On August 20, 2018, Indigenous Initiatives facilitated a workshop for the CTLT Summer Institute on the topic of Exploring Reconciliation in Teaching and Learning.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) final report and Calls to Action were published in 2015, but conversations about taking action on reconciliation in teaching and learning are ongoing. While the focus in education post-TRC has been on residential schools, this topic itself is connected to complex histories and policies, not to mention that learning surrounding Indigenous histories, cultures, law, and languages cannot be reduced to one topic alone.
The goals of the session were to:
- Explore questions on the TRC and Calls to Action
- Strategize ways to address place, positionality, classroom climate, and Indigenous perspectives and contexts in your teaching, classroom, or practice
- Increase awareness on teaching and learning resources available on campus, Indigenous Initiatives programming and CTLT’s services
Facilitators Janey Lew and Audrey Sargent shared a list of resources with participants after the workshop:
- What is Reconciliation? (Chief Murray Sinclair, TRC Chair, Vimeo)
- TRC Calls to Action (PDF)
- Kathleen Bartolin. “Faculty Developers as Allies (Not Experts) in Supporting Indigenous Perspectives.” University Affairs. 30 Jan 2018.
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (especially “Education” tab, including media/films and readings/literature/documents)
- “Ignorance or What?” Short film by Maryel Sparks-Cardinal. (aboriginal.ubc.ca)
- Michael Bopp et. al. “Reconciliation within the Academy.” (fourworlds.ca)
- CTLT Land Acknowledgements resource
- UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (v. April 2018 for discussion)
- What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom
- CBC News – “Beyond 94”: Measuring TRC Progress
- Shelagh Rogers, “The Art of Listening” (You Tube)
- Gisday Wa and Delgamuukw. The Spirit in The Land: The Opening Statement of the Gitksan and Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Gabriola: Reflections, 1989. (UBC Library)
- Val Napoleon. “The Role of the Sacred in Indigenous Law and Reconciliation” (You Tube)