Abstracts
Abstract
In recent decades, Onkwehón:we (Indigenous) education has been a burgeoning area of study and practice in primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools in Canada. One of the more significant contributions to this growth in recent years has been the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and its 94 Calls to Action. Central to the journey of reconciliation is understanding of the experiences of Onkwehón:we people and their perspectives on various things. Given that spirituality and associated ceremonial observances are important to many Onkwehón:we communities and have been explored in a number of schools and universities, their inclusion in academic and non-academic school programming merits exploration. This essay explores the importance of Onkwehón:we spirituality, its role in the reconciliatory journey, and the value of enabling schools to partner with Indigenous peoples to aid in its dissemination.
Keywords:
- Indigenous,
- spirituality,
- religion,
- education,
- schools
Résumé
Au cours des dernières décennies, l’éducation Onkwehón:we (autochtone) est un domaine d’études et de pratique qui a connu un essor important dans les écoles primaires, secondaires et postsecondaires au Canada. Les conclusions de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation du Canada ainsi que ses 94 appels à l’action s’avèrent l’une des contributions les plus déterminantes à cette croissance au cours des dernières années. Au cœur du processus de réconciliation se trouve la compréhension des expériences des Onkwehón:we et de leurs perceptions dans différents domaines. Puisque la spiritualité et les cérémonies qui y sont associées sont importantes pour de nombreuses communautés Onkwehón:we, et que certaines écoles et universités s’y intéressent, leur inclusion dans des programmes scolaires et non scolaires mérite d’être examinée. Cet essai explore l’importance de la spiritualité Onkwehón:we, son rôle dans le processus de réconciliation et l’intérêt de permettre aux écoles de collaborer avec les peuples autochtones pour faciliter cet apprentissage.
Mots-clés :
- autochtones,
- éducation,
- spiritualité,
- communauté,
- curriculum
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Biographical note
Frank Deer is a professor in the Faculty of Education of the University of Manitoba and serves as College President of the Royal Society of Canada. Frank is Kanienkeha’ka from Kahnawake, a community that lies just south of Tiotia’ke in the eastern region of the Rotinonshonni Confederacy. Frank studies Indigenous language education and Indigenous religious and spiritual orientations in schools. Frank has previously served as a classroom teacher in Northern Manitoba and in the Inner City of Winnipeg.
Bibliography
- Archibald, J. (2014). Indigenous storywork: Educating the heart, mind, body, and spirit. UBC Press.
- Baskin, C., McPherson, B., & Strike, C. (2012). Using the seven sacred teachings to improve services for Aboriginal mothers experiencing drug and alcohol misuse problems and involvement with child welfare. In D. Newhouse, K. Fitzmaurice, T. McGuire-Adams, & D. Jette (Eds.), Well-being in the urban Aboriginal community: Fostering biimaadiziwin, a national research conference on urban Aboriginal Peoples (pp. 179–201). Thompson Educational Publishing.
- Blackburn, S. (2018). On truth. Oxford University Press.
- Chandler-Olcott, K., & Hinchman, K. A. (2018). Reconciliation. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 62(2), 133–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.899
- Clifton, R. (2022, September 5). My life in two Indian residential schools. C2C Journal. https://c2cjournal.ca/ 2022/09/my-life-in-two-indian-residential-schools/
- Deer, F. (2014). The institutional and community capacity for Aboriginal Education: A case study. In Education, 19(3), 3–16. https://journals.uregina.ca/ineducation/article/view/137/619
- Deer, F., & Heringer, R. (2023). Indigenous perspectives at the cultural interface: Exploring student achievement through school/community-based interventions. Canadian Journal of Education, 46(1), 33–55. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.5707
- Deer, F., & Heringer, R. (2024). Karihwaientáhkwen: Conceptualizing morality in Indigenous consciousness. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 19(1), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.20355/jcie29603
- Ellerby, J. (2006). Working with Indigenous elders. Aboriginal Issues Press.
- Frideres, J. S. (2011). First Nations in the twenty-first century. Oxford University Press.
- Friesen, J. (2000). Aboriginal spirituality and biblical theology: Closer than you think. Detselig.
- Gaudry, A., & Lorenz, D. (2018). Indigenization as inclusion, reconciliation, and decolonization: Navigating the different visions for indigenizing the Canadian academy. AlterNative, 14(3), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180118785382
- Grande, S. (2018). Refusing the university. In M. Spooner & J. McNinch (Eds.), Dissident knowledge in higher education (pp. 168–189). University of Regina Press.
- Hamm, C. (2015). Walking with place: Storying reconciliation pedagogies in early childhood education. Journal of Childhood Studies, 40(2), 56–66. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs.v40i2.15179
- Harris, S. (2014). Waking up: A guide to spirituality without religion. Simon & Schuster.
- Kirkness, V. J., & Barnhardt, R. (1991). First Nations and higher education: The four R’s – respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility. Journal of American Indian Education, 30(3), 1–15. https://www.uaf.edu/ankn/publications/collective-works-of-ray-b/Four-Rs-2nd-Ed.pdf
- Korteweg, L., & Russell, C. (2012). Decolonizing + indigenizing = moving environmental education toward reconciliation. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 17, 5–14.
- Montero, M. K., & Dénommé-Welch, S. (2018). Reconciliation through education: A review of “Achieving Indigenous student success: A guide for secondary classrooms.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 62(2), 241–243. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26632926
- Province of Manitoba. (2003). Kindergarten to grade 8 social studies: Manitoba curriculum framework of outcomes. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/framework/k-8framework.pdf
- Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2009). Saskatchewan curriculum: Science. https://curriculum.gov.sk.ca/CurriculumHome?id=61
- Stonechild, B. (2020). Loss of Indigenous Eden and the fall of spirituality. University of Regina Press.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: Calls to action. McGill-Queen’s University Press.