Mindset Session 4 – Indigenization Workshop: Moving Beyond Inclusion Toward Institutional Transformation
(Guided by Apooyak’ii/Tiffany D. Hind Bull – Prete, Ph.D., Canadian Research Chair in Indigenous Resiliency, Assistant Professor | Department of Sociology | Faculty of Arts and Science, Iniskim (Sacred Buffalo Stone) | University of Lethbridge)
Monday, November 23
10:30 AM – 1:00 PM (EST)
Format : Online
Building on the preceding workshops on colonization and decolonization, this session examines different approaches to Indigenization within educational institutions and their implications for meaningful change. Drawing on the scholarship of Adam Gaudry, Danielle Lorenz, and Candace Brunette-Debassige and colleagues, we will explore how efforts to Indigenize curricula and academic practices can either reinforce existing institutional structures or contribute to their transformation. We will pay particular attention to Indigenous knowledge systems, intellectual sovereignty, and the importance of Indigenous authority in shaping educational priorities and practices. Through discussion and reflection, we will critically examine approaches to Indigenization and consider what meaningful, accountable institutional change might require within our own educational contexts.
Reflection Questions:
- Understanding Indigenization: Gaudry and Lorenz identify three visions of Indigenization: Indigenous inclusion, reconciliation Indigenization, and decolonial Indigenization. What distinguishes these approaches, particularly in how they address Indigenous authority and institutional change?
- Examining Institutional Practices: Drawing on Brunette-Debassige and colleagues, how might efforts to Indigenize university curricula reproduce existing institutional structures rather than transform them?
- Moving Toward Meaningful Change: Considering both readings, what would meaningful Indigenization look like within your own educational context? What would need to change, and who should have the authority to determine and guide those changes?
Readings:
Gaudry, A., & Lorenz, D. (2018). Indigenization as inclusion, reconciliation, and decolonization: Navigating the different visions for indigenizing the Canadian Academy. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 14(3), 218-227.
Brunette Debassige, C., Wakeham, P., Smithers-Graeme, C., Haque, A., & Chitty, S. M. (2022). Mapping approaches to decolonizing and indigenizing the curriculum at Canadian universities: critical reflections on current practices, challenges, and possibilities. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 13(3), 1-24.
Dialogue will be held in English, French, and LSQ (LSQ upon request, not later than October 23).