Library Guides: Reconciliation Curriculum Guide: Reconciliation & Education

Reconciliation & Education

Colonized Classrooms: Racism, Trauma and Resistance in Post-secondary Education by Sheila Cote-Meek
Call Number: E96.2 .C68 2014
In Colonized Classrooms, Sheila Cote-Meek discusses how Aboriginal students confront narratives of colonial violence in the postsecondary classroom, while they are, at the same time, living and experiencing colonial violence on a daily basis. Basing her analysis on interviews with Aboriginal students, teachers and Elders, Cote-Meek deftly illustrates how colonization and its violence are not a distant experience, but one that is being negotiated every day in universities and colleges across Canada.
Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools by Pamela Rose Toulouse
In this book, author Pamela Rose Toulouse provides current information, personal insights, authentic resources, interactive strategies and lesson plans that support Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners in the classroom. This book is for all teachers that are looking for ways to respectfully infuse residential school history, treaty education, Indigenous contributions, First Nation/Métis/Inuit perspectives and sacred circle teachings into their subjects and courses. The author presents a culturally relevant and holistic approach that facilitates relationship building and promotes ways to engage in reconciliation activities.
Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education by Sandra D. Styres & Arlo Kempf (Eds.)
Publication Date: 2022
Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education offers a series of critical perspectives concerning reconciliation and reconciliatory efforts between Canadian and Indigenous peoples. Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars address both theoretical and practical aspects of troubling reconciliation in education across various contexts with significant diversity of thought, approach, and socio-political location. Throughout, the work challenges mainstream reconciliation discourses. This timely, unflinching analysis will be invaluable to scholars and students of Indigenous studies, sociology, and education.

Augustus, C. (2022). Reconciliation through student narratives: Autoethnography, decolonization, and Indigenous methods-based assessment in post-secondary education, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 34(1), 144-152.

Abstract: In the recent years since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) report and its recommendations for post-secondary teaching, Canadian universities and the professors who teach in them are seeking to redefine and restructure their teaching practices, course content, and pedagogies in an effort to meet those recommendations. This involves a focus on and commitment to decolonization and Indigenization. However, many struggle with what that means in practice and how it might be executed in the university classroom. How do we teach decolonization and reconciliation? How do we develop meaningful assessments? This article considers one classroom example, an autoethnography assignment. Based in auto-pedagogy, this article examines the benefits and challenges of using autoethnography in the classroom for both Indigenous and settler students and proposes it as a pedagogy compatible with the goals of decolonization and Indigenization.

Louie, D. W. (2024). Barriers to engaging with reconciliation in Canadian education: Confusing colonial and Western knowledge. Canadian Journal of Education, 47(2), 466–491.

Abstract: In this article, Louie examines truths and misunderstandings of colonization. An interrogation of the conflation between colonial and Western practices is explored through established literature and in practical examples of relationships to time, the Indian Act, and the term "Settler." By first establishing accessible and shared definitions of reconciliation and colonization, common misconceptions and predictable pitfalls in Indigenous movements can be resolved. By attending to the confusion of terms the circle can be expanded ever so slightly to welcome more allies into the movement. Intentionally deceptive narratives position the work of reconciliation, or any social justice movement, as being anti-White and divisive. In the pursuit of equity and healing, it is essential to maintain the core values of care and dignity in methods of emancipation and resist succumbing to colonial tactics of delegitimizing any knowledge system, even those of our oppressors.

Robinson, R. (2023). Indigenous post-secondary institutes in British Columbia, Canada: Exemplars of Indigenous control over Indigenous education. Canadian Journal of Education, 46(2), 386–411.

Abstract: Indigenous post-secondary institutes are a significant topic of study when considering Indigenous learners, Indigenous knowledges, and Indigenous self-determining efforts in places of higher education. Profiling three of these institutes in British Columbia, this article describes the promises and challenges they experience when weaving Indigenous knowledges into the academy. Using Indigenous and Western theory to support a case study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants including Elders, academic leaders, instructors, staff, and current/former students. Four prominent themes emerged regarding Indigenous post-secondary institutes: (1) Elders have a core role in supporting the integration of Indigenous knowledges, (2) the institutes impact Indigenous identity and a sense of belonging in the academy, (3) they lead in partnership and relationship building, and (4) they demonstrate resiliency despite systemic challenges. This study offers an important understanding of how Indigenous post-secondary institutes exemplify Indigenous control of Indigenous education while simultaneously modelling decolonization and reconciliation in higher education.