Journey to Reconciliation through Mutual Learning & Gifting
Somnoma Valerie Ouedraogo, PhD, RSW | Elizabeth Burgess-Pinto PhD, RN | Larisa Hayduk, MEd | Lindsey Whitson, MA, MLIS

Student Learning Community

Background
Responding to the revelations of the TRC and its Calls to
Actions, a group of educators invested in social justice issues
worked to integrate Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies
into a semester-long teaching and learning project.
Participating faculty and staff learned about ceremony and
protocols and likewise connected with elders and other
knowledge keepers to offer a series of learning events for
students, faculty, staff, and the public to explore the ongoing impacts of colonization and cultural power imbalances
through an intercultural process. The reflexive process
encouraged active, transformative learning and reciprocity.




Students from Anthropology, Business,
Child & Youth Care, Design, Economics,
English, History, Nursing, & Social Work
Faculty and staff from across the
university with guidance and mentorship
from kihêw waciston Indigenous Centre

Process












“ I think that racism is embedded in all of the mainstream

|

SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION

systems in Canada…That is part of the challenge, to
acknowledge that the systems we exist within and sustain
perpetuate racism and colonialism…[.] There is no quick fix,
and doing the work requires so many hard conversations,
discomfort, and risk.” - Student Participant

Project Vision INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

Participants




 Engaged with peers from across the disciplines,
encountering similar and different approaches to learning

 Grew in awareness and understanding of local
Indigenous histories, knowledge, and pedagogies

 Considered the complexities and possibilities of
reconciling Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada

Course content and assignments related to Truth &
Reconciliation in Canada
Attendance of three speaker forums:
o Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being
o Colonization and Canadian Law
o Settler Allyship and Paths to Reconciliation
Blackboard discussions
Student-centered ‘Celebration of Learning’
Access to additional experiential learning
opportunities and formal co-curricular recognition

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING

“ Continuing to create

classrooms and spaces
where people can be open,
wiling to learn, and be safe
to make mistakes is crucial
to creating allies that
contribute positively to
decolonizing initiatives

”

- Student Participant

Faculty Perceptions

 A much-needed platform was created for university-wide discussions
on pressing issues emerged through this project

 A faculty learning community arose through cooperative planning,
delivery, and evaluation of learning experiences and outcomes

 Encouragement and support facilitated experimentation with new
teaching strategies and innovations

 New opportunities emerged for individual and collaborative research

Next Steps
2019 Interdisciplinary Dialogue:

References
Al-Krenawi, A., Graham, J.R., & Habibov, N. (2016). Diversity and social work in Canada. Don Mills, ON: Oxford UP.
Mitchell, T.L., Thomas, D., & Smith, J.A. (2018). Unsettling the settlers: Principles of a decolonial approach to creating
safe(r) spaces in post-secondary education. American Journal of Community Psychology, 62,350-353.
doi:10.1002/ajcp.12287
Sinclair, M., Littlechild, C.W., & Wilson, M. (2015). What we have learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation.
Retrieved from: http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstituion/File/2015/Findings/Principles_2015_05_31_wev_o.pdf
Smyth, J. (2011). Critical pedagogy for social justice. NY: Continuum.
Tlostanova, M.V. & Mignolo, W.D. (2012). Learning to unlearn: Decolonial reflections from Eurasia and the Americas.
Columbus, OH: Ohio State UP.

ᐊᐦᒑᐦᐠ ᒪᐢᑲᐧ ᐅᓯᐦᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂ ᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ
ahcâhk maskwa osihcikêwina
Spirit Bear Dialogues
(Currently in progress)

Learning at Intercultural Intersections – TRU 2019