Indigenous traditions and worldviews inform how we come to know, how we learn, and how we share. Relationships encompass all living entities, the land, the sacred, the knowledge, and the legacies of our ancestors. These are meaningful components in Indigenous teachings and pedagogies. The disruption of colonization and its impact is necessary for critical analyses. Therefore, indigenizing and decolonizing are mutually intertwined processes that inform a critical lens in education. It is the desire by generations of Indigenous peoples to retain their cultural values and knowledges in education, thus ensuring a continuity into the future. This educational envisioning “creates a shared and collective vision for not only sustainability but for resisting ongoing colonialism” (Cote-Meek & Moeke-Pickering, p. 31). It is in this resistance that clues can be found on how to transform educational institutes that better inform teaching and research practices, so they are conducive to Indigenous self-determination.
TopIntroduction
We are grateful to the Creator, Sky Father, and Earth Mother, to all their children that look after the skies, the cosmos, the universe, the earth, animals and fishes from the forests, rivers, streams, mountains, and ocean. Thank you for the teachings to live a good life in harmony and for replenishing our bundles and kete (baskets).
We are grateful for the elders/kaumatua for their teachings and wisdom. We thank you for being respectful guardians of our traditional cultural teachings.
We are grateful for the learning that our educational journeys have taken us on and grateful to all who contributed their gifts and wisdom along this journey. We are reminded of the good work that many people contribute toward the struggle for Indigenous education and the healing work they do for their communities.
We are grateful for the educators that continue to inspire and create critical education.
We are grateful to our colleagues, students and the graduates who are doing great work in Indigenous education.
We are grateful to our families, our communities, and friends, who have been a source of nourishment and love.
We are grateful to non-Indigenous allies challenging racism, demanding space and resources for Indigenous education.
We are grateful for resilience despite the tough lessons that have come our way. We are grateful for the clarity and courage to be a part of transforming Indigenous education in academia.
The opening is a tribute to our ancestors, friendships and communities inspiring a legacy of our traditions for future generations. Traditional greetings seek to foster old and new connections and provide a healing pathway into our story.
Boozhoo, Kwe kwe, Semaa Kwe ndishnikaaz, Mukwa dodem, Teme-Augama Anishnabai. My spirit name is Tobacco Woman, I come from the Bear Clan and come from the Teme-Augama Anishnabai, the people of the deep water. I introduce myself in my own language so that, as a reader you know who I am and how I am connected to this land. It provides an understanding of my path and purpose in my life. I have a deep passion for transforming educational systems so that they are more inclusive, relevant, and sustaining for Indigenous peoples.
Ko Mataatua te Waka, Ko Kaputerangi te Maunga, Ko Ohinemataroa te Awa, Ko Ngāti Pukeko te Iwi, Ko Tamati Waaka te Rangatira, Ko Poroporo taku Marae, Ko Taima Moeke-Pickering toku ingoa. My name is Taima Moeke-Pickering and I am a Maori of the Ngati Pukeko and Tuhoe tribes from Aotearoa New Zealand. I am a full professor in the School of Indigenous Relations at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario where I have lived and worked for 17 years on the traditional territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek.
This chapter tells the story from the lens of two Indigenous intellectuals who frame Indigenous scholarship as a rightful place in post-secondary academia. Much of our scholarly views and activities contribute to giving voice and agency to Indigenous ways of being and knowing, the importance of traditions and ceremonies, championing Indigenous research methodologies and inspiring futuristic ideas for Indigenous education for the next generation. Creating spaces often on the academic margins means confronting and navigating racism and sexism, interrupting pay and tenure disparities, and engaging in tough conversations with colleagues, unions, and administrators to name a few. While these actions are necessary, they often incur a backlash: workplace harassment, compromised safety, delayed promotion, marked as non-scholarly academics or stigmatized as resistors. Despite this, we have continued to create direct actions to persuade a sustainable Indigenous resurgence movement in academia. This chapter provides insight into how Indigenous intellectualism actions can be carried out in academia and highlights the importance of Indigenous pedagogies in post-secondary education.