Incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ Realities into our Courses

Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued its 94 Calls to Action in 2015, most Canadian universities have committed to “Indigenization,” including the University of Ottawa, through its Indigenous Action Plan and Transformation 2030 strategic plan. In practice, however, there is no consensus on what this process actually entails.

The University of Ottawa’s Advancement of Scholarship in Teaching and Learning Research unit, Teaching and Learning Support Service, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Education, and Office of Indigenous Affairs are happy to invite you to join them to learn about or deepen your understanding of how to Indigenize your teaching. We are offering you three workshops to initiate or further your gathering of knowledge on this crucial process.

Please note that you must participate in the first workshop to be eligible to participate in the second one and then participate in the second one to be eligible to participate in the third one. Although you may feel you could skip the first workshop because you already know about its general topic, we are convinced you will learn something from attending it. From Indigenous perspectives, learning is a lifelong journey, where everyone is a learner and a teacher. Therefore, we never master a topic but continuously gather new knowledge through conversing with one another.

First workshop

Thursday, September 21, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ Realities into Our Courses

Speaker

• Mona Tolley, Lead Indigenous Education Advisor, University of Ottawa

In this introductory workshop, participants will be introduced to who are the Indigenous Nations in Canada to attain some understanding of the historical and current relationship Indigenous Peoples have with our colonial state. Ways of incorporating these understandings into course curricula will also be explored.

A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the webinar.

Second workshop

Friday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to noon 
Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Gathering Knowledge
Land-based learning, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation

In this workshop, participants will gather with Kitigan Zibi Knowledge Keepers and Elders to learn from the land and each other, according to Anishinabeg protocols. This way, they will experience first-hand Indigenous ways of knowing and gathering knowledge.

Third workshop

Friday, February 23, 2024, from 10 a.m. to noon
Widening the Circle: Challenges and Responsibilities in the Indigenization of University Education
In-person workshop, Campus of the University of Ottawa.

Speakers

• Catherine Dussault, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology, Université Laval
• Marc Molgat, Professor, School of Social Work, University of Ottawa
• Mona Tolley, Lead Indigenous Education Advisor, University of Ottawa
• Karine Vanthuyne, Associate Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa

In this workshop, the speakers will present their analysis of some of the issues, limitations, and hopes that Indigenizing post-secondary education raises based on their experience implementing an Indigenization initiative in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Social Sciences. As a way to Indigenize this workshop, they will then expand their sharing by inviting participants to discuss how their findings resonate with the participants’ own experiences with Indigenization. In doing so, the speakers will encourage their colleagues to reflect on the differentiated responsibilities we are called upon to assume from our diverse positionalities.