Off the Wheel

Hate, racism, indifference, bigotry, and a determination to confirm bias(es) have no place on the medicine wheel. While genuine ignorance may be a first step for some, one must actively choose to set aside these other ideals before beginning an authentic learning journey. Our community has faced both acceptance and resistance to incorporating Indigenous studies into our curriculum. We have approached resistance through communication, education, patience, and establishing boundaries. 

Inviting conversations surrounding Indigenous studies has always been a part of the learning journey in our community. Those who question the inclusion, or doubt its importance, are welcomed into conversations surrounding the issues. Hopefully, these conversations lead the questioners to prayerfully and critically reflect on their own positions and identity and, in doing so, step into their own learning journey.

Understanding that, in most cases, the students we have been teaching for the last decade or so are the first generation of students to hear the true stories of Indigenous oppression in the classroom, educating parents is as important as educating their children. Acting as a bridge between Settler learners and Indigenous educators is a huge role of indigenist educators. “One of the most effective teaching strategies … is the centering of First Voice testimony” (Restoule & Nardozi, 2019, p. 319). Highlighting Indigenous voices, spaces, writers, recordings, opportunities, as well as translating perspectives for others to learn from, is a vital way that we can guide others toward a learning journey of their own, rather than guiding them through it. Creating opportunities within the community to learn together and providing resources for them to learn on their own is important.

“In order to truly change deeply entrenched mindsets … we need an extended period of time with them, over multiple meetings, in which we can employ a variety of strategies that not only educate … with content, but also explore their identities'' (Restoule & Nardozi, 2019, p. 320). When parents and others approach you with resistance to Indigenous studies, it is important to remember that your own learning journey was in fact, just that; a journey taking time and various interactions with various people and resources to get to where you are, and with more learning still to be done. Being honest and vulnerable about your own experiences, acknowledging your own former biases and ignorance, is an important part of these conversations. “What’s often missing … is an explicit examination of personal experience by those in charge. A narrative disclosure of how the leader or facilitators have striven to uncover their own racial assumptions and how they’ve tried to open themselves up to new and troubling perspectives is a necessary precondition for good conversation about race” (Brookfield, 2017, p. 213).

“[T]here have been a handful of individuals who have persisted in strong and outright resistance, and even racism, against [Indigenous] Peoples and perspectives, as what we are teaching comes in direct conflict with white Settler and Settler diasporic identity. This identity is so entrenched that individuals will repeat timeworn stereotypes, despite being presented with facts to the contrary” (Restoule & Nardozi, 2019, pp. 321–322). This is true in my experience as well. While it is important to project care onto these individuals, while asking them to self-reflect, special care must be taken to first support Indigenous educators in these conversations (Restoule & Nardozi, 2019, p. 323). Having one’s identity and worth questioned is a traumatic experience, and their mental health and wellbeing should be the primary concern. A secondary concern should be for indigenist educators who have learned to walk in reconciliation, built empathetic relationships with Indigenous people, and, because of their own journey, will also feel personally and professionally attacked by these conversations. While giving space for dialogue to occur is important, being clear about boundaries and procedures, and standing firm on them are essential for institutional, and personal, survival.

“In general, the stages of identity development move from unawareness, typically at younger ages, to greater awareness as people get older and have more interactions with others … One of the most valuable aspects of learning the racial-ethnic-cultural identity model is that it gives a framework for different stages of racial awareness” (Tisby, 2021, pp. 41–47). Discerning whether those you are dialoguing with are in the ‘pre-contact,’ ‘disintegration,’ ‘reintegration,’ pseudo-independent,’ ‘immersion,’ or ‘integration’ stages of the model, and helping them see that for themselves, is an important part of initial conversations. Knowing that a specific standpoint is not the only one that matters, and that there are other ways of being and knowing, can be unsettling enough to spark curiosity, or further entrench viewpoints. This may help those in dialogue choose what approach would help move all involved further on their learning journey, or decide whether this journey is one they are ready to take at all.