Category: Indigenization

Education News | Autumn 2021 issue


In This Issue:

A note from the Dean…..3
Stories about Indigenous education and unmarked gravesites in Canada…..4
Artistic expressions: masinahikêwin yêkâhk/ Writing in the sand poem…..10
Inaugural Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Métis/Michif Education…..13
Education Students’ Society Truth and Reconciliation Week events…..16
Candidate for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Awards 2021-2022 competition…..17
“I need to be in the quinzhee, not just talk about it!” Embodying our pedagogy…..18
Pimosayta: Learning to walk together slideshow…..21
Les étudiants du Bac mènent les activités de la Journée nationale de vérité et de réconciliation…..22
Le Bac student activities…..23
Funding and awards…..24
New faculty and staff…..26
Retirements…..27
Published research…..28

Orange Shirt Day / National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

September 30, 2021, Orange Shirt Day, will be the inaugural National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, “a time for reflection”, as Lori Campbell, Associate Vice-President,
Indigenous Engagement, has written.

The University of Regina is closing offices and courses so that the campus community can take time to reflect.

Read more of Phyllis Webstad’s story https://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html

Purchase an official 2021 Orange Shirt Day shirt at https://orangeshirtday.net/

#Orangeshirtday2021 #everychildmatters

 

 

New book: L’enseignement des traités en français

Congratulations to the Editors (alum) Lace Brogden (StFX) Andrea Sterzuk (UofR Education) and James Daschuk (UofR) on a new book L’enseignement des traités en français & to #UREdu faculty, students & alum chapter authors: Heather Phipps, Anna-Leah King, Michael Cappello, Claire Kreuger, Carrie Vany, Naomi Fortier-Fréçon, Leia Laing, Margo Campbell, and Sylvia Smith.

“Conçu pour appuyer l’enseignement des traités, cet ouvrage, orienté vers les enseignants en formation initiale et continue, met en valeur des approches pédagogiques et des apports théoriques ancrés dans le vouloir de veiller à la décolonisation. Ainsi, ce livre cherche à expliciter en quoi les pédagogues sont agents de changements et encourage l’adoption d’une approche proactive et anti-oppressive dans une pédagogie au service de l’appel à l’action no 62 de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation du Canada (2015). Ainsi, les chapitres du livre adoptent une approche réfléchie, ayant pour but de préconiser une philosophie de l’enseignement qui dessert la population estudiantine, autant autochtone que non autochtone…” Read more https://www.pulaval.com/produit/l-enseignement-des-traites-en-francais

EIC honours member

Dr. Patrick Lewis, who has completed his term as Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Human Resources, and who has been a valued contributor in the Faculty’s Education Indigenous Circle (EIC), was honoured by the group on June 8, 2021. Elder Elma Poitras, Knowledge Keeper Joseph Naytowhow, and Chair Dr. Anna-Leah King presented Dr. Lewis with a blanket, along with songs, poems, and appreciative comments from those who attended.

Inaugural Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Métis/Michif Education

We are pleased to announce the launch of the inaugural Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Métis/Michif Education within the Faculty of Education, University of Regina.

Dr. Melanie Brice has been appointed to the inaugural Gabriel Dumont Chair in Métis/Michif Education for a 5-year term. Dr. Brice has been working with the University of Regina Faculty of Education since 2018 as an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Education, Language & Literacy Education, and Educational Core Studies. Dr. Brice a Michif (Métis) born in Meadow Lake and raised at Jackfish Lake, Saskatchewan has a strong understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, languages and literacies, perspectives, educational experiences, and cross-cultural education issues.

The Gabriel Dumont Chair in Métis/Michif Education will increase research and teaching capacity in Métis/Michif Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina and enhance academic engagement with Gabriel Dumont Institute’s (GDI’s) Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP).

As Chair, Dr. Brice will focus on the research that seeks to understand and expand the scholarship of teaching and learning by building capacity in Métis and Michif education. The research program will focus on research, learning, knowledge-keeping, language and cultural revitalization, reconciliation, and inclusion with and by the Métis through formal education systems.

According to the Statistics Canada 2016 census, with a rising population of 51.2%, the Métis were the fastest growing population in Canada between 2006 and 2016. However, less than two percent of Métis people speak the Michif language, making the Michif language one of the most vulnerable Indigenous languages in Canada.

With the establishment of this new Chair, the first in a Faculty of Education in Canada, and many other endeavours toward Truth and Reconciliation, the Faculty continues to demonstrate a concerted and sustained commitment to teaching and research that is engaging faculty, students, and other education stakeholders in gaining a deeper understanding of our shared histories and a reconciliatory approach to a more just future. (Photo credit: Sweetmoon Photography)

Jim Pattison Children’s Research Grant recipient

Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose with the Wellness Wheel team is recipient of $49,982 from the Jim Pattison Children’s Research Grant program.

Guided by the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, to provide a culturally secure space for knowledge exchange, mobilization, and co-creation, Dr. Mamata Pandey (SK Health Authority) and Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose (U of R) will be leading the study entitled “Okawimaw Kanosimowin (Mother’s Bundle): A Peer-Driven Approach to Improve Indigenous Maternal and Birth Outcomes.”

According to the Wellness Wheel Facebook Page, the researchers aim “to train Indigenous peers to advocate and assist Indigenous mothers through pregnancy, labour and delivery to postpartum stages. Another goal of the study is to create a mothers care bundle consisting of individual support links and services, essential mother and baby products and traditional medicines in partnership with the multi-disciplinary team.”

Alumni Gathering 2019

We were honoured with the presence of around 55 of our alumni, and former and current faculty and staff on the evening of October 9, 2019. Alumnus Joseph Naytowhow and Dr. Anna-Leah King offered a song to start the evening in a good way and Joseph also ended the evening with a song. Our speaker, Dr. Niigaanwewidam Sinclair, inspired attendees with his experiences of teaching students outside his own culture and experiences, and linked this to the importance of engaging with the TRC’s calls to action for education. Sinclair explained that competence in a profession can only be achieved if we have been educated about the culture and people in our locations. For Saskatchewan educators it is essential to understand the cultures and experiences of Indigenous peoples in Treaty 4 and 6, especially those living under the Indian Act with its economic and other restrictions. Knowing the history and impacts of colonization is essential to becoming competent as educators. Miigwetch to Dr. Sinclair for honouring us with his knowledge.

Thanks to all who came out to the event. Looking forward to next year’s gathering.