Reconcili-Action in practice: embedding Indigenous knowledge and land-based learning in Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division

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Abstract

This paper stories our multi-year journey within Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division as we work to embed Indigenous Knowledge, land-based, and Elder guided learning across schools and system structures. Our learning is guided by Archibald’s (2008) Indigenous Story work principles, which include respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy. In addition to Archibald’s principles, we have been deeply influenced by Goulet and Goulet’s research in Teaching Each Other that define the central concepts of Indigenous learning as relational, experiential, and holistic. Their emphasis on wîchitowin, the Cree concept of helping each other, and on the importance of close respectful relationships between teachers, students, community, Elders, and the land has guided our system’s approach to professional learning and leadership. Drawing on the wisdom of our Elders, Knowledge Keeper Mike Relland’s Decolonizing Indigenous Thought and the Development of an Indigenous Education Model and several Indigenous researchers, we have developed learning models that serve as frameworks that help us actualize Indigenous worldviews and pedagogies in meaningful, relational and sustainable ways.

Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division’s story is an intentional and systemic response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) education-focused Calls to Action, including the creation of culturally appropriate curricula, support for early childhood education, and professional learning for educators and leaders. By centering Indigenous knowledge and Elder guidance, we hope to demonstrate how education systems can move from principle to practice and enact “reconcili-action”. This paper is not intended to be a report or a program description, but rather a story of a school system that is learning to live, teach, and lead differently. It is a story of educators and leaders beginning to understand that reconciliation is not a series of steps but a commitment to see the world differently. It is humbling oneself to be guided by Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and lessons that the land can teach us. It is a way of learning and leading through collective action that has the potential to transform education and the way that we do school.

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Keywords

Elder-guided, land-based learning, Indigenous worldview and pedagogies, relational accountability

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