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Aanii. Welcome to the course, Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education.

My name is Jan Hare.

I am Anishinaabe and member of the M'Chigeeng First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada.

I live in Coast Salish territory

and work at the University of British Columbia

which is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam people on the west coast of British Columbia in Canada.

I acknowledge the Indigenous custodians of these lands as part of protocol.

To do so recognizes Indigenous peoples long-standing presence in this territory.

It points out for us the intimate connection of land to identity,

expressed through our stories, practices, and beliefs.

And also, as Indigenous scholar Martin Cannon reminds me,

to name our Indigenous Nations and territories calls on others to carry this responsibility.

Further, this recognition and respect for Indigenous peoples and their lands is a key towards reconciliation.

I am the Associate Dean for Indigenous Education

in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia.

As well, I currently hold the Professorship of Indigenous Education in Teacher Education.

I'm here at the Beatty Biodiversity Museum on the campus at UBC.

Behind me is skeleton of a big blue whale, I'm here at the Beatty Biodiversity Museum on the campus at UBC.

Behind me is skeleton of a big blue whale,

or Big Blue to visitors.

At first glance, Big Blue had me thinking about approaches to learning,

perspectives about history, and the ways in which our world is constructed

that tend to value dominant and mainstream understandings

in places where we live, learn, and work.

But then I am reminded of how whale stories figure prominently in many Indigenous stories,

particularly those who live in coastal regions.

The whale is also a totem among some Indigenous families and communities,

representing a symbol of protection or strength.

And this reminds me that for us to engage in changing and strengthening Indigenous-settler relations,

we need to learn from and understand Indigenous perspectives,

values, and traditions; that is, our ways of knowing and seeing the world.

I recognize that the concept of reconciliation means different things to different people,

and there are certainly complexities associated with this concept of reconciliation

for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Reconciliation is being used today to address

building and sustaining respectful and equitable relationships

between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples

peoples whether in Canada, Australia, or the United States,

where non-Indigenous historic settlement has had very serious consequences

for Indigenous cultures, languages, lands, families and communities.

My own thinking about the importance of reconciliation

has been inspired by the work of the Indigenous scholars in Australia,

where there has been a much longer history of grappling with reconciliation.

Indigenous scholars, Daryle Rigney, Lester-Irabinna Rigney, and Simon Tur

in their writing, “Training Teachers for Reconciliation: A Work in Progress”

explains and complicates reconciliation for us,

as many others have as well.

They chose to frame reconciliation in the context of

structural and political reforms needed in education,

distinguishing it from the typical government approach to reconciliation,

which tends to advocate for no more than greater tolerance through education.

Within the educational system, they tell us,

we need to identify and work to change the structures and ideologies,

and I would add pedagogies,

which create unequal educational outcomes for Indigenous learners

in comparison to their non-Indigenous counterparts.

But that also serves to obscure for all learners

how their worlds have been constructed with implications for Indigenous-settler relations.

This course attempts to assist educators and others to achieve no less than this.

In this sense, reconciling then becomes more than just building and sustaining relationships.

This course is about the need to disrupt and rethink personal and professional assumptions that we hold

about Indigenous histories, cultures, and realities

that very well may play out in the places where we live, learn, and work.

Further, we need to reconcile the fundamental promise of equality of opportunity

that has not yet been met for many of our Indigenous students, families, or communities.

Reconciliation as a process for changing and strengthening Indigenous-settler relations

must also then attend to Indigenous priorities that include affirming the place of Indigenous ways of knowing,

awakening our cultures and languages,

and addressing restitution and reparations for loss of land and Indigenous rights.

Choosing reconciliation as a lens for rethinking the policies and practices

in places where we live, learn, and work acknowledges for us the contradictions

and deep divides within Indigenous-settler relations in Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

This is evidenced in systemic racism that situates Indigenous women and girls in Canada

as disproportionately affected by forms of violence.

Child welfare policies in Canada and Australia that continues to see

unprecedented numbers of Indigenous children removed from their families and communities

and placed in government and foster care.

Failure of governments to realize and act on the United Nations Declaration Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

especially as it is promoted as a framework for reconciliation.

It can certainly be difficult for us to see that we are all, in some way,

affected by, implicated in, and responsible for

challenging on-going forms of colonialism in our society.

The current state of education intended to serve Indigenous learners is not good enough.

And there is a growing body of educational policy reforms

reforms at district, provincial, territorial, state, and national levels

levels that speak to the need for changes in how we design, deliver and assess learning opportunities for Indigenous learners.

As educators, we need to be able to respond to educational reforms that prioritize

improved educational outcomes for Indigenous children and youth.

So in Canada, for example, governments, school boards, and Indigenous groups

have identified Aboriginal education as a key priority in the provinces of

British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and certainly others.

These provinces have identified specific educational goals for school boards

and educators to bring parity in educational achievement for our First Nations,

Inuit, and Metis students with that of their non-Aboriginal peers.

This shifting policy landscape is a call to account for structural and ideological changes

that will need to happen if we are to advance Indigenous education.

As an educator and a scholar I am encouraged by the work of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The work of the TRC has raised the consciousness of all Canadians,

helping us understand that our colonial history is shared history.

The final report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (Canada, 2015)

relies largely on the stories of residential school survivors

survivors and those asked to bear witness to a difficult historical relationship

to help heal and educate us about this past;

; a past, which saw forced removal of Indigenous children and youth

from families and communities with the goal of assimilating them in to the dominant culture.

As Justice Murray Sinclair, one of three commissioners for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission pointed out,

“The residential school experience is clearly one of the darkest most troubling chapters in our collective history.”

And I should mention, that this form of colonial schooling also existed as boarding schools and mission schools

in the US and Australia, with similar consequences for Indigenous peoples in those countries.

The work of the TRC demonstrates for us the power of stories to engage all Canadians in what defines us as a nation.

But in order for these stories to contribute to a new legacy,

creating a different narrative, and set of relationships, for our future,

we must commit ourselves to deepening our understanding this shared history and engaging in constructive action.

Assisting all of us with these commitments and moving forward reconciliation processes

are 94 Calls-To-Action put forward in the final report of the TRC.

These calls-to-action are extensive, addressing all facets of our institutions and relationships,

ranging from legislation, justice, child welfare, heath, citizenship, communications, rights, and education.

This course recognizes the critical role of educators

- including teachers, administrators, and staff -

who are committed to a social justice education that creates a radically renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples.

For others who want to build their own competence and the capacity of those around them

to engage in relationship with Indigenous peoples based on understanding and respect,

this course will help you get started in the process.

We need opportunities to learn and talk about reconciliation from different perspectives and experiences.

Engaging in reconciliation means learning about the histories of Indigenous peoples

impacted by colonial policies and practices that bear significantly on the lives of Indigenous students and families.

It requires us to reflect on our own personal and professional assumptions and beliefs

that influence what we teach and how we teach,

allowing us to consider how we might better advance Indigenous ways of knowing in in educational spaces.

Among our colleagues, friends, and other social networks,

we must engage in action, finding opportunities to make personal the TRC's calls-to-action.

This course will take you through a set of topics that focus on changing ideologies and practices

in places where you live, work, and learn,

whether in rural and urban centers or Indigenous communities.

This means not only learning about Indigenous ways of knowing but also how these can be planned for and practiced in our daily lives.

Reconciliation is a focal point for education in Canada and Australia, with relevance to New Zealand and the United States.

It has become a vehicle for expression, concern, attention, and more importantly action.

You will find that while this course may draw largely on perspectives and experiences in the Canadian context,

the goal is to enable you to take up ideas, concepts, and strategies in the places where you live and work.