A number of conversations on the first day were not tied to making, or makerspaces, but were in regard to EDIDA frameworks. They had to do with the session that Dr. Mark Edwards led for us in front of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) pole on rethinking the intent and format of land acknowledgements. Shifting to land acknowledgements being a ceremony rather than a check box or formality. By shifting our thought and practice they can then be a provocation that frames later thought. In that way it is not a one and done, but rather an invitation to think deeper on the issue of colonial land practices and their lasting impact. The way in which Dr. Edwards conducted the land acknowledgement as a story, in keeping with the First Peoples Principles of Learning (n.d.), was very engaging and served to situate us in the place and gave an insight into the culture of the Musqueam peoples through their legends and explanation of how the land came to be shaped as it is.
Acknowledgements of this type will take longer but will be more engaging and tie to the present and the First Nations’ continued connection to the land. I certainly would like to try this at my school and in future acknowledgements that I make, but I need to reach out to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̕ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, on whose lands I am a settler, for permission to share one or more of their stories.
Other conversations were more focused on making and makerspaces. One centred on the impression of our classroom space during the summer institute where materials were out and available for all to use. The openness and communal feel of the materials was very welcoming, there was not a sense of ownership over materials or material types, rather that everything was there for the common good. This extended the conversation to the goal of making as a means of solving local or larger issues in society and what a worthwhile goal that is.
A different conversation focussed on the desire to reframe prototyping. Currently, by many, it is seen as a step in the design/making process. What if, instead it was framed as a philosophy? It would then guide the other stages of the process. In practice it would not take much to achieve but could make the maker mindset/mentality easier to apply to formal education, especially in the core academic courses, a basis for inquiry or project-based learning that could be used in many fields, not just in the applied skills.
Reference:
First Peoples Principles of Learning. (n.d.). First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC). Retrieved July 22, 2023, from https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/