JSIS 498 C: Digital Stories, Indigeneity and the Environment
Indigenizing the Jackson School
Next we journey into the classroom...
Normalize Indigenous content in core JSIS classes
Leading Examples
University of British Columbia
=University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Pitzer College
With goals to focus on interdisciplinary experience, inquiry-based learning, the University of Hawaii developed the Native Hawaiian Interdisciplinary Health Program. This program is key in Indigenizing academic spaces by disrupting colonial practices that often inhibit the learnings of Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students and instructors as well.
In Pitzer College’s Critical Global Studies program, ‘Critical’ refers to various analytical tools and interdisciplinary theories students use to critique Eurocentric and other ethnocentric views, question universalist claims, and work effectively with multiple methodologies, practices, and epistemologies. “Global Studies” addresses global inequalities in multiple areas, such as the environment, public health, poverty, education, women’s issues, class inequality, racism, heteronormativity, Indigenous issues, cultural domination, and ongoing colonization in ways that work towards exposing and ending social inequalities and other injustices.”
Council of Minister of Education in Canada
The Council of Ministers of Education Canada, Elders and students, gathered on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations in July 2018 for an important symposium about Indigenizing Teacher Education.
Owen Oliver, senior and head of UW First Nation’s Student Association, noted that when he spent a semester at UBC in the fall of 2019, he was impressed by how all courses – not just Indigenous Studies ones - had substantive Indigenous content. Indeed, we found that UBC had, as of the 2019-2020 academic year, 114 courses from 33 different departments which had significant amounts of Indigenous content. We believe that the JS could emulate these endeavors at UBC and take the lead on such an initiative at UW. One method for achieving this would be to offer summer salary to willing JS faculty and Indigenous Studies students or faculty to help JS faculty revise their existing courses to include more Indigenous content.
Courses include:
Anthropology (6) Geography (6)
Anthropological Archaeology (1) Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (7)
Art History (2) Co-ordinated Arts Program (1) History (16)
Audiology and Speech Sciences (1) Journalism (1)
Canadian Studies (2) Land and Food Systems (1)
Creative Writing (1) Language & Literacy Education (1)
Natural Resources Conservation (1) Latin American Studies (3)
Early Childhood Education (1) Law (4)
Educational Studies (2) Library and Information Studies (1)
Education (3) Linguistics (1)
English (3) Mining Engineering (1)
Educational Technology (1) Nursing (1)
& many more…
University of Saskatchewan
“The goal of Think Indigenous is to inspire change in the education system to include Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous thought, Indigenous ways of knowing and also to inspire … reconciliation,” Scribe
Actionable Items
Acknowledge lack of inclusion and the racially charged history
Include Indigenous content
Diversity training for Professors unfamiliar with Indigenous Perspectives