I chose to investigate the implementation of Indigenous education with technology education because I, and other technology education teachers I have spoken with, have struggled with adapting, and including Indigenous education in the technology education classroom/shop. To make matters worse, it can be difficult to track down resources as the intersection of Indigenous education and technology education are both generally under researched. This led me to the idea of creating an open online website for technology educators to find and share resources for others to use in their shops, classrooms, and beyond.
The goal of this website is to address the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners in BC by creating an online website that will act as a resource for technology educators to guide in implementing and intersecting Indigenous education with technology education classes and shops. The goal is not to present a definitive model of Indigenizing technology education. Taking this approach would not meet the needs of most communities and create resources that would be inadequate and possibly even counterproductive or inaccurate. The resources created and presented should be used as guides for educators to implement in their classrooms/shops to meet their students and community needs. Educators will still be required to do the work of connecting with local Elders, Knowledge Keepers, parents, businesses, and students to create authentic lessons and connections.
Why Indigenous Education?
Current statistics show that there is work that needs to be done so that the BC education system can honour its agreements with Indigenous peoples. In BC, 74 percent of non-Indigenous students receive a Dogwood Diploma certifying their graduation as compared to the 52 percent of Indigenous students who meet the same outcome (BC Ministry of Education, 2018). Furthermore, only 33-35% of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous grade 12 students in BC feel that they are being taught about Indigenous peoples in Canada (BC Ministry of Education, 2018). This could be because teachers find including Indigenous views difficult and rely on the more comfortable stories of Canada that they already know (Donald, 2009). Furthermore, it requires teachers to challenge the core of their Western based institutions which provides them with their authority and position of privilege (Ahenakew, 2017). To address this issue, educators have a social responsibility to decolonize themselves and recognize the damages of colonialism (Battiste, 2013). This website is my way of attempting to do that very thing to better myself, my classroom, my community, and hopefully inspire others to do likewise.
Historical Context
Many educators in BC will likely already be familiar with the history of residential schools and the continuing process of reconciliation in BC and Canada at large. In many schools across the province it has become a lesson that is retold annually (if not more often) to recognize the harms perpetrated on Indigenous communities and peoples. It is important to understand and act on rectifying this tragic attempt at assimilation because it has been the cause of many harmful and lasting traumas to Indigenous communities, peoples, and their ways of knowing and being. Below you will find a brief outline of residential schools and reconciliation, but for a more thorough understanding please visit the Canadian Encyclopedia and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation websites for a more detailed accounts.
Residential Schools
When settlers began to colonize what would become Canada, there were numerous attempts to separate Indigenous peoples from the land and stifle their ways of living and knowing. Perhaps one of the most infamous of these attempts was residential and boarding schools for Indigenous children (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). These schools took Indigenous, Inuit, and Metis children from their homes and attempted to erase their culture and replace it with a Eurocentric one (Smith, 2017).
Although residential schools have been abolished, there have been many lasting negative effects, including a disruption of ancestral traditions, of intergenerational socialization, and of land awareness which is compounded further by the current education systems which commodify the land. This means that modern education and society are affording less and less Indigenous people the chance to engage with the land, plants, and animals in similar ways that their ancestors would have. Furthermore, the publication of Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada (2015) has shown the cost that the residential school’s assimilation policies have had on the individuals who were required to attend the institutions. It has damaged communities, weakened language and cultures, and caused a distrust of formal education systems by many Indigenous people. To further compound this, mainstream education has caused negative stereotypes to go unchecked among non-Indigenous Canadians (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). All these events and realities have coalesced to create a system and population that are hostile to Indigenous Peoples.
Reconciliation
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created as per the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and released its final report in 2015 featuring 94 Calls to Action of which three were specific to education in Canada. These include outcomes such as (TRC, 2015):
63.1 Creating curriculum and providing funding for important Indigenous issues to be implemented in K-12 classrooms.
63.2 Creating an environment for students promoting intercultural understanding, empathy, and respect.
63.4 Identifying teacher training regarding Indigenous education.
The TRC (2015) final report also stresses the importance of relationships, truth, healing, and justice with each other and the environment, all important themes within Indigenous education. This call to action has now become the responsibility of all Canadians to better the future for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples living on the lands of Canada. It is our duty as educators to work to rectify the mistakes of the past and create an education system that serves all its population and not just the larger body.
Decolonization and Racism
The Canadian education system, both past and present, has attempted a forced assimilation of colonialist thinking and principles on Indigenous peoples, causing trauma on multiple generations. This violence has in turn led partly to high levels of suicide, substance abuse, incarcerations, children in foster care, and family violence in Indigenous homes and communities (Battiste, 2013). Other symptoms of racial oppression experienced by Indigenous Peoples are poverty, substandard housing, poor water access, lack of sanitation, health concerns, high-risk maternal care, birth defects, youth disabilities, children in care, unemployment, high stress levels, and low coping skills leading to trauma, violence, incarceration, and suicide (Battiste, 2013). These symptoms of oppression continue due to the indifference of Canadians and the governments that represent them.
Race is a social construct. Race is a belief and social attitude and not based on the make-up of genetics or biology, such as eye colour or hair colour (Battiste, 2013). It is important that racism is confronted not only historically but also in the current contemporary contexts (Battiste, 2013). To confront racism, one must confront their potential positions of power and privilege which may not be immediately obvious to individuals benefitting from said racism. It is important to address issues of racism both within and outside the classroom. This will create a space for racialized students to feel safe, welcome, and better prepare them for learning by creating a positive community within the classroom.
To reach decolonization of education, curricular outcomes must address the indignities and tragedies imposed on Indigenous people through the past and current colonial education system. The decolonized education system must dismantle curricular knowledge choices, transforming education to focus on the contexts of people’s lives, and on individualized learning (Battiste, 2013). These approaches will be instrumental in aiding the coming generations to rethink the colonialist mindset and confront the racism that has been integrated into Canadian society.