Category Archives: MODULE 3

This graphic novel anthology, written by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, et al., tells the stories of the past 150 years of colonization in Canada through the eyes of the Indigenous community.  This book is important as it shows another way Indigenous individuals have successfully adapted a western technology to their benefit, but, because of it’s format, they have also made it accessible to all ages and to people who may not read books. 

This CBC podcast examines Indigenous history by exploring words whose meanings have been twisted by centuries of colonization.   

“Words connect us. Words hurt us. Indigenous histories have been twisted by centuries of colonization. Host Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.”  https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/906-telling-our-twisted-histories 

It is important that we start the process of unpacking parts of Canada’s history and delving into the biases and stereotypes that have been passed down through generations. 

https://douglas-cardinal.squarespace.com/

One of the most influential indigenous architects, Douglas Cardinal is an Indigenous Canadian architect based in Ottawa, Ontario. His architecture is influenced by his indigenous heritage as well as European architecture.  He is an Officer or The Order of Canada and was vehemently opposed to the Cleveland Indians baseball team’s name and logo, going so far as to start a legal case against it, stating it is a form of discrimination under Ontario’s Code of Human Rights. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/indigenous-education-university-saskatchewan-1.4299551

The title of this CBC article caught my eye as it is what I have been thinking about when it comes to indigenization.  I like the University’s approach to making some form of indigenous education mandatory; this education at the post-secondary level could lead to more students taking indigenous education and then going into education, which could lead to indigenous education courses that are core courses for graduation. 

https://decolonizeeverything.org/

Before embarking on any indigenizing task, there needs to be work done by the people taking on the task of educating themselves on the importance of decolonization.  The Nahanee Creative is a community of indigenous leaders who are: 

 “Catalyzing social change to transform colonial narratives & impacts with workshop facilitation, transformative organizational development, decolonizing workbooks & communication design grounded in Squamish Matriarchy.” https://shopfirstnations.com/businesses/canada/british-columbia/vancouver/nahanee-creative-inc/#post_content 

The group understands that this work will be hard and takes a commitment from the individual or organization who is willing to take this on.  As they say: 

“You understand… that preparing for cultural safety planning includes self-initiated research and learning that will most likely be unsettling. 

You’re ready… to take responsibility for how your questions and actions may impact Indigenous colleagues, friends, or family. 

You’re willing… to expand your understanding of Cultural Protocol, to practice Cultural Empathy, and plan for Cultural Safety everyday.” https://decolonizeeverything.org/cultural-safety