Centering Indigenous knowledge and leadership

“Supporting Indigenous teacher education means much more than training teachers — it’s about nurturing Indigenous knowledge, language, and cultural continuity,” says Rachel Mishenene, RHF Director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Initiative and an Indigenous educator herself. “These projects are led by Indigenous communities who know best how to positively impact the next generation of educators to teach in ways that are deeply connected to identity, and honour distinct worldviews and practices.”

Building on past experience and addressing community needs

Associate Dean of Indigenous Education at the Faculty of Education, Marti Ford, and Frontier School Division Chief Superintendent, Tyson MacGillivray, collaborated on the proposal and played pivotal roles in securing funding for this programming.

Ford’s own experience motivated her to find a solution for teacher shortages in remote communities, “When I was working at Frontier School Division we were unable to hire enough qualified teachers to fill all teaching positions. The people teaching the students required a lot of mentoring and support, and I felt that we needed to provide training to enable them to build their skills. Offering a B.Ed. program to local people would not only fill a need but also provide a long-term solution to the problem.”

This initiative builds on recent successes, including the graduation of the Anisininew Post-Baccalaureate cohort from St. Theresa Point last fall. With a similar strategy, Ford’s hope is to train local people to be teachers in the community so they do not have to leave their families and children in order to get a degree in education.

19 Indigenous teachers from St. Theresa Point comprise the Ansininew Cohort in Inclusion and Reconciliation (Faculty of Education)

Commitment to reconciliation and educational equity

Dean Jan Stewart has championed many Indigenous programming initiatives at the Faculty of Education and is continuously working to forge educational partnerships with Indigenous communities. “We are deeply grateful to the Rideau Hall Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation for their generous support of the Manitoba Indigenous Teacher Education Partnership. This funding represents a transformative opportunity to empower Indigenous communities through education. By supporting local teacher training in northern Manitoba, we are not only addressing critical staffing needs but also honouring Indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultures. This partnership reflects our commitment to Reconciliation and educational equity, and we are proud to walk alongside Frontier School Division in this important work.”

But Samara herself is a Worimi/Biripi Indigenous woman from Awabakal Country in New South Wales. Her family and extended family are Indigenous. “I always struggled to reconcile this idea of the dying out of Indigenous people. I felt a disconnect between the things I was being taught in school, and the reality I knew,” she says.

Today, as a visiting doctoral student in the University of Manitoba’s sociology and criminology department, Samara identifies this experience as an example of educational genocide, a phrase she uses in her research to describe “the ways in which education systems are used to try to assimilate Indigenous people and destroy Indigenous knowledges and practices.”

Samara’s research has found that both Australia and Canada have histories of overt educational genocide. Parallel residential school systems in each country pursued policies of forcible assimilation intended to “kill the Indian in the child,” policies that systematically undermined Indigenous cultures by severing the ties through which Indigenous culture is taught and sustained. Survivors’ accounts describe routine physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse that caused profound intergenerational trauma.

Samara came to the University of Manitoba in 2023 to conduct doctoral research on current day educational law and policy in both countries to see how educational policy has evolved. Her research asks, “what is the constitutive role of education law and policy in genocide against Indigenous people, and does that assimilative impulse still exist in more covert ways?” She planned to visit for six months but ended up staying for two years – time that was necessary, she says, to build relationships to ensure the research took place in a non-extractive way.

At UM, Samara worked with genocide scholar Dr. Andrew Woolford, sociology and criminology department, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to identify insights about the process of reconciliation and the historical treaty relationships between Indigenous people and the Government of Canada. She interviewed academics, teachers, First Nations educators and reconciliation professionals to collect qualitative data about the current state of education and found that the foundations of the Canadian education system are still very much rooted in western philosophies, values and knowledge systems.

Samara explains that western educational values typically emphasize individual achievement and economic productivity, while Indigenous education values “holistic spiritual and community wellbeing.” Because of this, she explains, “even though there’s a lot of effort to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into curriculum, it’s quite literally assimilated by western frameworks within the level of law and policy.”

While including Indigenous perspectives in standard curriculum is a positive step, Samara observes that material “is always being selected in ways that validate existing subject areas and systems. This risks doing a disservice to Indigenous knowledge because it’s being disembodied from its whole and being placed into western disciplinary frameworks.”

Instead, Samara suggests, educational reforms could “start from a foundation of Indigenous knowledge.” Instead of looking for Indigenous perspectives to include in the existing curriculum, she wonders “how can we develop a curriculum entirely from Indigenous knowledges? It would be a completely different starting point.”

Her research argues that exploring the fundamental assumptions of education systems and considering alternative models could open possibilities for an education system (in Canada, Australia and beyond) that is grounded in, and honours, Indigenous ways of knowing.

Samara has returned to Australia where she will continue her research as she teaches in the Faculty of Law and Justice at the University of New South Wales.

The Faculty of Education hosted an impactful program day for B.Ed. students this winter term. The day featured Indigenous educators and non-Indigenous allies facilitating workshops focused on such topics as: Treaty Education, anti-racism, residential schools, and educator settler-colonial positionalities.

With an emphasis on truth, justice, and the role of education in Reconciliation, these workshops provided students with important and meaningful insights. Facilitators explored Treaties, Indigenous-led education initiatives, and pathways towards transformative educational change. Students walked away with deeper understandings of intergenerational trauma, the significance of land acknowledgments, and their responsibilities as humble and respectful future educators.

Confronting Important Topics

A highlight of the day was the morning’s moderated panel discussion with Valley of the Birdtail authors Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson, alongside faculty member Dr. Frank Deer, PhD student Amy Carpenter, and B.Ed. student Caleb Rondeau. The discussion was held at University Centre in a packed room with over 400 people in attendance. The book, which was read and discussed in advance by B.Ed. students, faculty and staff members, examines historical and continuing systemic injustices impacting Indigenous communities, while shedding light on the complex legacies of colonialism.

Impactful Student Reflections

Students returned to the Faculty of Education for the afternoon where they attended more illuminating sessions. “I enjoyed learning about the two historical timelines and how impactful treaties were and are,” shared one student. “This is a useful way to discuss history with students and connect it to lived experiences.”

Another student reflected on a session about Indigenous land-based programming: “I am learning how to truly foster a relationship with the land, the real meaning of land acknowledgments, and how to form a connection with the land. A single story can change your perspective on history. The land encourages us to see ourselves.”

A Commitment to Indigenous Education and the Path Forward

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Partnerships, Dr. Wayne Serebrin, orchestrated the day’s events. “Bringing together such a dynamic group of presenters,” he noted, “reflects the faculty’s strong commitment to preparing future teachers for integrating Indigenous-led ways of knowing, being, and doing into their pedagogies, and in bringing Truth and Reconciliation knowledge and actions into their classrooms.”

“As educators engaged in the ongoing work of Truth and Reconciliation, we have a major responsibility to commit ourselves to continuous learning with and from our FNIM and non-Indigenous ally leaders,” said Dr. Serebrin. “This Program Day was one small step on this journey.”

Thank You to our Facilitators

Miigwetch to our incredible facilitators:

Renée McGurry
Dr. Maureen Matthews
Allen Sutherland
Sarah Gazan
Kaila Johnston
Dr. Marc Kuly
Andrea Gallagher-Courteau
Stephanie Fredrickson and Kevin Lopuck
Kylie Bard, Laura Boyle, Hannah Chambers, MacKenzie Kreitz, Holly Laninga, Jonah Powell, and Rebecca Schellenberg
Naomi Dennie and Kim Crass
Ed Neveau
Kathleen F. Wilson
Sean Oliver
Trish Wilson
Véronique Reynolds

Special thanks also to Robson Hall’s Faculty of Law for co-sponsoring the Valley of the Birdtail authors’ visit to the University of Manitoba Fort Garry campus.

The Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Director of the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture, and Senior Fellow at St John’s College focuses on the relationships between people and territories and how we might live in ways that support Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice.

With her goal of helping to make the world a more just place, Jocelyn currently works on two projects that shine a light on personal experiences and Indigenous filmmaking.

In her long-term collaboration with Kaila Johnston of the NCTR, Jocelyn co-curates the film series “Decolonizing Lens,” which showcases Indigenous filmmakers and their films. The events will take place every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm in the Winnipeg Art Gallery where different films will be on display. 

“The film series allows us to amplify Indigenous voices and perspectives, highlight the talent and hard work of Indigenous filmmakers, and bring people together for shared learning experiences.”

Available for viewing this September and October in the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Decolonizing Lens provides an opportunity for everyone to gain insight into Indigenous perspectives and storytelling in film.

Tying into her film series collaboration, Thorpe continues her work on an exciting book that connects social justice and everyday life, showing how everyone can help to make the world a kinder, more just place.

The next Decolonizing Lens event is Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. and features “Kanàtenhs: When the Pine Needles Fall”, a film by Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel.

To learn more about the Decolonizing Lens event dates and details, visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s website. 

Young recently facilitated a fish skin-tanning workshop, wherein participants embarked on a multi-day process of working with the skin to eventually turn it into fish leather.

“Students descaled the fish skin, prepared tanning solutions and took them home to change solutions over the course of five days. When students brought their fish skins back, we discussed how their relationship with the fish changed—there were some really interesting conversations that came out of it,” she says.

That experience was made possible because of Young’s involvement with the Land and Water program at the University of Manitoba, both in her role as the program coordinator and as a current Métis graduate student studying Métis fishing methodologies.

Offered by Community Engaged Learning, the program brings together students, community members, knowledge carriers and Elders for immersive urban land-based experiences like the fish-tanning workshop. Using a decolonizing approach to education, it provides the opportunity for participants to learn about Indigenous Peoples’ enduring relationships with land and place.

While workshops vary from year to year, past activities have included guided medicine walks through urban forests, building a sweat lodge, beading and rattle-making. The 2023-2024 cohort is exploring Indigenous land-based knowledge systems from a seasonal lens. “In terms of the outcomes we consider when planning the program, we focus on learning on, from and about the land,” says Young.

Though most of the Land and Water program is geared toward Indigenous UM students, other members of the UM Indigenous community and broader Indigenous communities are welcome to attend open events like their walk-and-talk series around the Fort Garry campus.

“Part of what we’re doing is helping students develop a critical lens around land and place, and teaching them to be self-reflexive about their relationships with land, place and Indigenous knowledges,” says Nicki Ferland, a Two-Spirit Métis land-based educator with Community Engaged Learning. “By hosting these activities on campus and in the city, we’re challenging those narratives on what is authentically Indigenous—this is all Indigenous land, and we can all learn from and about the plants and animals in the city.”

“It’s been super impactful for me as a student and my own identity, in beginning to see urban land as Indigenous land and my ancestral connections to this place that have spanned generations,” adds Young. “I’d really love for participants to see and build relationships with the city. There is lots of rich history, like the intersection of the Red River and Assiniboine River as a meeting place.”

The program not only considers what students need to learn, but also the community’s needs on a larger scale. Beyond gaining knowledge and practical skills, participants grow connections and learn how to learn on the land together, often in new experiential ways.

“We’re building strong relationships with each other as well as with the land and our ancestors,” says Young. “It’s great to see that relationship-building between students, Elders and knowledge carriers, and community. We’re starting to see relationships form and exist in community instead of only the university setting.”

“It’s important that students have the opportunity to learn on the land, and we want to meet students’ own needs and interest in land-based education,” adds Ferland. “It’s a great entry-level program for students who want to learn more about their cultural identities and Indigenous knowledges.”

Visit the Community Engaged Learning webpage for more information about the Land and Water program.

Based on years’ worth of columns, Niigaan Sinclair delivers a defining essay collection on the resilience of Indigenous peoples. Here, we meet the creators, leaders, and everyday people preserving the beauty of their heritage one day at a time. But we also meet the ugliest side of colonialism, the Indian Act, and the communities who suffer most from its atrocities.

Read more

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Room 108, St John’s College, University of Manitoba
Details and registration
Pizza and coffee will be provided for registrants.
To attend in person, click the blue Begin Registration button in this link. Register by Zoom to attend virtually. 

Kayla, joining us via Zoom, will share Reflections of amiskwaciy: Indigenous protocols in open education, followed by an in-person panel of open educational resource (OER) users from the University of Manitoba who will discuss their experiences with OER. 

Kayla Lar-Son is a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta, with Ukrainian heritage, and is originally from Tofield Alberta. She holds a BA in Native Studies from the University of Alberta and an MLIS from the University of Alberta. She is the current Acting Head of the Xwi7xwa at the University of British Columbia. 

The panel of UM OER users:

• Julie Doner, Linguistics
• Xinli Wang, Mathematics
• Charlotte Moore, Education

Facilitator: Dr. Mark Meagher, Architecture 

6 R’s of Indigenous OER

6 R’s of Indigenous OER provides an Indigenous-focused framework for incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into openly-licensed teaching and learning materials. The “R’s” are influenced by the FAIR/CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Sovereignty, OCAP, and were originally adapted from the 4 R’s of First Nations and Higher Education and the UBC Longhouse Teachings. This talk discusses new developments in the 6 R’s based on the presenter’s own

This event is sponsored by the Advance Open Ed project.

Related activities

• Check out the previous event in the series: From Access to Justice: Realizing the Transformative Potential of Open Educational Practices, with Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani.
• Advance Open Ed provides financial and practical support along with educational opportunities to help the UM community create, adapt, and adopt open educational resources (OER). Apply today!

Jeri Ducharme

A member of the Métis Nation in Manitoba with roots embedded in the Red River region, Ducharme’s role is key to UM’s partnership with the Mastercard Foundation EleV Program. This innovative partnership aims to transform Indigenous education through initiatives co-created with Indigenous students, communities, governments and organizations, as well as post-secondary institutions across the province.

Ducharme created Indigenous Student Advisory Circles to ensure First Nations, Métis and Inuit students have a voice in the ongoing evaluation and development of initiatives supported through the EleV Partnership.

“I wanted to ensure we were hearing their stories and experiences so that we could adapt our work to fit their needs as best as we can within our means”, says Ducharme. “The Indigenous Student Advisory Circles were created to provide students with a safe environment to share their stories through activities, discussions and by building relationships with me so I can bring their feedback to our program leads, partners and colleagues and guide our work in a good way.”

UM student Demi Quill is a part of this year’s cohort of advisory students. She says it feels good to know that Indigenous voices are being heard and that she’s not alone. 

“The Advisory Circles benefitted me by introducing me to others in the community and helping us raise our voices,” says Quill.

Quill says she learned about intersectionality and how, as an Indigenous person – and especially as an Indigenous woman – she faces more barriers than many of her peers.

“The activities and conversations at the advisory circles opened my eyes on where these barriers are and had me thinking deeply about how we as a society can change and challenge colonial concepts. A small step is still a big step,” says Quill.

Indigenous Student Advisory Circle, 2023.

Through the Indigenous Student Advisory Circles, students meet other Indigenous students from various backgrounds, programs and experiences and together they explore topics related to identity, culture, post-secondary student experiences, challenges and successes. 

“Youth are our future leaders, and we want them to be part of the process of making changes in post-secondary education for generations to come,” says Ducharme.

The Indigenous Student Advisory Circles are a powerful example of the kinds of Indigenous-led, youth-centred initiatives that the EleV Program supports.

“The Indigenous Student Advisory Circles are an innovative, practical approach for Indigenous learners to enter into a two-way conversation with UM in a safe, productive and respectful environment,” says Jennifer Brennan, Director, Canada Programs at the Mastercard Foundation. “Through listening to youth, pathways are being shaped to directly support their success. It’s a tangible demonstration of how we can all get behind Indigenous-led transformation.”

All First Nations, Inuit and Métis students are invited to check out an Indigenous Student Advisory Circle. Ducharme is also starting Indigenous Student Advisory Drop-Ins at Migizii Agamik — Bald Eagle Lodge on the UM Fort Garry campus for students who would like to meet one-on-one. 

“We want to hear from Indigenous students who are attending UM or any post-secondary institution in Manitoba. Reach out to me, don’t be shy!  Let’s get together, have fun, share a meal, share ideas – and you’ll get a gift card as compensation for your time,” says Ducharme.

Jeri Ducharme can be reached by email at Jerilyn.Ducharme@umanitoba.ca.

Find upcoming dates for Indigenous Student Advisory Drop-In sessions and Indigenous Student Advisory Circles on the Indigenous Events Calendar.

While this national day has only recently been established, ribbon skirts are a centuries-old symbol of identity, adaptation and survival for Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people.

Chantal Daniels, a Cree woman from Misipawistik Cree Nation and the director of Ongomiizwin Education with the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, has been sewing ribbon skirts for more than 20 years.

“Art has always been there for me,” says Daniels. “I sew almost every day, even if it’s just for half an hour. It’s an emotional release that allows me to debrief my mind and just be in the moment.”

Daniels learned to sew by sitting with her auntie and making star blankets. For her, it was a way to soak up a piece of her family knowledge. She encourages everyone to get traditional teachings about ribbon skirts by presenting tobacco to Elders in their own communities and learning more about them.

For Daniels, learning to sew traditional items gave her a sense of empowerment.

“These are important items that we, as Indigenous people, need in our bundles. It’s not just ribbon skirts – it’s ribbon shirts, pow wow regalia, medicine pouches, tobacco bags, pipe bags – all these things, and I could now make them myself and provide them for my family.”

Daniels says she wanted to give that feeling to others, so she began offering classes.

“Now, I’ll see some of the learners I taught making their own ribbon skirts and selling them, and it just makes my heart happy that there’s more and more of us out there that are able to do this skill,” says Daniels.

Daniels says the evolution of the ribbon skirt over the years means she has skirts she wears only for ceremony, but that she also owns skirts she can wear every day – to work or to the grocery store.

“I absolutely love wearing my ribbon skirt in public,” says Daniels. “Especially here, there are a lot of places that we have never taken up space in before. When I wear my ribbon skirt to work at the university, it’s claiming space within these hallways, within these classrooms.”

When she wears her skirt, Daniels finds people often approach her to ask about it, sparking a conversation about Indigenous culture. For Daniels, the establishment of National Ribbon Skirt Day does the same thing.

“I think it’s nice for mainstream society to start educating themselves and recognizing some of the things that we value as Indigenous people. Part of truth and Reconciliation is educating yourself on our ways and this is another way to do that.”

Daniels says that wearing her ribbon skirt gives her strength.

“Sometimes, I’ll purposely wear my ribbon skirt if I know I’m going to be in a challenging meeting or taking part in something heavy because it reminds me of who I am,” says Daniels. “I am an Indigenous woman, my ancestors who walked before me have laid down the path so I can be here, and it’s my responsibility to continue to lay down that path for my daughters, my daughters’ daughters and all the young women that come behind me.”

National Ribbon Skirt Day originates with the story of Isabella Kulak. A member of Cote First Nation, Saskatchewan, Isabella was shamed for wearing her handmade ribbon skirt to a formal wear day at her elementary school. Isabella’s story shone a light on the enduring injustices, racism and discrimination faced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada every day, and on the importance of making sure that what happened never happens again to anyone in Canada.

Just over two years ago, the $16.1 million partnership set out to transform Indigenous education through initiatives co-created with Indigenous students, communities, governments and organizations, as well as post-secondary institutions across the province.

“We’re thrilled to have supported thousands of Indigenous learners so quickly into our partnership, and in ways that celebrate their identities and cultures,” says Ruth Shead, executive director of Indigenous Engagement and Communications at UM, who oversees the partnership.

“Thanks to the support of the Foundation’s EleV Program, and through continued evaluation and collaboration with our partners—and especially Indigenous youth—we hope to identify how the spaces we learn and work in need to change at a systems level to become places where Indigenous students truly belong throughout their educational journeys and into their careers.”“We’re proud to partner with the University of Manitoba and support their work with Indigenous youth and communities to transform the post-secondary education system,” says Jennifer Brennan, Director, Canada Programs at the Mastercard Foundation.

“Their efforts are embedding Indigenous cultures, languages and values into education, ensuring Indigenous youth have a voice in the changes that support their success and working with all of Manitoba’s post-secondary institutions to bring quality education to Indigenous students right in their communities,” she continues. “This is the kind of Indigenous-led innovation that will set a new path forward.”

One of the partnership’s primary goals is to increase access to post-secondary education in the places Indigenous students call home, made possible through the development of community learning hubs. In summer 2023, Pine Creek First Nation joined Pinaymootang First Nation as home to a remote learning hub that connects local students with educational opportunities. Two other learning hubs are in the works.

Students from the Indigenous Circle of Empowerment program with guest speaker, the Honourable Nahanni Fontaine, Minister of Families, Government of Manitoba. (2023)

Other partnership pillars seek to increase Indigenous student success through strengthening post-secondary collaboration, enhancing supports for transition to post-secondary institutions, and building pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.

Since its inception, the partnership has supported the creation of several programs to help reach those goals, including the Lawmakers program, which has seen great success in connecting Indigenous students in UM’s Faculty of Law with Seven Oaks School Division high school students.

Additional new programs include the Where We First Stand Transition Camp for first-year Indigenous students relocating to Winnipeg, and Scaabe School, which introduces Indigenous youth to the roles and responsibilities of an Oskâpêwis (Scaabe/kwe) or Helper to Sweat Lodge Carriers and Caretakers. The partnership has also supported the hiring of an Indigenous career consultant to connect Indigenous students with related career planning services.

Existing community and UM initiatives have also joined the growing list of EleV-supported programs, such as the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (a culturally-based, community-focused physical activity program for youth), Land and Water Program, Indigenous Circle of Empowerment student leadership program and Post-Secondary Club.

“Everything we’re doing is response to what Indigenous youth and communities have identified as how we can create new ways for youth to access post-secondary education and find their chosen career paths,” says Shead. “While we still have a long road ahead, we look forward to seeing how they lead to systemic change and impact generations to come.”