6 Integrating Indigenous Ma¯ori Frameworks to Ignite Understandings … 81
the ECE and primary teaching sectors. The more subject-specific secondary teacher
trainees often find this task more difficult. However, drawing on innovative, diver-
gent and horizontal thinking, they invariably manage to find ways of achieving this
aspect of the task. It is suggested that they only look at one component of the
pu¯ra¯kau and use it as a gateway to engagement. Once students are able to think
broadly about the incorporation of these pu¯ra¯kau into their subject areas they gain
a far better understanding of the cultural context in which they will be teaching.
Additional ways of demonstrating the effectiveness of linking one’s culture to
the teaching and the impact this can have on student engagement is by watching
selected videos. The movie The Dark Horse is a powerful example of what can be
achieved when culture is located at the centre of teaching experience. The Dark
Horse is based on a true story about the life of a charismatic but little-known NZ
hero, Genesis Potini. Once a chess champion of note, Genesis spent years in what
were referred to then as a ‘mental institution’ battling what had been described as
a severe bipolar disorder. After being released from the psychiatric ward Genesis
moved in with his brother Ariki, and nephew Mana. Needing a purpose and a rea-
son to get out Genesis joins a local chess club with the idea of leading a group of
disengaged children to the national chess championship. Genesis uses cultural
knowledge and understandings to engage the children to master the intricacies of
chess. After watching, analysing, unpacking, probing and discussing the movie,
the ITE-Masters students realise the potential and significant role te reo and
tikanga Ma¯ori plays in engaging Ma¯ori students. Ka Hikitia, Ta¯taiako, the
Educultural Wheel (Macfarlane, 2004), the Hikairo Rationale (Macfarlane, 1997)
and Te Pikinga ki Runga (Macfarlane, 2009) begin to make sense.
In order to reaffirm and reinforce their understanding the students are given
two pieces of assessment. Firstly, they are assessed orally. This assessment is
based upon the iCLT philosophy of communicative competence, whereby the stu-
dents are required to have a conversation with the lecturer where the goal is to
convey meaning. While grammatical structure and pronunciation do have roles to
play in this assessment they are not the sole focus. Students can therefore make
grammatical errors and/or mispronunciations; however as long as correct mean-
ings are able to be communicated in the oral interchange the students are awarded
a pass grade. The focus of the te reo Ma¯ori portion of the course is to produce
speakers of te reo Ma¯ori who have communicative competence relevant to their
teaching context. The second assessment focuses on Ka Hikitia and Ta¯taiako. The
Graduating Teacher Standards are linked to Ta¯taiako (Ministry of Education,
2013b, pp. 6–15). The students use Ta¯taiako to create a portfolio of their teaching
practicum providing evidence of how they have met the criteria and standards
required for Graduating Teachers. This assessment has two uses. Firstly, it ensures
that they incorporate the cultural competencies into their teaching; that the theory
is put into practice. Secondly, it provides evidence that the students did indeed
incorporate—or better still infuse—te reo and tikanga Ma¯ori into their teaching.
To further emphasise the importance of the portfolio the program developers
designed a tool to measure student development and growth around the four core
values which underpin the program. Those values are (1) intellectual rigour and
82 T.H. Clarke et al. Mohiotanga Matauranga Maramatanga
Awareness Exploration Extension
Maramatanga – The stage of extension
THE DETERMINATION TO ACTIVELY APPLY NEW LEARNING,
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES
Matauranga – The stage of exploration
THE CONFIDENCE TO ACTIVELY EXPLORE NEW LEARNING,
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES
Mohiotanga – The stage of awareness
THE WILLINGNESS TO HAVE AN OPEN MIND TO NEW LEARNING,
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES
Fig. 1 He Poutama: A learning pathway (Adapted from Macfarlane, 2011)
scholarship, (2) leadership of learning, commitment and inclusiveness, (3) equity
and collaboration and (4) partnership. The developers then chose a traditional
Ma¯ori pattern normally used to decorate the walls of the wharenui to represent
that student development and growth. The pattern is called Poutama (sometimes
referred to as the stairway to heaven) and symbolises the growth of the indivi-
dual, continually striving upwards (see Fig. 1). According to the Masters of
Teaching and Learning Qualification Professional Practice Guide, ‘The poutama
represents the process of [the] scaffolding of knowledge … The steps represent
advances in knowledge, through incidents of shifting of understandings (the verti-
cal riser) and periods of knowledge consolidation (the horizontal tread)’ (Abbiss,
Astall, & Fickel, 2016, p. 26).
Te reo and tikanga Ma¯ori are woven through the year-long ITE-Masters pro-
gram. This is in stark contrast to other programs, some of which only allow for
10 hours of te reo and tikanga Ma¯ori for the entire year. Many programs are cur-
rently undertaking a restructure and the Master’s program is likely to become the
template for those.
Whakamutunga: Conclusion
It is not uncommon for the development and implementation of new postgraduate
courses to be fraught with challenges and demands. When course content and
assessment tasks draw from Indigenous values and philosophies the challenges
and demands are often more acute, and the risks of reticence and reluctance to
accept ‘other’ worldviews are often salient. The ITE-Masters program described,
explained and discussed in this chapter present a set of realities that offer opti-
mism to program developers. This program is one response to the government’s
strategic focus on ‘getting it right’ for the Indigenous Ma¯ori learners of NZ. The
introduction of this 1-year ITE-Masters degree has provided the impetus for
6 Integrating Indigenous Ma¯ori Frameworks to Ignite Understandings … 83
reconfiguring the way ITE courses and programs may be delivered. The set of rea-
lities posed a challenge to the institution and many who worked within it. The
challenge was accepted with enthusiasm and indeed appeared to offer opportu-
nities for teacher-educators ‘to grow their professional expertise, and to increase
their awareness, knowledge and skill development to be more closely aligned to
the values and cultural nuances of the communities they serve’ (Macfarlane, 2015,
p. 201). Further, and more importantly, the set of realities was in tandem with the
concept of Huakina Mai—Opening Doorways for Learners. The students who are
undertaking this postgraduate course of study, and the ripple-out effect these
experiences will have on Ma¯ori (and all learners) who will be part of the many
numerous classroom interactions that will occur as these students attain their quali-
fication and over the years, expand and galvanise the crafts associated with cultu-
rally responsive pedagogies.
Glossary of Terms
Ako To teach and learn
Aotearoa Ma¯ori name for New Zealand (The Land of the Long
Awa White Cloud)
Haka po¯whiri River
Hapu¯ Dance of welcome
Hinengaro Sub tribe
Ho¯ aka Psychological/mental/cognitive
Hongi Sandstone
Iwi The pressing of noses
Ka Hikitia Main tribe
Kai To uplift
Karakia Food/to eat
Karanga Incantation/chant/prayer
K¯ınaki Call of welcome
K¯ıwaha Relish/sauce/embellishment
Koha Coloquial phrase
Kohanga reo Gift
Language learning nest/Ma¯ori medium early learning
Kowhaiwhai
Kura kaupapa centre
Manaakitanga Painted scroll ornamentation on rafters in the whare
Mana Ma¯ori medium primary school
Marae An ethic of care
Ma¯ramatanga Dignity
Ma¯tauranga Forecourt and meeting area of a traditional Ma¯ori village
Mihi whakatau Understanding
Knowledge
Welcome ceremony
84 T.H. Clarke et al.
Mo¯ hiotanga Awareness
Nga¯i Tahu Descendants of Tahu, main tibal group of the South Island
Noho marae Overnight stay at a marae
Ope Group
Poroporoak¯ı Farewell
Pounamu Greenstone
Poutama Stepped pattern in tukutuku panels
Po¯ whiri Formal ceremony of welcome
Pu¯ kenga Skills
Rangatiratanga Self determination
Reo Language
Tikanga Customs/protocols/procedures
Tangatawhenuatanga Place-based/localised
Ta¯taiako MOE document identifying cultural competencies for
Teina teachers
Te Waipounamu Younger siblings
Te Whare Tapawha¯ Ma¯ori name for the South Island of New Zealand
Tinana A four sided house/The name for a Ma¯ori health strategy
Tuakana The body
Tukutuku Older siblings
Tu¯ tira Woven wall panels
Waharoa To stand together
Waiata Gateway to a marae
Wairua Song/sing
Waitaha Spirit
Wa¯nanga Maori name for the Canterbury region
Whaiko¯ rero To deliberate, consider, seminar
Whakaeke Formal speechmaking
Whakairo To enter the marae
Whakatauk¯ı Carvings
Wha¯nau Proverb
Whanaungatanga Family including extended family
Wharekura Relationships
Wharenui Ma¯ori medium secondary school
Whiria Meeting house
To braid/weave
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Beyond the Classroom: The Impact of a
Required Indigenous Education Course in the
Lives of Pre-service Teachers
Maria del Carmen Rodríguez de France, Alexa Scully and Onowa McIvor
Introduction
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC, 2015) released in
June 2015 marked a pivotal moment in the history of education in Canada. The
report included 94 calls ‘Calls to action’ that stressed the importance of addressing
the many injustices committed against Indigenous1 peoples attending residential
schools between 1876 and 1996. In these calls the need for federal, provincial, ter-
ritorial and Aboriginal governments to play a key role in developing education for
reconciliation was highlighted. In particular, Call 62i recommended that educators
work to develop ‘age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and
Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a manda-
tory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students’ (p. 11).
Similarly, Call 62ii states that the provincial and territorial governments, who are
responsible for education, need to ‘provide the necessary funding to post-
secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowl-
edge and teaching methods into classrooms’ (p.11). This chapter will describe
1Reflective of our inclusive practices and scholarship, we use the words Indigenous and
Aboriginal interchangeably throughout the chapter.
M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France (✉) · O. McIvor 87
Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]
O. McIvor
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Scully
Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018
P. Whitinui (eds.), Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-6400-5_7
88 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
how three instructors, working in two post-secondary Canadian institutions, have
worked to introduce required courses in Indigenous education with an aim towards
shifting the minds and hearts of pre-service teachers in becoming more culturally
aware, responsive, and inclusive to the learning aspirations and experiences of
Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Positioning Ourselves
Carmen
My hope emerges from those places of struggle where I witness individuals positively
transforming their lives and the world around them. Educating is always a vocation rooted
in hopefulness. (hooks, 2003, p. xiv)
My name is Maria del Carmen Rodríguez de France, and like bell hooks, my
hope too, emerges from the places and the spaces where uncertainty, confusion,
and chaos renders me with opportunities to change and transform the lives of
others around me. Such spaces and places of struggle are often found within the
university, and in the classrooms where I facilitate courses on Indigenous know-
ledge and pedagogy. I am also an immigrant; a visitor on this land that I now call
home. My Indigenous heritage is from the Kickapoo Nation in Northeastern
México. I arrived to the territory of the Lekwungen speaking people almost two
decades ago, and during time I have worked closely with local communities
through a process of what I commonly refer to as relational accountability. Wilson
(2008), an Opaskwayak Cree scholar, describes this form of accountability, as the
responsibility a scholar/researcher needs to acquire to be able to authentically
work with the Indigenous peoples, in their communities. As an Assistant Professor
in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria (UVic) most of my work
includes mainly aspects of social justice, education, Indigenous epistemologies,
and Indigenous education. In addition, and as a teacher and facilitator, these
courses offer the opportunity to think more about how I can benefit the people
with whom I work with, for and alongside.
Lex
Solidarity is an uneasy, reserved, and unsettled matter that neither reconciles present grie-
vances nor forecloses future conflict. (Tuck & Yang, 2012, p. 3)
My name is Alexa (Lex) Scully, and I too have experienced both hope and
struggle engaging in compulsory Indigenous education courses within the teacher
education programme. While our personal and geographical locations are differ-
ent, we all have a great deal in common, both in our experience of doing this
7 Beyond the Classroom … 89
work, and in our convictions about how to do it well. I have written and presented
about my position in this field as a white settler of Celtic heritage, by starting
some of my classes with the important question, ‘Why is the whitest woman on
the planet teaching about Aboriginal education?’ (Scully, 2011, 2012, 2015)—
often it is an awkward attempt to use humour to acknowledge my socio-political
location as ‘always already oppressor’ (McLaren, 1995, p. 63). From a B.A.
Honours in Indigenous Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, to canoe trip
guiding, to environmental education, to teaching and learning in the Education
program at Lakehead University (LU) in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario, all of
my schooling and most of my work has been in Anishinaabe territory.
The Thunder Bay campus of LU is on the traditional territory of the Fort
William First Nation, and is situated within the Robinson Superior Treaty terri-
tory; while the Orillia campus of LU is on the territory of the Chippewa Tri-
Council, and is situated within the Williams Treaty territory. These campuses are
1,700 kms apart, and all on Anishinaabe land. For me, this work has been an
incredibly challenging journey to learn how I, a white settler, can use the privilege
of my position and education by shifting the perspectives of the predominantly
white pre-service teachers as they relate to Indigenous peoples and lands in
Canada. In this way, I hope to contribute to the resurgence and well-being of
Indigenous people in Canada through improving what Canadian children learn at
the K-12 levels. Doing education ‘differently’ means striving for relational
accountability (Wilson, 2008); asking students to be accountable to one another,
spending time on the land, and centring Indigenous community members and
Lands in these classes. What I have observed in these classes supports what I was
taught by the Elders at Trent; that land and Indigenous knowledge are the First
Teachers, and are what constitute ‘good’ Indigenous education for all learners.
Onowa
As is Indigenous custom, I will introduce myself, acknowledging my ancestral
roots and community connections and my connection to the work. I am
maske¯kowak (Swampy Cree) and Scottish-Canadian. My Cree grandparents were
from Norway House and Cross Lake in northern Manitoba and my settler family
were farmers from southern Saskatchewan. I have been grateful visitor on Coast
and Straits Salish territory, specifically Lekwungen and WSANEC territories, for
more than 15 years. I have been a faculty member and the Director of Indigenous
Education at the UVic since 2008 where, following the initial course design coor-
dinated by Dr. Lorna Williams, Carmen and I redeveloped and taught the early
iterations of the required course in Indigenous education in our faculty. I am dee-
ply privileged to work in this place, on this territory and I share with my collea-
gues a passion for this work that touches and shapes our most precious souls, the
next generations of children, both Indigenous and not, in Canada.
90 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
The Work
This chapter describes the evolution of two separate courses on Indigenous educa-
tion at two different institutions in Canada. It also describes how we, the instruc-
tors, have responded to feedback from diverse sources such as end of the term
surveys, student comments, and interviews for the past 6 years2 at the UVic and a
study conducted through the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP)
(Kitchen, 2005; Loughran, 2004; Samaras & Freese, 2006) research study based at
LU. As a result of constantly evaluating our teaching approaches (i.e. content,
tests and activities) we have allowed the time teaching such courses to be more
fluid, inclusive and based on using recursive based pedagogy.
Through this writing, we are also reflecting on the opportunities each of us has
had as a facilitator to improve our own practice, and to engage students differently
over time. We also wish to instil a sense of social responsibility, change and com-
mitment in our students as Canadian citizens, and more specifically, as educators
following their developing understanding of education from an Indigenous per-
spective, and the ways in which they can Indigenize the curriculum and become,
as Shawn Wilson (2008) says ‘Indigenists’. In addition, we seek to support the
evolving self-concept of pre-service teacher as competent facilitators who can
appreciate, support, and foster development in students by establishing founda-
tions and teaching philosophies, which include Indigenous approaches.
Related Literature
In Canadian teacher education, there is a great deal of literature addressing the
lack of ‘awareness of the history of racism and colonialism in America, and the
lack of knowledge of the past and present strengths, accomplishments, and
resources of the neo-colonized cultural communities they are entering’ (Swartz,
2003, p. 256). Supporting these statements, Chambers (2005) describes Euro-
western academia as ‘a space in which Indigenous knowledge has been neglected,
at worst denied, over centuries of cultural oppression’ (p. 1). Non-Indigenous tea-
chers and teacher-educators often need to decolonize their own perspectives and
practices in order to transform Indigenous education in Canada—and to increase
the success of Indigenous learners, understand social justice measures for
Indigenous peoples and to create greater cross-cultural understanding by non-
Indigenous learners (den Heyer, 2009; Dion, 2009; Godlewska, Moore, &
Bednasek, 2010; Haig-Brown & Hodson, 2009; Kanu, 2005; Madden, 2015;
Schick, 2000; St. Denis, 2007; Tompkins, 2002; Tupper, 2012, 2013). A common
thread emerging across all of these authors’ work is idea of resistance on the part
2Comments from surveys and interviews in this chapter resulted from several research studies
conducted at UVic from 2009 to 2015.
7 Beyond the Classroom … 91
of student–teachers, and to examine or change their own perspectives and prac-
tices working with Indigenous learners in the classroom (Scully, 2015). While
Indigenous-specific teacher education programs such as the Native Indian Teacher
Education Program (NITEP) at the University of British Columbia (described in
this book) and the Native Teacher Education Program (NTEP) at LU (est.1974)
are well established; however, required courses in Indigenous knowledge within
post-secondary institutions are relatively new in Canada. It is anticipated that such
courses will shift the exclusive focus Swartz (2003) mentions, and more impor-
tantly contribute to the growing decolonization discourse movement concerning
Indigenous people and their allies in Canada, as well as around the world. We
believe that the Accord on Indigenous Education (Archibald, Lundy, Reynolds, &
Williams, 2010) is contributing to this paradigm shift. Further to the signing of the
Accord, the British Columbia College of Teachers passed a policy in 2011 requir-
ing that all graduates of the province’s teacher education programs ‘complete man-
datory coursework in First Nations studies’ (‘Closing the gap’, p. 10). Some
institutions had already implemented or were in the development process of add-
ing such courses; however, the policy decision confirmed the direction for all tea-
cher education programs in the province of British Columbia. In Ontario, this
process has been supported by the Ministry of Education’s (2007) policy frame-
work. While not a directive, it has been useful in supporting the move towards
Indigenous education in Ontario schools, and in various faculties of education.
Various scholars have conducted research that explore shifts in students’ atti-
tudes and personal transformation as a result of developing awareness and learning
about Indigenous people by including a mandatory course in their programs of
study (see Battiste, 1998, 2000; Dion, 2009; Fitznor, 2005; Nardozi & Mashford-
Pringle, 2014). However, Cherokee scholar Heath Justice (personal communica-
tion, 21 November 2015) states that it seems clear that ‘required Indigenous
content’ is aimed at non-Indigenous learners. As an non-Indigenous scholar,
I (Scully) see this as an important part of the work that I do; that is, modeling my
own actions and responsibility as a treaty partner striving for ‘relational account-
ability’ (Wilson, 2008).
The Contexts
In SENC´ OŦEN, one of the Indigenous languages on southern Vancouver Island,
E¯L TELNIWT means ‘to make/to become a whole person’. The course ‘E¯L
TELNIWT and Indigenous Education’ was offered for the first time in 2008 as an
elective course. In 2009, it became a requirement for all teacher education pro-
grams in the Faculty of Education at UVic in British Columbia, Canada. A main
objective of the course is to ‘fill the gaps’ in the pre-service teacher’s school
experiences in regards to the lack of knowledge about Aboriginal education, and
relative to their own training as teachers. Given that the history of Aboriginal peo-
ple of Canada is sometimes unknown to the majority of the students who are
92 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
mostly non-Aboriginal; spaces for clashes in cultural worldviews exist hand-in-
hand with the desire that some students have to advance their knowledge.
Therefore, one of the first stages in entering this new ‘space’ consists of ‘unlearn-
ing’ certain ways of understanding the world; appreciating that the knowledge that
emerges from such an examination will inescapably challenge students to explore
and interrogate their own ways of understanding how those views have evolved
and developed over time, and how their own perspectives and academic develop-
ment have been shaped by conventional teacher education ideology. Or, as
Battiste (2002) suggests, by being ‘marinated’ in ‘Cognitive Imperialism’, which
privileges only some sources of knowledge and ways of knowing.
Students who are unfamiliar with histories of Aboriginal people need opportu-
nities to interpret new knowledge, experience it and incorporate it into their disci-
pline, their profession and into their lives. However, the invitation to engage in
dialogue emerges sometimes as a form or resistance when new knowledge is being
introduced, old knowledge is deconstructed, and ultimately, when all new knowl-
edge is re-constructed. While the course objectives are multiple, the main goal of
E¯L TELNIWT is to better prepare student teachers for the contextual reality within
the school system and the larger society; as it pertains to the Indigenous education
learning contexts.
By having students study Indigenous worldviews, spirituality, history of educa-
tion and recent developments within curriculum development, among other topics,
they learn more about local cultures and their histories; and ultimately, they are
provided with a unique opportunity to uncover and reflect upon their own personal
cultural historical narratives through assignments and activities, community
engagement, and academic preparation. In addition, being taught by an all-
Aboriginal group of instructors models for student’s ways of being and knowing
that underscores the learning objectives in the course. Although, the course is
face-to-face, it also utilizes a culturally inclusive interface to support specific activ-
ities, and to compile course related materials; additionally, it offers opportunities
for experiential learning, reflection, group work and individual development.
A variety of pedagogical approaches are included to elicit understanding of
what constitutes an Indigenous epistemology; whose knowledge is valued and
validated, how curriculum is designed and delivered, and as aforementioned, what
constitutes social justice within the frame of Indigenous education. Restoule
(2011) asserts that Aboriginal teachers cannot achieve these goals alone but that it
is also the responsibility of non-Aboriginal teachers ‘to understand our shared his-
tories, our perspectives, our visions and our goals, and to participate in achieving
them together’ (p. 17). Battiste (2010) argues that it is critical for educators to
look at how the curriculum explores the connections between ‘what is being
taught, who is being excluded, and who is benefitting from public education’
(p. 17). These aspects of teaching and learning are explored in various ways
throughout the course especially since our pre-service teacher find themselves in
a unique moment in their academic journey where they experience learning as a
student, as well as the practice of teaching as future teachers.
7 Beyond the Classroom … 93
Pedagogical approaches include both reflective and reflexive practice; discus-
sions around required readings, films, guests and the impact other teaching
resources have had on the students at a particular time within the course. To
further model Indigenous ways of knowing and being in the course, evaluation
and assessment take different forms, which include the opportunity to document
the learning process in creative ways including: classroom presentations hands-on
activities, opportunities to present final assignments in diverse formats such as
sharing learning experiences, going for a walk, as well as, spoken word, visual art,
and so forth. At the end of the term, students’ experiences vary. For some, learn-
ing is challenging but positive; for others, resistance dominates their emotional-
self leading to ongoing experiences of discomfort. Notwithstanding, the majority
of the students who commented on the required nature of the course provided
positive and supportive views such as the fact that all students need to be aware of
diversity; further, they felt that this course provided reliable knowledge that would
dissuade misunderstandings. Here are a few examples gleaned from students
before and after participating in the course:
I think every person should learn about the people who were here first.
I think this course has done a lot to further my thinking about Aboriginal issues and the
difficulties of incorporating them in my class.
[the course gave me] exposure to so many alternate ways of thinking and living was
inevitable helpful for allowing me to place myself in my own world; search for purpose.
I learned ways to bring cross cultural education into the classroom, and I was empowered
to bring change.
Ontario
At LU in 2007, a required course entitled Aboriginal Education (EDUC 4416)
was split out from the Multicultural Education course. Until the Indigenous con-
tent requirement was doubled for the new 2-year Bachelor of Education course in
2015, this course was weighted as a 0.25 credit, that is, 18 contact hours. The
description of the course in the LU course calendar was short: Theory and strate-
gies of appropriate education for Aboriginal students. There were no official
shared course objectives over the many sections. (These have been developed for
the new extended course). I (Scully) was hired at Lakehead Orillia to teach the
class in 2009–2010. I taught eight sections of 40 students that year, commuting
first from Algonquin Park where I was working as a labourer, and then from
Toronto where I was working retail. The size and structure of the classes was
overwhelming (we were squished into very small rooms), as was the profound
lack of knowledge that the learners had about Canadian history, and about
Indigenous peoples in general. This ‘lacking’ was motivation to learn how to do
this work well, and to contribute to shifting this violent ‘common knowledge’.
94 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
There are four core elements of the course that stayed the same throughout the
17 iterations that I taught: (1) We began many classes with icebreakers/community
builders, (2) At least two classes were led by Elders and/or local Indigenous com-
munity members, (3) At least one class took place on the Land and/or on reserve
and (4) Three core assignments: the Local assignment, a group project to gather
resources for the class on a topic (Residential schools, stereotypes, MMIW, books/
authors, art, hip hop, media), and a culminating short paper reflecting on an
experience of learning or engagement with Indigenous community. Throughout
this teaching work, I have been committed to two core principles: Land as First
Teacher and All my relations.
Land as First Teacher is a principle that I learned from Anishinaabe-kwe Elder
Edna Manitowabi at Trent University in the early 1990s. Recently, there have
been echoes of this teaching in the education discourse articulated as A Pedagogy
of Land (Tewa scholar Cajete, 2009; Haig-Brown & Anishinaabe knowledge kee-
per Kaaren Daanneman, 2002; and Anishinaabe scholar Simpson, 2014). Both the
Local assignment and the classes that take place on the Land honour this teaching,
that the Land is the source of the knowledges, languages, economies and epis-
temologies of Indigenous peoples, and must be respected as a teacher in this con-
text. The Local assignment accomplishes this by honouring the place-knowledge
of the learners (they must choose a place that they feel connected to, or some-
where they would like to teach), and then extends their knowledge of place by
seeking Treaties, comprehensive land claims, Indigenous communities, place
names, resources, languages that grew in that place. Taking the classes outside
and/or to a local Indigenous community place, and doing so in a way that is speci-
fic and critical, further connects the learners to the place that we are learning in/
on. These pedagogies bring us to All my relations; one interpretation of this teach-
ing, also imparted by Elder Manitowabi, describes that we are all connected, and
that it is simply a matter of uncovering these connections. This is the work of
compulsory Indigenous education in teacher education—supporting the sometimes
very uncomfortable understanding that all Canadians are implicated in a just future
for Indigenous peoples and lands … we are always already in relation. Land and
community relationships are at the heart of Indigenist (Wilson, 2008) education in
Canadian teacher education.
Shared Experiences
We have all experienced very similar pushback to this work from the learners in
the classes. A significant number of students questioned why they had to take this
course in place of a course on multiculturalism or a culture of their choice ‘more
relevant to where they will teach’ such as ‘Asian’ if in Greater Vancouver area,
and South Asian in the Greater Toronto Area. This is a common site of resistance
7 Beyond the Classroom … 95
to this content, referred to as managing ‘competing marginalities’ (Sefa Dei,
2005). Consequently, we both agree that fundamental to these courses is the need
to confront the various forms of oppression that ‘reproduce and sustain white
dominance, power, and privilege’ (Sefa Dei, 2005, p. 59). The comments below
from data collected at UVic reflect a lack of awareness and exposure to the pro-
blem of race and racism:
Annoyance! I was really annoyed that we were taking a class specifically on aboriginals
but there is no other class for any other culture.
Why an aboriginal course and not just a course on multiculturalism in the classroom?
What makes aboriginals so special?
My big question is: do you teach differently to Aboriginal people?
How are they different from the rest?
I believe the course should be multi-cultural and not just focused on Aboriginal culture.
In addition, some students saw the course as applicable to other professions but
not so critical for teachers:
I can see it being applicable to a social work setting.
Students did not believe that Indigenous people are all over the world, and
therefore did not necessarily agree that the course was relevant for everyone or
felt that they should not have to learn about the Indigenous people of Canada if
they were not planning to teach in Canada, for example:
I feel that it is a regional specification if you are teaching in Canada, then yes. But I per-
sonally have an international focus and it should not necessarily be mandatory.
Not all of us teachers will be teaching in Canada after we finish. There are no jobs here.
I’m going overseas where indigenous education has no relevance.
An interesting aspect to these findings is that one foundational and philosophic
principle of this course is to help students understand the concept of ‘territory’
and that everywhere they are, where they live, where they stand, everywhere they
teach, they are standing in someone’s territory. This prompts them to question
then, what does that mean? What does it mean to them? What does it mean to the
people whose territory it is? Indicating that one should choose ‘which’ cultural
group to focus on is to miss one of the fundamental foundations of the course
about the concept of territory and the history of colonization in all parts of present
day Canada. Bang et al. (2014) describe the need to disrupt the ‘settler zero point
epistemologies’—that is, the profoundly mistaken belief that settler communities
are the first to be in a particular place, and that there are no Indigenous peoples or
communities in a place. Additionally, Donald (2009) describes the pervasive per-
spective that Indigenous history in Canada is somehow discrete from settler his-
tory. The interruption of this dysconsciousness (King, 1991) through a pedagogy
of Land does this work: We are always already in relation.
96 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
The ‘Toolbox’ Approach
Another experience that we have in common is that students were seeking a
‘toolbox’ and a list of ‘dos and don’ts’. They were more focused on finding
ready-to-use tools for teaching, and did not value history, or an investigation of
personal location, as relevant to their profession. They wanted to be told ‘how to
teach’ Indigenous students and content rather than look at themselves and their
own family histories as an opportunity to ‘peel off’ the layers of privilege, and
examine their own biases, racism, and notions of what constitutes social justice.
They were frustrated at times by the emphasis on ‘history’ without always seeing
its relevance to present day. E¯L TELNIWT left many students feeling unsure
about what to do with what they had learned about Indigenous people and them-
selves following the completion of the course. Some students expressed this as
having missed out on an ‘authentic Indian experience’, missing that Indigeneity
is all around them: their instructor, guest speakers, the pedagogy and the ground
beneath their feet.
Several students suggested:
‘Maybe visiting a reserve…’ or ‘…seeing ceremonies happen’.
At Lakehead the courses in trying to provide an ‘authentic Indigenous
experience’—that is, teachings from an Elder, going to the reserve, going
to the sweatlodge or to the 5,000-year-old fish fence—I believe may have
inadvertently re-entrenched some deeply held stereotypes about Indigenous
peoples. To paraphrase Thomas King, this was the very Indian they had in
mind (Miliken, Kinistino, & King, 2007). While these classes were unani-
mously lauded as the ‘best’ or ‘most powerful’, they were also the classes
where people were not asked to understand their implications in systemic
oppression. These experiences are fundamental to Indigenous education, and
they must be done respectfully, critically, and in relation to the unsettling peda-
gogies of the course. At both sites, students expressed fear and anger at their
own ignorance. At UVic, many students explained it was due to a lifetime
lack for exposure to experiences, truthfulness and well-rounded information
from parents, community members and schools about Indigenous people, for
example:
Overall, I feel that the cdn pop.[sic] knows very little about Aboriginal people apart from
stereotypes and media stories … we come out [of a] system[that] has not prepared us.
Some students expressed feeling overwhelmed by the new knowledge they had
gained about themselves and Indigenous people and continued to struggle with
how to make practical use of it in the classroom.
I still feel overwhelmed by trying to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into my classroom
for fear of offending…
This last theme of ‘fear of offending; is a prevalent one; not just with our
students but in other countries where similar research has been conducted
7 Beyond the Classroom … 97
(McLaughlin & Whatman, 2007; Phillips, 2011; Restoule, 2011; Riley, Howard-
Wagner, Mooney, & Kutay, 2013). Students choose to err on the side of caution
instead of trying diverse approaches to engage in conversation and/or work
in Indigenous communities and/or with people. Students report needing more than
just one course to feel confident, knowledgeable and comfortable with the mate-
rials and the topics. Restoule (2011) describes his findings:
I’ve often encountered two types of benign resistance from those who would otherwise be
strong allies: the fear of appropriation and a lack of confidence. Approaching indigenous
inclusion through the fostering of relationships can address both of these issues. (p. 18)
Confusion and Dissonance—it is Just One Class
Through the UVic survey questionnaires and interviews, students expressed confu-
sion and frustration about their instructor’s ‘call to integrate’ and acknowledge
Indigenous worldview and contributions into all aspects of their teachings yet did
not experience this in their own program of study. This was the overwhelming
sense at Lakehead too: students expressed an overall disconnection to the rest of
the teacher education program. As contributors to the program, we recognized this
as a paradox: students were asked in the context of the required Indigenous knowl-
edge course to integrate Indigenous perspectives across subject areas but they do
not experience such approaches within other courses in their teacher education
program. One student questioned:
… just how to integrate aboriginal education into other subject areas. I don’t know if
that is the fault of the course or more the education program itself because I think that
when we take all the other classes there is such a low emphasis on integrating aboriginal
content.…
How the Course was Different
The majority of students welcomed the course structure and noted the difference they
felt from their other courses. Twenty-five of the twenty-seven students interviewed at
UVic in 2010 mentioned the talking circles and learning in circle as positively benefit-
ing their learning experience and was something they recognized as being different
from their other classes in structure and tone. At Lakehead, many students noted the
attention to relationships within the class and with each other, and appreciated
the time outside the classroom with community members on the Land. In particular,
the repeated emphasis that they were not required to be an ‘expert’ in this field, but
were being encouraged to integrate community into their classes was remarked upon:
It was really different from other courses, a lot of my class mates described it as being an
oasis from other classes…
98 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
At the end of a busy day… it was a very grounding kind of place to come to.
I really like the circle aspect, of sitting in the [circle] … taking time to connect with each
other…there were a lot of things that I learned about my fellow classmates that I didn’t
know and it really created a sense of community within the classroom.
I noticed that there were a lot of people that had negative attitudes maybe, going into the
class and a lot of the people who were on the other end of the spectrum were really
excited to take the course. I think it ‘threw’ people who had never taken that type of
course before to have to sit through and learn in that way.
A Good Place to Practice to Work it Out
… for a long time when people were saying ignorant things or whatever around me I
would get really emotional about it, but I was trying to find ways to be able speak articu-
lately … This was a good place to practice because everybody knew each other and even
though we all come from different backgrounds … and it was the place where everyone
was able to hash that out and learn about the truth and give me a place to practice to be
able to stand up for my belief of the history and different… (Student)
Discussion
With the release of the TRC report (2015) calling for a nation-wide infusion and
rewriting of public school curriculum to educate Canadians about the real history
of this country, post-secondary educators of pre-service teachers must not only
mirror this effort in terms of providing this education to pre-service teachers but
also assist them to prepare themselves to teach this material.
The lessons learned from this research in Faculties of Education is that it is
almost impossible to educate groups of 30 or more students on a millennia of his-
tory that they may have missed due to colonially oriented schooling programs and
families who were not equipped to educate them on these topics as well as bring
the group forward all the way to ‘how do you teach Indigenous students’ or inte-
grate Indigenous knowledge across all subject areas in 36–39 course contact
hours. Clearly, more than one course is needed in teacher education programs that
focus on Indigenous knowledge, worldview and education. In addition,
Indigenous perspectives need to be deeply woven into the curriculum throughout
teacher education programs if we hope to encourage upcoming teachers to
appreciate the importance of this approach.
As instructor-researchers, we learned some important lessons. One is to make
the pedagogy of the course more evident within the course. In other words, high-
light for the students that the way we offer the course is an example of Indigenous
ways of knowing, teaching and learning. Further, courses can approach
7 Beyond the Classroom … 99
Indigenous education in diverse ways where history, socio-cultural and political
issues are discussed as foundational to the understanding of complex social mat-
ters related to Indigenous peoples and communities. Students generally arrive to
their third year of study at university still holding on to stereotypes and assump-
tions about Indigenous people. By offering students opportunities to discuss their
personal location their sense of self (personally and professionally), and question
and dismantle dominant discourses, we hope they will begin to see themselves in
a more holistic manner, to understand that they cannot ‘leave themselves at door’
and become a cardboard cutout figure moving back and forth across the front of
the class. As future teachers, they need to begin to appreciate the relationship
between their ‘lived experiences’, their family history, their cultural location, their
privilege (or lack thereof) and their future practice. As members of an institution
of higher education, and as instructors we must offer educational opportunities
where students are encouraged and challenged to examine racialized oppression
and the structures within which oppression exists. As Sefa Dei (2005) suggests,
we must encourage students to challenge the normalized order of things and the
dominant patterns of knowledge production.
As Indigenous education in teacher education gains momentum, in Canada,
we are encouraged by the innovative and powerful practices, and frustrated by
the challenges and ignorance, being observed and reported in our own class-
rooms and in classrooms across the country. While it is affirming to share chal-
lenges with colleagues, we must be clear about our successes and about our
fears going forward. Since the publication of the TRC Report (2015), and in the
most recent People for Education (2016) report, there have been more calls and
support for compulsory Indigenous education. Thankfully, there have been
editorials pushing back on these calls, asking the crucial questions: ‘For who?
By whom? To what end?’ (McDonald, 2016). One of the findings from this
research so far is that compulsory Indigenous education is complicated, possibly
counter-productive for some, and certainly insufficient. This work may help to
contribute to understanding how to do this work better. What is clear is that it
must start with the land.
Future Directions and Concluding Thoughts
Given the number and variety of ways that required Indigenous knowledge
courses are being implemented in teacher education programs across the country it
would be advantageous to have a national survey of such programs and their
experiences with the creation, implementation and evolution of these courses. We
are passionate about the topic and hope that our work with help to inform both
Indigenous educators tasked with the implementation and maintenance of these
courses in their own institutions as well as the greater scholarly educational com-
munity as they continue to learn about and collaborate on the greater inclusion of
100 M. del Carmen Rodríguez de France et al.
Indigenous people and our world views in Faculties of Education. Having encoun-
tered a variety of reactions, insights and experiences related to this required
course, it has become an interest to expand the research by interviewing past stu-
dents/participants and explore if, and how the course on Indigenous knowledge
has helped them in their quest towards E¯L TELNIWT (becoming a whole person),
and a Right Relation.
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Part II
Indigenous Language Teacher Education
Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian
Languages Teacher Education
John Hobson, Kymberley Oakley, Michael Jarrett, Melissa Jackson
and Natalie Wilcock
Introduction
The Master of Indigenous Languages Education (MILE) at the University of
Sydney has provided the only degree-based training for teachers of Indigenous
languages in Australia since 2006. It is an innovative professional development
program that responds directly to the disparate state of health of Australian lan-
guages by offering generic units of study in linguistics, languages pedagogy and
classroom-based research to Indigenous Australians with a teaching degree,
allowing them to add Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages teaching to
their methods. Whilst the program was primarily designed to facilitate develop-
ment of the skills necessary for graduates to become effective language revivers
and teachers implementing culturally sustaining and revitalising pedagogies, it
has also succeeded in fostering the development of a significant number of
J. Hobson (✉)
School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
K. Oakley
Aboriginal Education, La Salle College, Perth, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
M. Jarrett
Consultant Community Trainer, Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity, Sydney, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
M. Jackson
State Library of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
N. Wilcock
Northern Sydney Institute of Technical and Further Education, New South Wales, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 105
P. Whitinui (eds.), Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-6400-5_8
106 J. Hobson et al.
leaders in local language revival; and graduates have also gone on to become uni-
versity lecturers, consultants, administrators and activists, as well as presenting in
international fora and entering research higher degrees. This chapter begins by
setting out the historical context and structure of the program including some of
the systemic challenges that needed to be negotiated along the way and, in some
cases, still limit it to this day. It then offers an appraisal of the success of the
course based largely in an Indigenist dialogic research process of ‘yarning’
between lecturers and a group of graduates who now occupy an array of class-
room, community and government roles.
Background
Although ‘good news’ stories occasionally appear in the media and on conference
programs, the overall state of Australian languages is dire, and most are no longer
heard. Only a handful are still spoken by all generations and being learned as the
first languages of their children. Even for the healthiest languages the future is, at
best, uncertain (Hobson, 2004). In this environment Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples in many locations are engaged in valiant struggles to revive their
languages (Amery & Gale, 2008). Although there is substantial variation in
approach across the continent, the majority currently relies on school education
as the principal strategy to increase their speaker population. Whilst this may be
potentially problematic in terms of broad and sustainable revival across commu-
nities in the longer term (Fishman, 1991; Hornberger, 2010), training language
teachers remains an area of substantial skills development need for those that
seek to have their own members as language teachers, as almost all do (Hobson,
2014).
In the time before contact, of course, Indigenous languages were the first lan-
guages of communities and therefore not ‘taught’ but rather naturally passed on
via everyday use. After the arrival of Europeans, and the brutal policies that effec-
tively destroyed everyday Indigenous language use in many places in Australia,
the only ‘teaching’ in Australian languages was almost exclusively constrained to
advancing missionary goals. It was not until recent decades that second language
programs for Australian languages began appearing in schools, colleges and uni-
versities (Amery, 2007; Gale, 2011), and bilingual schooling for native-speaking
children briefly flourished in the more remote northern regions (Harris & Devlin,
1997; Simpson, Caffery, & McConvell, 2009). Revival programs, however,
remained largely localised and without substantial recognition until early in the
new century when language-specific curriculum began appearing in South
Australia (Hercus & Wilson, 2004; Tunstill, 2004), and the watershed New South
Wales (NSW) Aboriginal languages K-10 syllabus was published (Board of
Studies New South Wales, 2003). Within a few years it was reported that 46
schools were teaching almost 5,000 students in 11 different languages in that state
alone, and the urgent need for co-ordinated language planning and teacher
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 107
training was being recognised (Hobson, 2004; Rhydwen, Munro, Parolin, &
Poetsch, 2007).1
In response, the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney implemented a num-
ber of strategies including the incorporation of a languages methodology unit of
study in its existing initial teacher education course, and a survey to determine the
views of community revival agents in relation to languages education training,
and how these views might be balanced against relevant accreditation regimes
(Hobson, 2004). Responses to the survey identified a number of expectations
about the prospective broad-scale delivery of languages curriculum in NSW
schools that were either largely impractical, in conflict with regulatory require-
ments or, at best, unlikely to produce substantial educational outcomes. These
included that a very small and increasingly frail population of untrained elder
speakers, anticipated technological innovations, or the (then) largely untrained
staff of a few small community language programs would be able to take on the
task of languages education without the need for further substantial preparation
(Hobson, 2006). There was little enthusiasm for a 4-year initial teacher education
degree that would take at least 2 years to establish and a further four to produce
its first graduates. There was, however, clear interest from qualified Aboriginal
teachers already in the field to further develop languages-specific teaching skills.
Further discussion with stakeholders and a review of potential models overseas
led to the decision to establish a course for already qualified teachers as soon as
practicable. Although originally proposed as a graduate diploma it was ultimately
deemed of sufficient rigour under prevailing qualifications standards to be consid-
ered a professional development masters, and so MILE was implemented in 2005,
taking in its first cohort in 2006. In 2007 further development was undertaken to
incorporate an articulated graduate certificate and graduate diploma in the pro-
gram, at 0.5 and 0.75 equivalence to the full course, respectively (Hobson, 2008a,
2008b, 2011; Hobson & Poetsch, 2009).
Challenges
The development of the program faced many hurdles, some initially seeming
insurmountable. Greatest amongst these was the diversity of languages, learners,
educational contexts and their locations. Small, widely distributed populations and
revival programs in different stages of development dictated that an appropriate
course should be as accessible and flexible as possible if it was to have the greatest
benefit. Prospective students had the potential to present from almost any part of
1Most recently the draft national Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait
Islander Languages was released for consultation by the Australian, Assessment and Reporting
Authority and the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW released the
Aboriginal Languages Stage 6 Content Endorsed Course Syllabus (Australian Curriculum
Assessment & Reporting Authority, 2015; Board of Studies, 2015).
108 J. Hobson et al.
Australia hoping to teach any of a broad array of languages—currently over 40
nationally (Hobson, 2014). These languages were likely to be at significantly dis-
parate levels of revival, have widely divergent histories of teaching, and to vary
internally on those indices from location to location. Similarly, whilst some stu-
dents might have extended histories of learning and speaking their languages,
others could just be embarking on their journey, including those intending to be
the first to formally teach theirs. For the University to attempt to deliver such an
array of languages to its students would be an impossible task. Selecting one or
two and excluding all others, as some suggested, would only privilege strong lan-
guages and be completely contrary to the goals of cultural revival motivating pro-
spective students.
These circumstances also often meant that little, if any, curriculum and
resources for particular languages would be readily available to prospective stu-
dents or the staff proposing to teach them, and there might be only limited docu-
mentation for them to access. Staff responded by recognising that both their task
and the program must necessarily be inherently developmental. In this they were,
albeit unknowingly, following the precepts of what has become known as cultu-
rally sustaining and revitalising pedagogy, that:
… attends directly to asymmetrical power relations and the goal of transforming legacies
of colonization, … recognizes the need to reclaim and revitalize what has been disrupted
and displaced by colonization [and,] … recognizes the need for community-based
accountability. (McCarty & Lee, 2014, p. 103)
That the course was proposed by, and to be developed and delivered by the
university’s Koori Centre was central to this stance. For over 20 years the autono-
mous, Indigenous-managed Centre had trained Indigenous education assistants,
delivered Indigenous Australian studies, supported the university’s Indigenous stu-
dent population, and been its principal contact for Indigenous communities
(Cleverley & Mooney, 2010). Decolonisation for, empowerment of and account-
ability to Indigenous communities were amongst its core values. Indeed, feedback
from students over the years has indicated that evident Indigenous ownership and
control were amongst the program’s most valued features. But, this was also the
cause for considerable internal angst. Professional development programs for tea-
chers had traditionally been the province of the Faculty of Education and Social
Work, some members of which felt that it held proprietary rights over courses
with education in the title, especially any Master of Education designations. They,
for the most part, had quite conservative views about how such a course should be
structured—it should include a minor in a specific language (three units of study
equivalent to 0.375 of a full-time year), as well as in relation to matters of owner-
ship and control—the Faculty should have both. Such a square peg as this was
bound to be an anathema to them, and it soon became apparent that the Koori
Centre would need to go it alone—a strategy that the Faculty attempted to block
at the highest level, but in which it ultimately failed.
The NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) took a similar stance
in relation to accreditation. They were insistent that, to be accredited by them for
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 109
teaching purposes, candidates would need to complete a minor in a particular
Aboriginal language or, at worst, a combination of languages. That just a handful
of languages were currently being taught in their schools (none of them to senior
years) and only one or two in universities (only at beginner level) seemed to make
no difference. Given that Aboriginal languages teachers were already doing the
job across the state without languages accreditation, the decision of program staff
was simply to privilege Indigenous communities’ priorities and not apply for
accreditation.
A final, critical issue in obtaining the necessary assent to offer such a novel
program was its ‘sustainability’. In a financial model that values only monetary
benefit and cost, a course catering to a minority interest within a minority popula-
tion in a sparsely populated continent was always going to be marginal. If second-
ary (but no less important) benefits, such as increased Indigenous participation
rates, consequent community profile, national and international prestige, were not
assigned some value the course would likely never achieve break-even point.
Fortunately the Koori Centre had the flexibility to respond pragmatically, and
cross-subsidise its teaching from other income streams (Hobson, 2014).
Structure
To respond to these and other issues a unique course structure was developed. The
MILE is a 1-year, professional development degree for Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander graduate teachers. It has no language proficiency require-
ments for entry or exit and is delivered in a mixed mode combining intensive resi-
dential classes and distance methods, referred to locally as block release. An
embedded Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma provide exit points for
those who do not complete the Master’s.
The provision of an Indigenous enclave course responds directly to the voiced
concerns of prospective students. Whilst non-Indigenous teachers of Indigenous
Australian languages do exist, they are rare, and normally have a recognised long-
term commitment to a particular community and the revival of its language.
Otherwise local protocols normally preclude outsiders, including from other
Australian language groups, from being teachers of Australian languages (Hobson,
2014). Filling classes with non-Indigenous students, possibly even foreign fee-
paying ones would likely result in reduced participation by Indigenous candidates
for whom the course was originally developed.
Block delivery in three week-long blocks over two semesters allows students
from across the continent to attend the University campus whilst retaining employ-
ment and maintaining family and community obligations. Blocks are timed to
coincide with school holidays where possible to minimise the impact of candi-
dates’ absences. A Commonwealth funding scheme that meets the cost of stu-
dents’ travel, accommodation and meals for approved block release programs also
makes this possible.
110 J. Hobson et al.
Table 1 MILE units of study Languages education theory Languages education praxis
Linguistics for Australian Theories & methods in Research methods in
languages Language learning languages education
Semester 1 Language curriculum Research project in
Sounds & writing in development languages education
Indigenous languages Technology & language
Words & meanings in teaching
Indigenous languages
Sentences & text in
Indigenous languages
Semester 2
The application of imposed standards of linguistic performance, subject to arbi-
trary assessment by a university, was viewed as antagonistic to the goals of lan-
guage revival and the need to cater to groups at all stages of their journey, as well
as being completely impractical given the potential diversity of languages students
might present. Similarly, there was no possibility of program staff being able to
teach students their own re-awakening languages. It was determined instead that
the best strategy would be to respond directly to the revival process for each lan-
guage and provide students with: sufficient linguistic skills to access whatever
documentation might exist for their language, and derive their own knowledge
from it on an ongoing basis; an understanding of the typology of related languages
to use as models for reclamation of their own, and; a foundation in languages edu-
cation adequate to sustain the development of their own language teaching materi-
als and skills.
The eight units of study that constitute the Master’s are thus organised sequen-
tially and thematically into the broader topics of linguistics, theory and praxis
(Table 1).
The three linguistics units of study respectively canvass issues of phonetics, pho-
nology and orthography development; morphology and semantics; and, syntax and
discourse. In each iteration lecturers are required to acquaint themselves with acces-
sible resources for each language expected in the class, and adapt the content of
their teaching accordingly. Wherever possible, generic concepts and typological
understanding are developed though students’ direct engagement with realistic data.
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 111
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Fig. 1 ILE graduations, 2007–16 (n = 61)2
The theory units provide students with an understanding of first and second lan-
guage acquisition, and theories and methods of languages teaching; the skills to
structure engaging and varied developmental curriculum from available syllabi,
and; the capacity to productively apply a broad range of technologies to language
learning.
The first praxis unit provides students with an opportunity to develop a propo-
sal for a research project based in their own classroom teaching that is conducted
and reported on in the second unit, providing a capstone for the degree.
Classroom observation of each candidate by a visiting member of program staff
also provides a quality control mechanism.
Successes
From 2007 to 2016 the Indigenous Languages Education (ILE) program has grad-
uated 61 teachers, all but a handful with the Masters (Fig. 1). We assert this alone
is sufficient to declare the program a resounding success. There have been very
few non-completions consistent not only with the developmental ethos and cultu-
rally sustaining and revitalising pedagogic stance of the program, but also com-
mensurate with the considerable abilities of our students.
There have also been several instances of graduates presenting in international
fora and some publications, often in collaboration with program staff, for example
Cameron (2014); Cameron and Poetsch (2013); Edwards and Hobson (2013);
Hobson and Laurie (2009); McNaboe and Poetsch (2010); Oakley and Hobson
(2011), and at least three graduates have subsequently been admitted to research
2The course was not offered in 2015, hence the absence of graduates in the current year.
112 J. Hobson et al.
degree programs. However, success comes in many forms, not all of them aca-
demic, and staff have always been aware of other highly valuable outcomes such
as career advancement for graduates; enhanced community revival activity; and
significant social, emotional and cultural transformation for individuals.
In order to collect some qualitative data on these less direct outcomes the
authors undertook collective, introspective research using the culturally grounded,
dialogic method of ‘yarning’ (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010; Geia, Hayes, & Usher,
2013). Whilst yarning would traditionally assume the synchronous presence of
all participants, the distribution of authors across three states and conflicting
schedules meant that meeting face-to-face was not feasible. Nor was there much
enthusiasm for attempting video conferencing between multiple locations that was
almost certain to be frustrated by technical failures. We thus decided to make use
of contemporary social media to permit authors to contribute individually and asyn-
chronously, but still readily engage in discussion—we set up a Facebook group.
It was assumed the reduction of our discussions to written text with participants
separated in space and time would significantly shift the dynamics of yarning, in
that the conversation would be deprived of the nuances of stress and tone, and the
familiar paralinguistic elements of gesture, body language and eye contact. It also
raised concerns about individuals making enduring, semi-public comment on the
thoughts and feelings of others. However, given that social media is thoroughly
normalised for all authors, who are also all highly experienced, professional edu-
cators, it was felt that such potential disadvantages did not outweigh the clear
advantage of being able to collect the data, which could not reasonably be consid-
ered to be fatally compromised.
A series of stimulus questions were developed and put to group members over
time, allowing for comprehensive responses to each before proceeding, although
backtracking and cross-commenting were always possible. These questions can-
vassed personal and professional impacts, changes to teaching and other work prac-
tices, impacts on community revival activity and the ‘defining character’ of the
program. All were intended as points of departure, rather than bounding constraints.
The role of facilitator was assigned to the graduates’ former lecturer (Hobson),
as the team member most experienced in social research, although the process
remained collaborative and consultative at all times. Notwithstanding ongoing pro-
fessional relationships and, indeed, friendships between participants, the bias
inherent in teacher apparently interviewing former students must therefore be
acknowledged.
Graduates’ contributions were summarised and reflected to them both as a relia-
bility measure, and as a means of identifying themes in the data. Cross-
commentary by other participants, and editing and elaboration of points by partici-
pants allowed for richer data to be developed. Ultimately, all participants, as
authors, were accorded editorial rights in their representation. All felt that the
course had had significant personal impact on them as expressed below in partici-
pant’s comments:
Natalie suggested the greatest personal impact of MILE was that it gave her a
sense of belonging, and a clearer, stronger identity within her own community.
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 113
She saw that as something she was seeking from the outset—her main motivation,
I felt lost, I had no idea why I felt lost. Attending MILE helped me gain a sense of
belonging in this big world.
Melissa said she attained, a greater appreciation of the complexities of
Australian languages generally and an understanding of how I was going to learn
my own language.
Michael noted that it had helped him come to a better understanding of his own
‘language journey’ and that the considerable pride that he feels in his language
and his imperative to share it were both celebrated and nourished by the course.
I enrolled not knowing what to expect, what I was getting myself into. During the course,
and finding out about the linguistics of language, Gumbaynggirr really started to come
alive in me. Phonology, syntax, grammar, semantics were like a different language that
made me think about how mine worked, and I loved it. It has opened up many doors
across all facets of my life and has given me back my pride as an Aboriginal man. I am
passing on my knowledge and skills to other Aboriginal people so they can feel the way I
feel—more connected to my language, my homeland, my people, the spirits and, most of
all, to my ancestors.
Kym thought that the knowledge and skills she acquired through MILE
allowed her to develop much greater confidence and pride in her own language
abilities, and that those gains had strengthened her identity and reduced the shame
she had previously felt.
As my knowledge and awareness of my language developed I felt a shift in my own iden-
tity as a Malgana person. I felt a greater sense of pride knowing that I was helping to revi-
talise my language and the shame factor disappeared. If you’re strengthening someone’s
knowledge of their language, you are strengthening their cultural identity, and I don’t
think you can separate culture and language—those two are intertwined.
Michael also felt the course degree gave him the opportunity to be employed as
a language worker not only for his own community but also for other language
groups around Australia.
The MILE course gave me the opportunity to understand linguistic terminology and the con-
fidence to work with specialists in the field of linguistics. It gave me the knowledge, self-
confidence and the understanding about how languages work, particularly my own language.
For Natalie, the course was clearly a transformative experience, and not just for
herself.
MILE has had a huge impact on our community because I came home with higher self-
esteem and a strong determination to be involved in the language revival process. I fin-
ished MILE wanting to change the world, policies and the attitudes of some people.
While I haven’t changed the world I have certainly changed a few policies and attitudes
locally!
Melissa asserted increased recognition for herself as an outcome of completing
the course, as well as gaining a better perception of the field, I feel that I can
speak on a more confident level with my peers in the language revival world.
I also feel that now I have a greater understanding of the unfortunate politics
behind language revival.
114 J. Hobson et al.
Kym saw the degree as an opportunity to move into working with a number of
languages, and felt it gave her the confidence to apply for senior positions.
Getting this qualification meant I would have senior teacher status. If I knew the
mechanics of our languages it would help with the consultancy work that I hoped to take
on later, and people would respect what I had to say about Aboriginal languages and
Aboriginal education.
Completing MILE has also given me the opportunity to work in a university as a teacher
educator, mentoring other teachers. These days I am called upon to give lectures on
Aboriginal education, and to give pre-service teachers an overview on Aboriginal lan-
guages and Aboriginal English.
But, the presentation of my research in an international setting has definitely been the
highlight of my career!
Michael felt the course, … changed my whole outlook on teaching, it gave me
the opportunity to explore other teaching techniques and use them in the
classroom.
Similarly, Kym felt MILE, … unlocked how to teach language to others.
I have gained so much by doing the program and have developed greater confidence in
my language teaching abilities. I already knew the content of my language but the pro-
gram elevated my understanding of the ways that second languages can be taught.
Natalie found her teaching practice changed dramatically, because she realised
that, … teaching language and culture is the key to engaging disengaged
Indigenous students. They gain a real sense of belonging and a want to learn more.
We saw a dramatic decrease in suspensions and less behaviour issues when language and cul-
ture were taught. When we looked at the data and interviewed the students about why they
thought their behaviour had changed they were shocked at first, then smiled and shrugged
their shoulders stating they were proud to learn about their culture and their language.
All repeatedly referred to the impact of the linguistics knowledge they have
acquired on their teaching. Kym went from not being able to answer ‘the why ques-
tions’ with more than, ‘That’s just the way we do it’, to being able to develop a far
more sophisticated understanding of her own language and having the conceptual
tools to explain it to a range of learners in her community, from children to adults.
I loved learning about the linguistics! It helped to break down the barrier that was
stopping me from fully understanding what was happening in my language.
Michael also saw many ancillary benefits from completing the course.
It gave me high standing in my community to work with our languages. People looked
for advice from me about the language. It also allowed me to talk to linguists and under-
stand what they were saying about languages. And it gave me the experience to present at
workshops around Australia.
Natalie identified unforeseen positive outcomes flowing from her participation
in the course, like increasing interest in and knowledge of language and culture in
her community, and improved outcomes for her students. She felt that her under-
taking the degree has provided a stimulus to her community, and proven that
something positive can be done. Others might say she became a role model.
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 115
While studying I took lots of opportunities to speak with elders and ask them about the
local language. At first no-one wanted to talk because they too were embarrassed about
not being able to answer questions about our culture and heritage. I could still sense the
hurt and pain. After I began to teach the language to a few students they actually wanted
to be a part of what was happening.
MILE has done so much for me, my community, and the future generations of our town-
ship. The elders can see that our kids are learning so much and are becoming more
respectful of and sensitive to our culture, heritage and language. Without MILE my com-
munity would not be heading in the direction it is now.
Working in a large research library, Melissa was hoping to disseminate
Australian language material that had recently been discovered in the collections.
MILE gave me a greater understanding of how manuscripts could be used in language
revival. Not happy with just sharing material I wanted to make it more accessible to
Aboriginal communities for language revival purposes by creating an educational website.
My MILE qualifications were integral to me being able to develop that into a program
that was effectively aligned to identified language education outcomes.
Asked about the defining character of the program, Michael said,
It is giving Aboriginal people the skills to work with and understand how they can help
revitalise their languages. People from many language groups have done the MILE course
and are now directly using their skills to work on their languages.
Natalie wanted every teacher, Indigenous and non-Indigenous to be part of
MILE so they can all gain a better understanding of culture and heritage through
language. We don’t need to learn just about colonisation, assimilation, etc., we
need to embed language in our schools and through it learn about our culture
and heritage.
The staff were the best feature of the program for Kym.
They actually understand the way that language is the main component of our culture.
Without this understanding it would be hard to develop respect between staff and student.
The fact that all of the staff have been working in Aboriginal communities for such a long
time means they have the right depth of experience to back up what they are teaching.
Anyone can teach but if the teachers don’t have rapport with their students they may
never learn.
But she also had some praise for program graduates.
MILE graduates tend to become mentors in the languages and cultures that they are work-
ing with themselves. They often guide other speakers and train them how to teach their
languages as well. They are often called on to showcase language and cultural practices.
For Natalie, becoming part of a community of learners and professional lan-
guages educators was a critical outcome.
Learning from each other and building a bond between each other to bounce ideas and
make reflections was one of the best features of the program. MILE empowers Indigenous
people to work collaboratively to achieve better outcomes for our communities. It pro-
vides opportunities for likeminded souls to work together to learn in depth about our
language and in turn we learn more about other Indigenous languages and cultures.
116 J. Hobson et al.
On a practical note, Melissa identified some more structural advantages to the
program design.
It was short, sharp and sweet, which for me was fantastic because it kept my interest.
Block release was another winner for me. I’ve studied using that style before and it just
suits the way I learn. And the lecturers were inspirational.
She also felt that, Australian language revival at the point now where we really
need fully trained educators, and this is where MILE is extremely important.
Interestingly, not one of the respondents identified a negative outcome from
having completed the degree!
There was ultimately also some significant success in respect of accreditation
for the Master’s. Faced with an operating degree from which its staff were gradu-
ating and seeking recognition, in 2007 the NSW DET reluctantly advised:
The NSW Department of Education & Training acknowledges the availability of the
Master of Indigenous Languages Education offered at the University of Sydney and
accepts this program as providing appropriate training for qualified Aboriginal teachers
seeking additional approval to teach an Aboriginal language. Aboriginal teachers complet-
ing the Master of Indigenous Languages Education up to the end of 2010 will be eligible
for approval to teach Aboriginal languages. In 2009 the Department will reconsider the
Master of Indigenous Languages Education and any other available Aboriginal languages
programs in terms of the requirements for Aboriginal languages teachers after 2010 (per-
sonal communication, 2007).
When, in 2010, the matter was revisited and it was discovered that the degree
structure remained unchanged, the dated riders were deleted, and Master’s gradu-
ates are eligible for appointment to designated languages teacher positions in
NSW government secondary schools to this day. A departmental cadetship scheme
was also implemented to pay the fees of candidate staff and provide coverage to
facilitate their absences from school.
Conclusion
Whilst the Indigenous Languages Education program at the University of Sydney
has produced just over 60 graduates in the decade of its operation, those graduates
have, for the most part, gone on to significantly enrich the revival and teaching of
Australian languages across the country and in their communities, as well as earn-
ing themselves substantial, and well-deserved prestige and recognition.
Nevertheless, the provision of such a program with consistently low enrolments
and high costs remains a tenuous proposition, especially in a climate of growing
economic rationalism, and its future is unlikely to ever be certain.
Most Indigenous Australians currently engaged in reviving their languages in
classrooms, are doing so without teaching qualifications. A concerted attempt to
further develop the language teaching skills of those folk by developing an initial
teacher education degree at Sydney with Australian languages as a method has yet
8 Bridging the Gap in Indigenous Australian Languages Teacher Education 117
to succeed, largely through the confounding issues of cost and government-driven
‘standards’. The current program thus remains the only degree-based one nation-
ally offering a bridge across that gap.
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Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy,
Programs, and Practices
Heather A. Blair, Linda Pelly and Rochelle Starr
Background
Across Canada, ‘Calls to Action’ have begun in response to the national Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,
2015b) report. It is a good time to take stock of what has already been done, what
is currently being done and what can be learned from past endeavours on
Indigenous languages revitalization and education. In this chapter we look at how
three strands of Indigenous language teacher preparation, policies, programs and
practices play out in one ethnographic case study. We explore current policy on
Indigenous languages to identify issues and implications. We also contextualize
what one province has done to prepare Indigenous languages teachers at the
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute (CILLDI).
The linguistic context in Canada is complex: Indigenous languages in Canada
have been at risk of obsolescence for some time now (Blair & Fredeen, 1995;
Kirkness, 2002; McIvor, 2013; Norris, 1998). The exact number of languages is
complicated by the distinction between a language and a dialect and for some time
has been recorded as approximately 60 languages. Recent updates of UNESCO’s
Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger (Moseley, 2010) suggest that First
Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples currently speak 90 different languages in Canada
H.A. Blair (✉) · L. Pelly · R. Starr 119
Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]
L. Pelly
e-mail: [email protected]
R. Starr
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018
P. Whitinui (eds.), Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-6400-5_9
120 H.A. Blair et al.
and that, in addition, three other languages, having recently become extinct, are no
longer spoken as first languages (Norris, 2016).
To further complicate matters, there are various and conflicting levels of jurisdic-
tional issues to consider. Canada has an official bilingual languages policy
(Government of Canada, 1969) that protects the French and English languages by
parliamentary legislation. Supported by multicultural policies, it gives the impression
internationally that Canada is also a multilingual haven. Cummins and Persad (2014)
analyzed language policy and practice in Canada and pointed out that this leads to
the myth that we are a diverse society living in intercultural harmony. They reminded
us of the lack of any formal policy to support the multilingual realities in Canada
except for some heritage languages. It is clear that the multilingual contexts of new
Canadians (whose first language is other than English or French) are overlooked in
this country, but we contend that Indigenous people’s languages are even further
under the radar. Indigenous people in Canada have decided that their languages will
not be bundled in with heritage languages because first languages are distinctly
unique to this country. The lack of a federal policy on Indigenous languages is in a
way a de facto policy because only the Official Languages Act (Government of
Canada, 1969; Government of the Northwest Territories, 1988) exists.
Similarly, the majority of provinces and provincial school jurisdictions have no
explicit policy; some have recommendations, but no policy to contribute to
Indigenous languages revitalization such as immersion or dual-languages policy.
The Northern Territories are the exception; they passed an official languages act in
1988 to designate nine official Indigenous languages along with English and
French and established procedures to implement the policy (Government of the
Northwest Territories, 1993). The Yukon Territory’s languages act does not give
official status but ‘recognizes the significance’ (p. 1) of Aboriginal languages in
the Yukon; however, only English and French are available for laws, court pro-
ceedings, and legislative assembly proceedings (Yukon Government, 2002).
Nunavut has designated three official languages: Inuit, English and French.
Complicating this even further are the residual effects on languages from the
Indian Act of 1876, which laid out very clear policy that forbade Indigenous lan-
guages and ways of life, designated First Nations and Inuit people as the responsi-
bility of the federal government, and positioned the Métis under the jurisdiction of
the provinces. More recently, the federal government has resumed discussions
with the Métis regarding the status of Michif at a national forum in April 2016.
The Métis Nation (2016) reports, Métis elder Norman Fleury spoke on the central
role of the Michif language in Métis history and culture and what is needed to
protect and promote its use.
More than 40 years ago the National Indian Brotherhood (1972; now the
Assembly of First Nations (AFN)) wrote a policy paper called ‘Indian Control of
Indian Education’ that recognized ‘a great need for formal instruction in the
Native languages’ (p. 10). These recommendations have yet to be implemented in
Canada. No formal policy was created to assist communities in developing their
own policies. Some 40+ years later, the situation is not much better.
Layered on this situation is the current Indigenous governance system of Band
councils, Treaty groups and Métis organizations. Each local band can have its
9 Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy, Programs, and Practices 121
own language policy for the community and on-reserve school, but remarkably
few do. This might in part be due to the funding and curriculum guidelines or
restrictions and in part to the low status of languages and the political will of those
in power. First Nations languages policy is important; however, even if policies
were developed at each level of governance and aligned, they are effective only if
a plan for implementation accompanies them. This kind of Indigenous language
planning is intensive (Ruiz, 1984, 1994) and long overdue in Canada generally.
Methodology
In this ethnographic case study, we incorporate the perspectives of our past and
current language planners, teachers and students within the context of Alberta. We
have written this text collaboratively and embedded a personal narrative of one of
the authors. As participant observers, we have also drawn on our experiences, field
notes, pertinent historical records, photographs and conversations with participants
and used these multiple data sources to write this case study. The picture that we
paint here is only a partial picture; we have excluded or overlooked events and
observations, as is the case in any qualitative research (Fine, 2003). We have taken
the events that we see as transformative and written about them. As Fine sug-
gested, ‘We contextualize these in a social system, within a web of meaning, and
provide a nameable causation. We transform them into meaningful patterns, and
in doing so, we exclude other patterns, meanings, or causes’ (p. 290).
We acknowledge the work and voices of our Elders and those cited in previous
documents by referring to their guidance over the past two decades. The late Frank
Weaselhead (personal communication, 14 July 2004), Blackfoot Elder, thought-
fully reminded us that, ‘language is the essence of our being, of who we are. It’s
the defense against assimilation. If we lose our language, then we’ve truly lost’.
As a way to frame our thinking about Indigenous pedagogies, knowledge in rela-
tion to language, the following personal narrative (offered by Pelly, CILLDI instruc-
tor and coordinator) illustrates caution about what knowledge to share. Elders have
set cultural boundaries on what teachers can and cannot teach in academic settings.
Our use of a narrative voice in this chapter reflects Goulet and Goulet’s (2014) sug-
gestion that in contemporary Indigenous scholarship a written text can shift ‘from
research based primarily on Western methods to analysis based on Indigenous think-
ing. As the styles change, we ask the reader to think of this as moving among differ-
ent cultures, negotiating the differences in styles of communication …’ (p. 6).
Dahwe-mak—My Relatives: Linda’s Reflection: Dahwe-mak
Teachings
Before I write about traditional knowledge it is important to acknowledge those
very wise relatives who shared it with me—Dahwe-mak (My relatives). Little did
I know as a child, that someday there would be great value to the knowledge and
122 H.A. Blair et al.
teachings my nimishsomak, ninokomak, nipapa sigwa nimama, gakina Dawe-
maganak (Elder relatives) were teaching me. I took it for granted that everyone
learned about their cultural heritage as we did in our family. My greatest teachers
and mentors were my parents. And, as a child I resented my father for those eve-
ning lectures, when this time could be better spent listening to the evening radio
show. In reflection of those magical evenings, I am forever thankful for my father,
Kesikawih Iniew’s persistence in teaching us about traditional protocol, values
and beliefs and for enriching my life with our Nakawe worldview. His child-
rearing knowledge was grounded on traditional practice, his guidance was excep-
tional and his love for us without boundaries.
Traditional Epistemology—‘What is it’ I Asked, ‘and According
to Whose Perspective?’
My father, Kesikawih Iniew said this of traditional epistemology, ‘It is grounded
by traditional ceremony where higher learning transcends itself in layers, learned
over time’, and secondly from my conversations with my nimisohomak and niko-
komak (grandparents) to conceptualize the cultural issues and very reverent topics
for which no easy answers exist. Ermine (1995) explains it from the standpoint of
a western worldview concept. He states that,
For those people who seek knowledge on the physical plain objectively find their answers
through exploration of the outer space solely on the corporeal level. Those who seek to
understand the reality of existence and harmony with the environment by turning inward
have a different, incorporeal knowledge paradigm that might be termed Aboriginal episte-
mology. (Ermine, 1995, p. 103)
Transformation Process—A Lifelong Process
Self-actualization is a process that very much includes my spiritual journey, and
my participation is determined by my volition to learn more. Traditional episte-
mology is therefore based on a way of knowing. It is experiential and very perso-
nal. Each person’s experience with knowing and understanding is a personal
destination. By this, I mean one can choose to remain as a practitioner of the
culture—that is to attend to the ceremonies, live by the values and lifestyles
ascribed by tradition, and another can choose to become an Elder in a variety of
specialties, and is dependent upon the virtue of the individual seeking knowledge.
Becoming an Elder requires a lifetime of learning. It begins with traditional educa-
tion as a child, with the levels of learning and knowing becoming more complex
as you move from one rite of passage to the next. Elders take on the role of the
Master-Apprentice relationship. This mentorship continues until the Elder dies,
but the building of way of knowing moves into other levels not easily understood.
9 Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy, Programs, and Practices 123
It is one of great spiritual significances. As one of my master Elders said to me,
share the understanding, how we honor the earth, our altar, but don’t give away
the recipe, this is ours and no one can take it away from you—our goodness is
based on our languages and cultures (the Late Elder Edwin Crane, personal com-
munication, 1999).
The work of those whose life commitment is in Indigenous languages revitali-
zation draws on personal experiences and family histories that reflect Indigenous
ways in teaching. The work of those that have gone before us has been guidance
for us. These teachings remind us why we strive to incorporate many levels of tra-
ditional experiential learning opportunities for our participants, youth and adults,
each summer at CILLDI.
A Crisis: Clash of Linguistic and Cultural Ways
‘No aspect of a culture is more vital to its integrity than its means of education’
(Hampton, 1995, p. 7). The legacy of Indian residential schools (IRSs) in Canada
has been devastating for Indigenous peoples of Canada and reprehensible to
Canadians: ‘No Canadian can take pride in this country’s treatment of Aboriginal
peoples, and for that reason, all Canadians have a critical role to play in advancing
reconciliation in ways that honour and revitalize the nation-to-nation Treaty rela-
tionship’ (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015a, p. 183). One
of the catastrophic effects of IRSs has been the inability to transfer Indigenous lan-
guage and knowledge from one generation to the next (McLeod, 2007; R.
Sockbeson, personal communication, 15 October 2015).
Education is in crisis. Although it is not a new phenomenon—it has lasted over
120 years—education as it has been received is simply not working for
Indigenous children in Canada. IRSs and schooling as students experience it today
continue to have distressing effects on Indigenous youth (Battiste, 2013).
Education for Indigenous youth has often been coupled with racism, eurocentrism
(Battiste, 2013), epistemicide (Sockbeson, 2011), cultural genocide (Hampton,
1995) and linguisticide (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000). Blackstock (2008, 2015)
reported that there are more children in the child welfare system now than there
were in schools at the height of the IRSs. St. Denis (2007) connected these issues
with school success and stated that Indigenous youth continue to experience the
highest rates of early departure from school.
The first half of the 20th century produced many students from residential
schools who lost the ability to speak their Indigenous languages and the desire to
participate in or practice ceremony. Fishman (1996) made a very compelling argu-
ment for the importance of these languages when he said that, ‘[I]f you take lan-
guage away from a culture, you take away its greetings, its curses, its praises, its
laws, its literature, its songs, its riddles, its proverbs, its cures, its wisdom, its
prayers … you are losing all those things that essentially are the way of life, the
way of thought, the way of valuing, and the human reality that you are talking
124 H.A. Blair et al.
about’ (p. 72). It is our goal at CILLDI to contribute to the renewal of these very
central elements of life.
A Turn in the Tides
With the majority closure of the IRSs in the late 1970s, the face of education
began to change for First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) children in Western
Canada. At this time First Nations began to take back control of their schools; and
these schools, commonly known as ‘Band schools’, administered by First Nations,
were pivotal in the resurgence of pedagogical issues that were raised about First
Nations education. Parents and First Nations communities wanted their children to
learn their histories, their languages and their cultures as part of the curriculum. At
this time many FNMI students also enrolled in provincial schools, and their
unique needs began to be acknowledged; furthermore, the provincial and territorial
ministries created some policies and support programs. Early initiatives were ten-
tative and underdeveloped. First Nations people were encouraged to contribute
their experience and involvement; however, little changed systemically, and the
programs and policies that supported First Nations education and languages
evolved slowly.
Indigenous leaders have done considerable work over the past 20 years to build
a base for discussions of Indigenous languages revitalization and policy. For
example, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Department of Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada, 1996) viewed Aboriginal languages as a key com-
ponent of rebuilding a relationship between Canada and Aboriginal peoples. The
commission asserted that the power to establish language-related priorities and
policies was the core of Aboriginal self-government, according to the Executive
Summary of the Report of the Task Force on Aboriginal Languages (Government
of Canada, 2005, p. 3). The AFN declared a state of language emergency in 1998,
asked the federal government to take action and called on the government to
recognize First Nations languages as Canada’s original languages. In 2000 the
AFN further proposed that Canada develop a First Nations languages policy to
recognize First Nations languages and thereby ensure that financial resources
would be directed to protecting, promoting and revitalizing the languages. The
resulting document, From generation to generation: Survival and maintenance of
Canada Aboriginal languages within families, communities and cities, was
released (Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 2002).
In 2003 the Minister of Canadian Heritage established a national Aboriginal
task force that represented the FNMI people of Canada. The goal was to develop a
national strategy to revitalize FNMI languages. A group of language and cultural
leaders was named to assist the task force, and they produced the report Towards
a new beginning: A foundational report for a strategy to revitalize First Nations,
Métis and Inuit languages and cultures (Government of Canada, 2005). Elders
guided the task force to ensure that their values and principles were upheld to
9 Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy, Programs, and Practices 125
strengthen the process of revitalization. The Elders called on FNMI people to
work together to build a strong language foundation for their peoples
(Government of Canada, 2005, pp. 57–61). Although these agencies have done
significant groundwork, the policies have yet to be enacted.
The recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015a) process in
Canada was a very lengthy and difficult experience as residential school survivors
recalled their stories of horror in the schools and all Canadians were called to hear
testimony of these atrocities. This process was part of cleansing, reconciling and
bringing Canadians together. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada (2015b) produced 94 recommendations that covered socioeconomic mat-
ters, education, language and culture.
The TRC represents a turning point in this country. The previous denials of the
federal government and the major institutions in this country have now been
acknowledged and steps towards reconciliation appear to be under way. Time will
tell what supports emerge for Indigenous languages and whether the political will
is there to make a significant difference.
These TRC recommendations are evident in courses for teachers and language
advocates at CILLDI. We highlight CILLDI in this chapter to illustrate its support
for Indigenous language educators over the years and draw attention to the language
planning expertize that its participants have gained. Established in 2000, CILLDI
began with one Cree class of 15 students and since that time has had over 1,000
registrants overall in the summer program. Language speakers from across British
Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest and Yukon Territories have attended.
Each summer students and instructors have worked on elevating the profiles of
these languages while learning about them and learning new ways to teach them.
Indigenous Languages Teacher Education
Kirkness’s (2002) advice to ‘mobilize the most important language resource,
human resources’ (p. 19) is central to language revitalization and long-term suc-
cess. Kirkness outlined 10 directions to consider protecting and preserving
Canadian Indigenous languages:
We must bank our languages, raise the consciousness level of our people, mobilize our
resources, provide training and certification, develop a comprehensive and appropriate
curriculum, engage in meaningful research, inform public opinion, eliminate artificial
boundaries, press for Aboriginal language legislation, and work together. (p. 22)
Three faculties constitute CILLDI: Education, Arts and Native Studies. Each deli-
vers unique and specific programs of study (Blair, Paskemin, & Laderoute, 2003).
The Faculty of Arts (Linguistics) offers a Community Linguist Certificate, Native
Studies offers Indigenous languages classes and Education offers curriculum and
pedagogy. Each year the three faculties offer 12–15 distinct courses. Kirkness’s
(2002) advice has informed our work at CILLDI, and we have addressed all
126 H.A. Blair et al.
10 recommendations at some level. For example, we have developed five required
education courses at CILLDI that we consider essential to the teaching of
Indigenous languages. These courses include a blend of theory and practice, curri-
culum development, teaching methodologies, assessment of language and learn-
ing, and the incorporation of Indigenous epistemologies and knowledge systems
(Blair, Tyne, & Okemaw, 2012; Gardner, Blair, & LaFramboise-Helgason, 2013).
In addition to these five core education courses, we have developed courses in the
areas of Indigenous languages and knowledge systems, immersion teaching, the
use of creative theatre to teach an Indigenous language, the integration of cultural
arts to teach Indigenous languages, classroom research, and school-based language
policy and planning. Most recently, we offered a much-needed course called
Indigenous Language Leadership in Schools and Communities. These courses are
offered on a rotational basis.
The Faculty of Native Studies has offered courses in Cree, Dënesu˛łiné, Saulteaux
and Michif at CILLDI. One of the most successful courses is Cree immersion for
adult beginners. We believe that this is an extremely important offering that will
begin to fill the gap created by the intergenerational language loss. As the fluent
speakers in this province age, it is extremely important that adults in their twenties
and thirties have opportunities to reacquire their language. Through such immersion
courses we will be able to build a new cadre of language teachers. We are looking
for new ways to recruit young adults to these courses and make them appealing.
The Faculty of Arts, through the Department of Linguistics at CILLDI, has
worked on the development of courses for a Community Linguist’s Certificate for
documenting, writing, reading and recording Indigenous languages. If these lan-
guages are to be used as the language of instruction in schools in the growing
number of community immersion programs (McDonald, 2011), there is an
increased need to write these languages, clarify the existing syntax and develop
new terms for contemporary teaching purposes. This linguistic work supports the
corpus component of language planning (Blair & Laboucan, 2006).
As CILLDI has evolved, we have also developed programming for children
and youth, starting with a Cree immersion day camp in 2004 for the children of
adult students and faculty (Blair & Fredeen, 2009). In 2009 the Young Indigenous
Women’s Circle of Leadership (Blair et al., 2012; Gardner et al., 2013) was estab-
lished. These programs have also given adult CILLDI students opportunities to
observe traditional Indigenous pedagogies and current immersion teaching meth-
ods interwoven (Blair & Fredeen, 2009). The promising practices emerging at a
local level are exciting to see.
Language Policy Connects to Languages Teacher Education
Indigenous language policy requires extensive planning and needs to be based on
the local context. In some cases, home-grown programs, practical research and
group processes can also inform policy. No single policy, plan, institution, school
9 Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy, Programs, and Practices 127
or program alone can keep these languages alive. As we mentioned earlier in this
chapter, Alberta is at a critical point in terms of language retention, but the pro-
vince has few speakers of each of the 10 Alberta languages, and it is essential to
support and build on these resources (Fishman, 1991, 1994). The kind of policy
and planning required in one northern community, for example, that still has
numerous adult speakers but few children will differ from those required in a com-
munity adjacent to an urban centre that might have only a few older speakers
(Blair & Laboucan, 2006). Considerations and decisions on the most appropriate
programming are required at all policy levels.
The recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015b) Calls to
Action emphasize that immediate action is essential for language revitalization
and that new policies at all levels of governance are needed. The existing
Canadian languages policies privilege the official languages, and Indigenous lan-
guage policy is long overdue. Program development, however, cannot wait for
policies to catch up. With 17 years of program development at CILLDI, we have
built program components to teach languages, teach about languages and teach
how to teach languages. We promote strong immersion language programs and
teaching practices embedded in cultural programming that we believe have some
universal applicability. We are coordinating our efforts to collaborate on teacher
training and certification and ensure credit transferability among like-minded insti-
tutions. We contend that larger, better-funded institutions such as universities
across Canada need to work with First Nations colleges in these endeavours.
School jurisdictions continue to face challenges with respect to connecting to
and applying Indigenous ways of knowing and doing in their Indigenous language
learning programs. Some initial work has been done through the Western
Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Basic Education: The Common
Curriculum Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Cultures Programs:
Kindergarten to Grade 12 (Government of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,
Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan, 2000). However,
further articulation is required to ensure respectful application and proper protocol
and practices. This policy is overarching and was not designed solely to address
languages at risk of obsolescence. McIvor (2013) suggested that:
Canada needs to designate official languages status to Indigenous languages and recognize
them as founding languages of the nation …. Until the Indigenous languages of Canada
are valued by all Canadians and recognized as equal to the majority languages of this
country, efforts to revitalize them will continue to struggle. (p. 128)
The development of good teacher training is also essential to language revitaliza-
tion, and it is important to understand that language itself cannot be taught in iso-
lation, but that it is integral to the world around us and connected to our
relationships with one another, the land, and our spirituality. With these founda-
tional pieces as backdrops to teaching, we still find ourselves having to deal with
the complexities of weaving traditional pedagogy into teaching tools and scribing
this to paper. We try to do this at CILLDI and open up opportunities for
Indigenous languages teachers to observe and experience the processes, share with
like-minded colleagues and take home new ideas.
128 H.A. Blair et al.
Closing Thoughts
In the province of Alberta numerous Treaty and ethnic boundaries and different
educational districts have historically hampered the development of comprehen-
sive language programs. Because the CILLDI participants come from a host of
linguistic, tribal, educational and political jurisdictions, both inside and outside
Alberta, CILLDI has become and continues to be a significant meeting place for
leaders and innovators in the field of Indigenous languages across these jurisdic-
tions. In our languages teacher-education courses at CILLDI, we draw on what
we consider the strengths and resources available to us locally, nationally and
internationally. We are currently working to promote immersion and dual-
language curriculum and pedagogy as the most effective way to support language
acquisition and retention and develop more courses to support this. We draw on
the expertize of Indigenous faculty, Indigenous graduate students and Elders to
weave Indigenous knowledge systems into the language teaching pedagogy in
our courses. We have built a cadre of Indigenous languages teachers, and we
would not have built our program without them. Kirkness’s (2002) advice to
mobilize human resources could not be more relevant. Their commitment and
hard work are commendable and are making a difference in Indigenous languages
teacher education.
Still, much remains to be done. The preparation of Indigenous languages tea-
chers throughout the province with certificate programs that ladder to bachelor’s
and master’s degrees is required. CILLDI is a reasonable start in Alberta and a
model for courses and programs, but so far it is primarily a summer program.
There are no full-fledged degree-granting Indigenous languages teacher-
education programs in Alberta. In 2010 the Association of Canadian Deans of
Education’s (2011) Accord on Indigenous Education committed to promoting
and advancing Indigenous languages, cultures, identities, values and knowledge
systems in all of their institutions. Numerous universities, including the
University of Alberta, and teachers’ organizations have taken up this challenge
by mandating an undergraduate course on Indigenous pedagogies and issues.
However, in Alberta this accord has not materialized in terms of Indigenous lan-
guages in teacher education.
We are heartened by the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada (2015a) and the way that it is being taken up around the country, and we
see the potential for national policy. Still we are reminded that any policy requires
planning, and at CILLDI we model Indigenous language planning by elevating
the status of languages, building the corpus of languages and finding innovative
ways to implement language teaching and teacher education. Language planning
as Ruiz (1984, 1994) discussed is foundational to policy development; and com-
bined with the orientation that these languages are a ‘resource’, it is possible to
envision national, provincial and local policy development that supports them. As
McIvor (2013) reminded us, until such policies are in place, each program and
initiative will continue to struggle.
9 Connecting Indigenous Languages Policy, Programs, and Practices 129
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Distinctive Pathways of Preparing Hawaiian
Language Medium-Immersion Educators
Makalapua Alencastre and Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa
Hoʻolauna: Introduction
During the past three decades, significant progress has been made towards actua-
lizing Hawaiian language, cultural and educational goals and aspirations.
Hawaiian language medium-immersion education has emerged as a premier strat-
egy aimed at improving the educational success of Native Hawaiian students while
responding to the urgency for Hawaiian language and culture revitalization. As a
community-based revitalization movement, kula kaiaʻo¯lelo-kaiapuni Hawaiʻi
(Hawaiian language medium-immersion schools)1 have become a major impetus
to re-culturing Hawaiʻi’s educational landscape to value Hawaiian language, cul-
tural and academic learning. As Hawaiian language schooling continues to grow,
the need for kumu (teachers) who are prepared to teach through a foundation of
Hawaiian language and cultural knowledge has become acute. In particular, as
both the growth and quality of kula kaiaʻo¯lelo-kaiapuni Hawaiʻi are reliant on the
effectiveness and availability of its kumu, they are recognized as a valued and
1The translation or interpretation of Hawaiian will be provided in parenthesis following the
Hawaiian language only if the meaning is not provided within the context of the sentence. In
addition, all essential terms in both Hawaiian and English are provided in a glossary at the end
of the chapter. If further clarification is required, an online Hawaiian dictionary is available at
http://wehewehe.org/
M. Alencastre (✉) · K. Kawaiʻaeʻa
Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke’elikolani College of Hawaiian Language, University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo,
Hawai’i, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
K. Kawaiʻaeʻa
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 131
P. Whitinui (eds.), Promising Practices in Indigenous Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-6400-5_10
132 M. Alencastre and K. Kawaiʻaeʻa
essential resource. Preparing qualified kumu who are fluent in the Hawaiian lan-
guage and culture as well as in appropriate culture-based pedagogy and disposi-
tions requires distinctive preparation and support to optimize the potential and
success of this educational initiative.
This chapter contributes new understandings to the emerging field of
Indigenous teacher education as a discussion of distinct practices and issues within
the Hawaiian context. It is hoped that there is relevancy to others developing simi-
lar initiatives. Preparing kumu for kaiaʻo¯lelo-kaiapuni Hawaiʻi settings purpose-
fully engages the community to afford the cultural and academic expertize of
cultural practitioners, university faculty and mentor teachers. As such, a funda-
mental praxis within Indigenous teacher education requires extensive collaboration
beyond the academy to authentically implement culture-centric coursework, qual-
ity practicum experiences and meaningful research that are reflective of and bene-
ficial to the educational community.
Both the Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education Program (Kahuawaiola
ITEP) and Master’s in Indigenous Language and Culture Education (ILCE) were
developed as Indigenous models focused on cultivating essential educator quali-
ties. Examples of distinctive practices are provided below to illustrate how cultural
values and knowledge develop Hawaiian language proficiency, cultural compe-
tency, professional and culturally grounded disposition and pedagogy skills.
Experiences of program graduates and mentor teachers are shared to provide
insights into the depth of cultural growth and professional learning. Finally, exam-
ples of recent activism aimed at advancing the unique needs of Indigenous teacher
preparation are included and address pressing issues of Hawaiian language profi-
ciency, licensure and program accreditation.
Na¯ Kula Kaiaʻo¯lelo-Kaiapuni Hawaiʻi: Hawaiian Language
Medium-Immersion Education
The emergence and development of kula kaiaʻo¯lelo-kaiapuni Hawaiʻi has become a
transformative initiative restoring cultural connections among families, commu-
nities and school systems. It is revitalizing Hawaiʻi’s traditional culture from the
devastation of over two centuries of foreign contact that undermined and eventually
supplanted traditional Hawaiian society with European and American ideologies
and systems. The decline in the vitality and status of the Hawaiian language is one
of the lingering tragedies of American assimilation policies as the language was
banned in Hawaiʻi’s schools from 1896 until 1986 (Hawai’i State Legislature, Act
57, HRS 298-2, 1896/1986; Wilson & Kamana¯, 2006). Cognizant that language
survival is ultimately dependent upon sustaining multiple generations of fluent
speakers flames the resolve for Hawaiian language revitalization through education.
In direct response to its endangered language status, the ʻAha Pu¯nana Leo
(ʻAPL) re-introduced the Hawaiian language as the medium of instruction as
family-based ‘language nests’ in 1984 (www.ahapunanaleo.org). As immersive
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