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I would love if more Indigenous studies classes were a necessary part of the university curriculum. I'm so glad that this one is, but I feel it ridiculous that I have to seek out further resources on my own just to be an actively anti-racist educator. Shouldn't that be the standard?

So yes, I would say it's absolutely the responsibility of districts and employers to provide educators with the tools they need to be anti-oppressive, anti-racist teachers. Starting with bringing in Indigenous elders and educators would be great. It's been such a wonderful learning experience for me to have our guest speakers in this class and I would love to be able to give my future students the same opportunity to that they can also learn how important it is to question everything!

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I suspect that a lot of it has to do with a sense of Western settler superiority. Settlers may think that they are better than Indigenous peoples and as such, do not want them receiving equal opportunities such as the same education, so that they may continue to feel superior, as wrong as that is.

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I think it’s because the western world wants them to assimilate but not do better than those of the settlers. The country as a whole does the bare minimum to meet treaty requirements if they even do. If people don’t have access to the basics of life such as clean drinking water they are not going to be overly worried about post secondary.  Indigenous youth in some ways are still worried about be surviving let alone thriving. Our government really needs to fulfil the promises of the treaties so that Indigenous youth can focus on excelling in school.

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In order to become educated in Indigenous contexts and knowledge, I believe that we as educators as well as support staff should integrate lesson plans such as the guest lecture this morning with Billie Jo Grant. I think we should also invite in a couple guest lectures throughout the school year (when we get to actually teach) so that our future students also understand the Indigenous history. Yes! I absolutely think that there should be more emphasis on this at the university! I feel like there aren’t enough classes other than Native Studies classes. Having more classes like this would be great in order for us to learn about the Indigenous history. It is super important to learn about it because the Indigenous history has been ignored for too long.

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I think having classes like these are a great start. It is just a start though. There should be more things happening at local levels whether it's provincial ATA Professional Development or within a school board. I know it's something that many teachers are hesitant about because they don't want to cause any disrespect by doing or saying things incorrectly. Ultimately though, for any aspect of the classroom, it's up to the individual teacher to keep learning and be informed and up-to-date on how to better their practice. Invite and seek conversations with Indigenous friends, go to places RUN by Indigenous folks, read books BY Indigenous academics, the list can go on and on. As an Educator and as a human, we shouldn't expect ourselves or our students to be perfect, but we should demand GROWTH.

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Learning about Indigenous contexts and ways of knowing is incredibly valuable and more emphasis should be placed on it's importance. However, as we all know, because of Eurocentric ideologies, this is not the case. In order to combat this and to educate more people, classes such as EDU 211 should be/remain mandatory for ALL students, and there should be significantly more of them. Therefore, there should be a heavier emphasis on learning about this content for ALL students before they graduate with their degree. Ultimately, I think that by the time you are an adult, you are the person responsible for your own education, ergo choosing not to remain ignorant. So, as a teacher, lifelong learning (in all aspects of my life) is something that I need to prioritize and I can do this by doing research, reading, listening to others, attending PD sessions, etc. Now, obviously, not everyone is going to want to educate themselves as they age - which is why I think that responsibility also lies with the provincial and federal governments because if they implemented curriculum that clearly outlined that teachers must teach about the true history of Canada, Indigenous contexts, etc. students would at least have a basic understanding of these concepts by the time they graduated (hopefully, anyway).

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It is essential for students to learn how the Indian act impacted the status of Indigenous people, and how it created some of the issues that we see in society today (racism, disproportionate violence towards Indigenous women etc...). Understanding the "roots" of society's problems will not only lead to increased understanding of these issues, it will help reduce stereotyping of Indigenous peoples. Many people don't understand systematic racism, and how Canadian laws have led to a system which is discriminatory. This understanding will set the stage for more informed discussions regarding current events, and hopefully enable Indigenous people and settlers to work together in righting historical wrongs.

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I had no idea how misinformed I was about Indigenous history in Canada until I was required to take this course in order to obtain teacher certification in Alberta.  This course is mandatory for teachers and it is a step in the right direction.  I also know that Professional Development Days are provided to keep current teachers updated on Indigenous contexts and knowledge.  Just as the term used to identify Indigenous persons is evolving, so is the information that teachers need to absorb so that their ideas and methods of teaching about Indigenous culture and history remain relevant and impactful.  We have to do better as future educators, and strive to raise awareness about the facts versus the myths and this can only be done through continued education and being self aware.  It's a lifelong process and we need to be objective and open to the fluidity of issues. 

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I had no idea how misinformed I was about Indigenous history in Canada until I was required to take this course in order to obtain teacher certification in Alberta.  This course is mandatory for teachers and it is a step in the right direction.  I also know that Professional Development Days are provided to keep current teachers updated on Indigenous contexts and knowledge.  Just as the term used to identify Indigenous persons is evolving, so is the information that teachers need to absorb so that their ideas and methods of teaching about Indigenous culture and history remain relevant and impactful.  We have to do better as future educators, and strive to raise awareness about the facts versus the myths and this can only be done through continued education and being self aware.  It's a lifelong process and we need to be objective and open to the fluidity of issues. 

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I think access to Westernized education declines for Indigenous students when their ability to afford post-secondary education is only possible through the Band. The amount of money available for funding students varies by the band and by the number of people within the band attempting to access the money. As with other areas of needs on the reserve, the government wants assimilation, but they don't want to have to spend an arm and a leg to do it. The government gives as little as possible to 'fulfill' their obligations and then leaves it up to the Band to deal with the fallout. Many Indigenous students go to post-secondary, but for many it's because of their access to student loans or saving up. I guess I look at it that like settlers, the ability to attend post-secondary is a privilege and is based on the intersectionality of gender, class, and race.

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I personally believe that with the changes in the TQS and the calls to action re: education, that all education students should be required to take a combined Native Studies and Education degree.
However, since I doubt that'll happen, educators and EAs have varying access to PD and Indigenous resources depending upon their division. For example, Edmonton Public has an FNMI Liaison group that is made up of Indigenous peoples from Métis, Inuit and First Nations backgrounds. They can come into schools to teach students various aspects (ex. making Pemmican, Cree language sessions, Residential School history, Métis artwork, etc.). Both Edmonton Public and the ATA have numerous Elders that liaison and through proper protocol can be invited into the school for PD or to classrooms to share histories and teach Indigenous knowledge.

However, many rural school divisions don't have this option. This is where admins should be having PDs where they bring in Knowledge Keepers, or divisions having all employees required to take an Indigenous MOOC in order to help further learning.

And then?

Then we as divisions, educators, pre-service teachers, parents, citizens, need to call on our provincial and federal governments to increase funding for Indigenous knowledge resources, increased hiring of Indigenous liaisons for divisions, and mandatory continuous course work for personal growth programs (that teachers are required to do each year), PDs, degree requirements etc.

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Educators need more development through personal research, professional development etc. A lot of what you need to know comes from the experts themselves and should be more integrated into not only at the university level but afterwords as new knowledge arises. Future teachers and present teachers need to be educated on such issues and how to bring forth critical thinking and discussion in the classroom. I think a huge part should not be based off district of employers but the education systems themselves and be required. They can also seek it themselves and look further through many resources as we have seen in class.

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This course (EDU 211) is already definitely a step in the right direction, however there is definitely more work to be done to begin dismantling the eurocentric core of the Canadian education system. A great way to begin this would be for Universities to support more alternative learning experiences informed by Indigenous ways of knowing. My own educational experience has been dominated by the lecture, multiple choice exam, and percent grade. Therefore I entered the faculty of education with the preconception that I would one day become a lecturer handling out multiple choice exams and percent grades. From my own perspective seeped in eurocentric values I feel that future educators like myself could benefit from seeing different dynamic pictures of education in action through university courses. Seeing Indigenous values employed in university classrooms could truly inform the next generation of teachers to be able to see the limits and shortcomings of eurocentric education and empower them to work towards change.

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It is important for students to be able to see and acknowledge the eurocentric and racist values present within these pieces of legislation and how the Canadian Education system seeks to hide or de-emphasize these details. Students should be active in “questioning everything” (Elder Alexis) and seeking to find counterstories and Indigenous voices to flesh out the nature of this legislation. The first step to reconciliation is to find the truth so we can collectively begin weeding out the lies and stereotypes perpetuated by society.

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I think it needs to be a discussion outside of education as well. Indigenous knowledge should be implemented in more industries than just education