“Indigenizing the Academy” in the Canadian Context
This literature review is concerned with the topic of “Indigenizing the Academy” in the Canadian context. The review will explore scholarly articles related to this topic in order to gain a deeper understanding of the concept of “Indigenizing the Academy”, by becoming familiar with its theoretical roots and significance as well as pedagogies and frameworks designed to reach this goal, and to identify any gaps in research. Some criticism of the concept of “Indigenizing the Academy” will also be briefly summarized and various suggestions for how best to approach the process of “Indigenizing the Academy” will also be included.
According to Indigenous scholar Devon Abbott Miheusuah, “Indigenizing the Academy” means “working to change universities so that they become places where the values, principles, and modes of organization and behavior of our people are respected in, and hopefully even integrated into, the larger system of structures and processes that make up the university itself” (Miheusuah 88). Miheusuah argues that First Nations people’s “experiences in universities reflect the tensions and dynamics of [their] relationships as Indigenous peoples interacting with people and institutions in society as a whole: an existence of constant and pervasive struggle to resist assimilation to the values and culture of the larger society” (Miheusuah 88) and makes the claim that universities are “not safe ground” (Miheusuah 88) and are actually “sites of colonialism” (Miheusuah 88). Miheusuah suggests “attempting to integrate traditional views and bring authentic community voices to [education and urges] faculty members [to] attempt… to abide by a traditional ethic in…[professional] conduct” (88). This provides a basic introduction to the concept of “Indigenizing the Academy” and a working definition for the literature review.
Harper and Thompson echo Miheusuah’s call to “Indigenize the Academy” by pointing to declining graduation rates for First Nations students in Canada as a major problem needing immediate attention and resolution. They “argue that the lower graduation rate is due to the many structural oppressions that Indigenous people experience…[including]: poverty, suppression of their identities, racism, and gender violence.” (Harper and Thompson 41) Their proposed plan “to counter these negative conditions and cultivate minopimaatisiiwin which is the Anishinaawpe concept of “living well” and “well-being”” (Harper and Thompson 41) for First Nations Canadians is the implementation of a self-determination framework as it “serves to strengthen Indigenous students’ identities to protect against dominant oppressions, foster resilience, and motivate younger generations towards improved educational outcomes” (Harper and Thompson 41).
Korpal and Wong add an even higher sense of urgency to “Indigenization” efforts by suggesting them as a means to address disproportionately worse health outcomes suffered by First Nations communities. Korpal and Wong discuss the relationship between education and social determinants of health, which are “the social and economic conditions in which people live that affect their health” (Korpal and Wong 132), with respect to First Nations Canadians, and point out that as “a social determinant, education has been shown to be a very robust predictor of health outcomes” (Korpal and Wong 132). In light of this, they recommend “a more critical and nuanced approach [to education in Canada] that includes considerations of history, hegemony, and socio-cultural context as being crucial” (Korpal and Wong 132) in order to promote the “longer life expectancies, healthier behaviors, and better overall health, as well as lower morbidity from acute and chronic disease” (Korpal and Wong 133) that have been positively correlated with education.
As a reaction to these and other calls to action, there are many positive changes being made to Canadian Universities to make “space for indigenous knowledge systems and practices” (Macdonald). MacDonald suggests that “Indigenizing the Academy” may involve “making adjustments to the scholarship that qualifies as valid for promotion and credentialing purposes” (2016) citing the multitude of “ways in which knowledge can be circulated and disseminated” (Macdonald) as reason for increasing flexibility in this regard. More flexibility in hiring criteria may also be needed to “fill staffing gaps in niche areas such as at-risk indigenous languages” (Macdonald) since those with “with deep knowledge of indigenous arts and culture may not have doctorates” (Macdonald). Other notable areas of improvement have been in “recruitment and improved retention of indigenous students” (Macdonald), the introduction of “elders-in-residence programs” (Macdonald), and the provision “of in-service training and pedagogical supports for educators” (Macdonald) in order to facilitate their leadership in “more off-campus and land-based classwork” (Macdonald). Indigenization depends on Indigenous leadership, according to Macdonald, and ought to receive support from non-First Nations people in order for both to learn and share in the exchange.
Many of the efforts to “Indigenize the Academy” in Canada stem from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released in 2015 which issued 94 “calls to action” including a “plea for relevant curricula to support Indigenous students” (Lewington 54). In response to this call, Canadian universities have increased their efforts to “Indigenize” “content and pedagogy, an effort that began before the Commission made its recommendations but has accelerated since then” (Lewington 54). In an article published in Maclean’s magazine, Jennifer Lewington discusses the importance of considering long-term stability when implementing “Indigenizing” efforts and how important increasing students’ sense of belonging in the academy is to these efforts. According to Lewington, “part of creating a good environment is ensuring the Indigenous community is represented on the university’s staff” (56). Equitable faculty representation, plentiful childcare options, capacity-building strategies, necessary curriculum revisions, and other significant symbolic gestures such as university “recruiters acknowledg[ing] local territorial lands and describ[ing the] growing list of programs and scholarships for Indigenous students” (Lewington 56) are important ways that “Indigenization” is under way in the Canadian academy.
In Elina Hill’s article “A Critique to the Call to ‘Always Indigenize’”, she outlines the call by Len Findlay for Canadian scholars to “Always Indigenize!” in Canadian universities and the “work of Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith” (Hill) upon which Findlay’s self-proclaimed understanding of “indigenization” is based. Hill points out that, in fact, Smith’s work focusses on the goal of “decolonization” rather than “indigenization” and explains how efforts to “Indigenize the Academy” could easily slip into “forms of colonization” (Hill) and that “defining [related] theories, strategies, and methods as “indigenization” might once again work to mystify the thought of Indigenous people, relegating them to a “cultural” category of difference with the ability to infuse Western thought with new life…, and/or able to criticize (Western) theory and scholarship…, but never really [to occupy] the centre” (Hill) of it. According to the Indigenous scholarship Hill draws upon in the article, “the university may be part of decolonizing processes” (Hill), but “the work of decolonization…is not only the work of Indigenous people. Non-Indigenous thinkers must find ways to be attentive and reflective of Indigenous thought, inside and outside of the academic sphere without simply “indigenizing” (or making native”) settler systems of belief” (Hill).
Dr. Shauneen Pete has put forth a comprehensive guide presenting “100 ways to Indigenize and decolonize academic programs and course” (2016) which serves as a strong framework for others to follow or to base their “indigenizing” and “decolonizing” strategies upon. ”Indigenization at the [University of Regina] is understood as the transformation of the existing academy by including Indigenous knowledges, voices, critiques, scholars, students and materials as well as the establishment of physical and epistemic spaces that facilitate the ethical stewardship of a plurality of Indigenous knowledges and practices so thoroughly as to constitute an essential element of the university. It is not limited to Indigenous people, but encompasses all students and faculty, for the benefit of our academic integrity and our social viability” (Pete 1). The 100 specific instructions laid out by Dr. Pete in this document provide educators and administrators of educational institutes direct advice on how to increase First Nations student success, improve community engagement, and ways to ensure that these changes have a positive impact on future academic research.
In order to gain perspective on Canada’s position in the global effort to “Indigenize the Academy”, some studies discussing similar curricular and cultural changes to educational systems outside of Canada are also included in this literature review. Four articles were reviewed exploring the incorporation, revitalization, or prioritization of indigenous knowledge, languages, and practices in three countries outside of Canada (Nicaragua, New Zealand, and The United States).
Efforts to “Indigenize” and “Decolonize” the educational system are underway “in the North Atlantic Region of Nicaragua”. In this region, “there is…a community university which is successfully using higher education to empower indigenous and Creole students and intellectuals against a backdrop of long histories of racism, discrimination, poverty and marginalization…[by operating with a] pedagogic model…based on the concept of interculturality” (Cupples and Glynn 56). While Cupples and Glynn warn about the unsettling nature of decolonization, “as it involves indigenous sovereignty and the return of stolen lands” (67), they argue that it is “important to debate coloniality in…written work and teaching, and to admit into…institutions, knowledges and cultural practices that will complicate the ways in which research is conducted and disseminated” (Cupples and Glynn 68) and that now “is [the] time to listen and learn so that diverse cosmologies can become part of the universities where we study, teach and research, and part of the societies in which we live” (68).
Similarly, New Zealand is also exploring ways to improve quality of life for its Maori citizens and the education system overall through “decolonizing” and “indigenizing” the academy. Maori people have suffered in similar ways to the First Nations people of Canada as the two countries’ colonial histories are similar. Wiseman explains that “in the study…of indigenous spirituality, particularly by those in the “West” who are without indigenous ancestry, there can be no escape from the historical burden of the ruptures and charged polemics of colonial legacies. However, with rigorous curricular preparation for participation and the aporias (uncertainties) of witnessing, this minefield may also become a “garden” in which a transformative ethics of respect may take root.” (73). One innovative approach to preparing students for participation in “Indigenized” or “Decolonized” paradigms of higher education is to start preparation early. “In Aotearoa New Zealand the national early childhood curriculum Te Wha-riki not only encourages but mandates implementation of…bicultural curriculum” (Jenkins 135) , the “modelling [of] both te reo Ma-ori and English, enable[s] the children to begin their bicultural journey” (Jenkins 129) before even entering primary school.
One way that the United States is addressing lack of representation of Indigenous university faculty is by celebrating the strong leadership they do have in articles such as Walter Hudson’s “Native American Leaders in Higher Education” (2017). This article is full of introductions to excellent role models for young, Indigenous scholars in the United States. It also outlines the academic achievements of each Native American Leader as well as some of their personal goals to improve the universities they work for and, in turn, the American education system as a whole. This indicates that positive changes are also occurring in the United States in the area of “Indigenizing the Academy”.
This review has demonstrated the importance of this topic of investigation in the Canadian context. While there is substantial academic literature on this topic and ongoing work being done to “Indigenize the Academy” (in order improve First Nations student success, which is directly related to their social determinants of health, and to end the structural violence First Nations students endure within the Canadian education system) through the establishment of committees devoted to doing so and the emergence of innovative, culturally appropriate programming in Canadian universities, research shows that more could still be done to reduce the barriers to access and social injustices that First Nations students face and to truly “Decolonize” the academy. According to Madden et. al more work could also be done to collect useful statistical data of and for Indigenous peoples in response to “the UN General Assembly[’s 2007] endorse[ment of] the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” (37). More data would help researchers to take a more “holistic approach [to research], describing strengths and resilience of Indigenous peoples and not just…focus[ing] on gaps and disadvantage” (Madden et. al 37). This review also gives a preliminary glance at work being done in other global nations to “Indigenize the Academy” in order to provide perspective on Canada’s achievements and identify areas still in need of more attention. Future scholarly research could work on clarifying what the most suitable approaches are to move towards a fully “Indigenized Academy” and longitudinal research on the outcomes of current initiatives to promote First Nations student success and to “Indigenize the Academy” will also be needed to draw any firm conclusions about the success of said initiatives in reaching their goals.
Works Cited
Cupples, Julie and Kevin Glynn. “Indigenizing and Decolonizing Higher Education on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast.” Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, vol. 35, no. 1, Mar. 2014, pp. 56-71. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/sjtg.12051.
Hill, Elina. “A Critique of the Call to ‘Always Indigenize!’” Peninsula : A Journal of Relational Politics, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012,https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/peninsula/article/view/ 11513/321 . Accessed November 2017.
Hudson, Walter. “Native American Leaders in Higher Education. (Cover Story).” Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, vol. 34, no. 21, 16 Nov. 2017, pp. 11-13. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/ login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126236542&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Jenkin, Chris. “Bicultural Babies: Implementing Tiriti-Based Curriculum with Infants and Toddlers.” Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 39, no. 3, Sept. 2014, pp. 129-137. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search-ebscohost- com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=103160457&site=ehost- live&scope=site.
Korpal, Daniel and Anne Wong. “.” Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, vol. 11, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 132-146. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login? url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=103204999&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Lewington, Jennifer. “Truth and Education.” Maclean’s, vol. 130, no. 10, Nov. 2017, pp. 52-56. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search-ebscohost- com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=125516820&site=ehost- live&scope=site.
Macdonald, Moira. “Indigenizing the Academy : What some universities are doing to weave indigenous peoples, cultures, and knowledge into the fabric of their campuses.” University Affairs, April 6 2016. https://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/ indigenizing-the-academy/. Accessed November 2017.
Madden, Richard, et al. “Statistics on Indigenous Peoples: International Effort Needed.” Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 32, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 37-41. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.3233/SJI-160975.
Mihesuah, Devon Abbott. “Indigenzing the Academy : Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities.” University of Nebraska Press, 2004. Print.
Olsen Harper, Anita, and Shirley Thompson. 2017. “Structural Oppressions Facing Indigenous Students in Canadian Education.” Fourth World Journal 15, no. 2: 41-66. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 2017).
Pete, Dr. Shauneen. “100 way to Indigenize and decolonize academic programs and courses.” University of Regina, 6 April 2016,https://www.uregina.ca/president/assets/docs/ president-docs/indigenization/indigenize-decolonize-university-courses.pdf
Wiseman, Wendy A. “The Politics of Teaching of Indigenous Traditions in Aotearoa/ New Zealand.” Teaching Theology & Religion, vol. 18, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 73-80. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/teth.12265.