressed group to take action to end oppression.

An ally:

• does not put their own needs, interests, and goals ahead of the Indigenous people they are working with.
• has self-awareness of their own identity, privilege, and role in challenging oppression.
• is engaged in continual learning and reflection about Indigenous cultures and history.

In Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression in People, activist, author, and educator Anne Bishop explains how a central aspect of being an ally is recognizing and being aware of one’s own role in a system of oppression.

Remember that everyone in the oppressor group is part of the oppression. It is ridiculous to claim you are not sexist if you are a man or not racist if you are white and so on. No matter how much work you have done on that area of yourself, there is more to be done. All members of this society grow up surrounded by oppressive attitudes; we are marinated in it. I do not believe anyone raised in Western society can ever claim to have finished ridding themselves completely of their oppressive attitudes. It is an ongoing task, like keeping the dishes clean. In fact, the minute I hear someone claim to be free of the attitudes and actions of a certain oppression (as in “I’m not racist”) I know they have barely begun the process. Humility is the mark of someone who has gone a ways down the road and has caught a glimpse of just how long the road is….  Having accepted that every member of an oppressor group is an oppressor, try not to feel that this makes you a “bad” person. Self-esteem does not have to mean distancing yourself from the oppressor role, it can come instead from taking a proud part in the struggle to end oppression. This involves learning to separate guilt from responsibility. Guilt means taking on all the weight of history as an individual; responsibility means accepting your share of the challenge of changing the situation. (p. 114-115)

The concept of cultural safety recognizes that we need to be aware of and challenge unequal power relations at all levels: individual, family, community, and society. The reality is that many Indigenous students, faculty, and employees experience harm on a regular basis because their culture and identity is not respected or accepted within post-secondary institutions.

In a culturally safe learning environment, each learner feels that their unique cultural background is respected and they are free to be themselves without being judged, put on the spot, or asked to speak for all members of their group. Unequal power relations are openly discussed and challenged in a manner that does not make learners feel that they (or groups they belong to) are being put down.

As you Indigenize curriculum, issues of cultural safety may arise. Learning about the negative experiences of colonization and oppression may lead to contentious discussions, the surfacing of racist attitudes and beliefs, and re-traumatization for Indigenous students. Integrating Indigenous content into the classroom could shift the focus to Indigenous students in a way that may feel emotionally unsafe.

As a curriculum developer, it is important to be aware of these potential impacts of Indigenization and to develop a learning approach that lessens opportunities for these impacts to occur. A first step would be to acknowledge that cultural safety is an important issue, and that the instructor will attend to cultural safety throughout the course.

Regardless of your cultural background, Indigenizing the curriculum is your responsibility. In this section, we have provided opportunities to reflect on how you can act on that responsibility given your own identity and experiences. As you move forward in this work, keep in mind that it is important to think critically about your role and how you can contribute in a way that counters oppressive attitudes, practices, and structures.

Now that you have worked through the preceding sections, you are probably beginning to get a sense of what Indigenization means to you. Or maybe the perspective you had when you started this guide has been affirmed. We hope you have learned along the way and are more confident about how you will continue your work to introduce Indigenous perspectives into your curriculum, not just to serve Indigenous students, but to serve us all.

As you engage in the work of Indigenizing curriculum, you will find there are limits to what can be done through curriculum alone. Holistic transformation of the university will involve systemic change, including policies, practices, and organizational culture. In this section, we explore how you can contribute to systemic change as a curriculum developer.

In Section 2, we explored how the process of relationality applies to curriculum development. How does this concept apply to the university as a whole? In an organization like a post-secondary institution, relationality means a recognition of the myriad connections between aspects such as the ancestral lands where the campus is located, university community members, Elders, Chiefs and Council members, local Nations, organizational units, buildings, signage, artworks, governance groups, print and online collections, coffee shops and much, more. Everything that Indigenous and non-Indigenous university community members do as they interact in these complex environments makes a difference (Restoule, 2011).

Systems theory and systems thinking approaches bear strong resemblance to this perspective. Peter Senge (2006) proposes that systems thinking is the fifth discipline in an organization, along with four others that are necessary for an organization to continue learning. According to Senge, the five disciplines are:

• personal mastery
• awareness of our own biases and assumptions
• common understanding of a desired future or vision
• team learning
• systems thinking

In this guide, you have been challenged to increase your personal mastery and your awareness of your own biases and assumptions about Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. As you work within your unit and your institution, you can contribute to the development of vision, team learning, and systems thinking that will advance common understanding. The topics that follow offer some ideas for you to consider as you work toward systemic change.

Being a part of a community of people who are committed to making change can be extraordinarily powerful – it’s also a great way to build relationships and experience connectedness across your institution.

Sharing with existing networks

You are likely already part of many communities in your institution and in your professional networks. Speaking up and sharing what you have learned from your own experiences in your existing communities can help to support Indigenization. The same is true, of course, for the opportunities you might have in working groups, committees, or governance bodies.

Connecting with others working toward Indigenization

You can also find others in your institution who are working toward Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation – building connections between your existing communities and creating new and different relationships. Many post-secondary institutions have Indigenous plans or strategic documents that describe their commitment to Indigenization. These plans vary widely from institution to institution, and some institutions are working on new or revised versions. There may be opportunities to get involved in this work where your perspective as a curriculum developer is important to share.

Your colleagues in your institution’s Indigenous education or student services unit can help you connect to others who are interested in Indigenization. Connecting with your Indigenous colleagues who work in these areas shows respect for their knowledge and they can be very important advisers. A simple online search of the keywords “Indigenous” and “your institution name” should lead you to contacts if you don’t know where to start, or contact your Human Resources office and inquire about the organization structure of your institution.

Just remember that Indigenous education and student services faculty and staff are still rare on most campuses, and their time and resources are in high demand. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing and available to help, but rather that you may need to make an appointment or reach out by email to arrange a connection first. Remember, too, that Indigenous faculty and staff who work in other units within the institution do their jobs just like their non-Indigenous colleagues, and they may or may not have additional time available to share their expertise about their knowledge and experiences as Indigenous people.

Engaging in university programming and events to support Indigenization

Indigenous education and student services offices are often located in or near dedicated gathering spaces that are the locus of a wide range of activities that are open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutional community members, although some may just be for Indigenous community members in respect of cultural protocols. Regular activities, such as Elders’ teas or drop-in hours, Indigenous book club meetings, film screenings and discussions, drumming circles, traditional craft workshops, speakers and presentations, Indigenous graduation recognition ceremonies, and community lunches or dinners, are offered at many campuses. There may also be chances to watch Indigenous artists at work or to contribute to community works such as button blankets or carvings. National Indigenous Day is observed on June 21 across Canada with events that often lead up to that date; World Indigenous Day is marked on August 9 each year by some institutions; and Louis Riel Day is on November 16. There are usually opportunities to participate or volunteer in activities around these days.

Many universities engage in relationship-building and community-learning activities with local Indigenous communities. You may want to find out about the opportunities and explore how you can get involved, either as a participant or a supporter to the organizers of these activities. The following is an example shared by Roberta Mason and Asma-na-hi Antoine from Royal Roads University.

Now that you have completed this guide, you have a responsibility to share your knowledge and experience with others. As you go about your work, consider ways in which you can bring Indigenous ways of being into your organizational culture, such as acknowledging the lands during in-person meetings or conference calls or creating opportunities to collaborate on Indigenous-led work. How might you advocate for Indigenization in your policies and procedures (for example, in regards to payment of honoraria or hiring policies)? How might you support Indigenization of your physical workspace (for example, through inclusion of Indigenous art or recognition of lands)?

After completing this section, we hope that you will be more confident to speak up about Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation in your institution, your professional networks, and in your everyday life. While there may continue to be debate about the right words to use, the objective is to raise consciousness, or “conscientization” as Paulo Freire (1970) called it, so that actions for change will follow. As you continue to deepen your learning about Indigenization, we invite you to consider how you might be a leader and advocate for systemic change.