Non-Indigenous educators are encouraged to take responsibility to acknowledge our lack of knowledge, learn about Indigenous history, and take action. But it has to be done in the right way. We are often reminded that mistakes will happen and that fear shouldn’t stop us. Susan Dion talks about appropriation. I believe this means adopting elements of one culture by members of another culture. Susan also discusses teachers being empathic, which is good, but it has its limitations. She brings out interesting points in this video series. A few things that stood out for me included (Lakehead University, 2021):
- Teachers need to teach from the position that they occupy.
- If you live on this land, then you are in a relationship with Indigenous people.
- We all share this country’s history.
- We feel most comfortable talking about the past. This is troubling because Indigenous people are not just people of the past.
I encourage you to watch this video series. Is there anything that Susan brings out that would help make you feel more comfortable with the Indigenization process as a non-Indigenous educator?
Reference:
Lakehead University. (2021). Exploring Indigenous education: A video series. Teaching Commons. https://www.lakeheadu.ca/teaching-commons/indigenous-pedagogies-epistemologies/exploring-indigenous-education-a-video-series