Consult discipline-specific Indigenous resources

The following resources are intended to support instructors who wish to include Indigenous education in specific disciplines. Instructors are encouraged to browse resources and determine their relevance to their course content.

In this article: 

Agricultural and environmental sciences

See the ‘Land based pedagogy’ section, as well.

• Building an Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge initiative at a research university: Decolonization notes from the field, by Michelle Jacob (Yakama Nation) and Hobie Blackhorn (North Cheyenne) (article, 11 pages)
  This article describes the development of a university-wide initiative to identify, bring together, and promote awareness and collaboration among various projects relating to Traditional Ecological Knowledge within a sustainability education context.

• Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University (website)
  This website shares information about the research activities, online resources, and history of CINE, and the principles guiding their work and research with Indigenous communities.

• Contemporary studies in environmental and Indigenous pedagogies: A curricula of stories and place, edited by Andrejs Kulnieks, Dan Roronhiakewen Longboat (Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation / Rotinonshón:ni, Oshwe:ken), and Kelly Young (book, 314 pages)
  This edited collection of essays on the interrelationships between environmental and Indigenous pedagogies is organized into three parts: (1) principles, (2) portraits, and (3) practices.

• Environment Unit, Assembly of First Nations (website)
  The Environment Unit at the Assembly of First Nations works in collaboration with the National Fisheries Committee to support Indigenous cultures and knowledges as they relate to the environment. Their resources focus on climate change, Indigenous protection efforts, and advocacy.

• Indigenous peoples’ food systems: The many dimensions of culture, diversity and environment for nutrition and health, edited by Harriet Kuhnlein (professor emerita, McGill University), Bill Erasmus (Dene Nation), and Dina Spigelski (project manager, McGill University) (book, 381 pages)
  This report, co-authored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment, explains the relevance of Indigenous peoples’ food systems and shares case studies from several continents.

• Land education: Indigenous, postcolonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research, edited by Kate McCoy, Eve Tuck (Unangax̂ / Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Alaska), and Marcia McKenzie (article, 23 pages)
  This editorial introduces a journal special issue that explores environmental education from multiple perspectives. Articles integrate storytelling, theorizing, and both historical and contemporary accounts of experiences in different places around the world.

• Net loss: The storm over salmon farming, by Melissa Young, Mark Dworkin, and Shelley Hartle (video, 52 minutes)
  “This film assesses the risks and benefits of salmon farming with government and industry spokesmen who make the case for salmon farming, and fishermen*, native people*, scientists and consumers who explain the dangers it poses and the damage it has done.” (abstract retrieved from McGill University Library catalogue) (*We recognize that more inclusive language would be fishers and Indigenous people.)

• Reclaiming food security in the Mohawk community of Kahnawá:ke through Haudenosaunee responsibilities, by Treena Wasonti:io Delormier (Kanien’kehá:ka, Wolf clan) (McGill University), Kahente Horn-Miller (Kanien:keha’ka), Alex M. McComber (Kanien’kehá:ka, Bear clan) (McGill University), and Kaylia Marquis (Kanien'kehá:ka) (article, 14 pages) 
  The authors explore how “Haudenosaunee traditional teachings can elevate collective and individual level food security in the future” (p. 2), exploring the necessity of cultural revitalization via teachings related to food security, multigenerational health, land use, and gender responsibilities.
  Learn more about Professor Delormier’s work and Professor McComber’s work at McGill and beyond.

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Arts

• Authors, by Inuit Literatures / Littératures inuites, Université du Québec à Montréal (web page)
  This web page provides biographies of many Inuit authors, as well as an interactive timeline, and links to websites and videos offering additional information on Inuit literature and language.
  Également disponible en français à la même adresse : les auteurs

• Decolonizing social work by Mel Gray, John Coates, Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), and Tiani Hetherington (book, 354 pages)
  This book contains case studies of how social workers have decolonized and altered their work to better suit the needs of Indigenous peoples. The book is informed by Indigenous social workers, and aims to support current and future social workers.

• Doing the work: The historian’s place in Indigenization and decolonization, by Skylee-Storm Hogan (Kahnawà:ke) and Krista McCracken (blog post)
  This blog post explores what Indigenization and decolonization are and what they are not. The authors share specific suggestions for how historians can decolonize and Indigenize their teaching, including discussion prompts, classroom teaching and learning strategies, and guidance for building relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities. 

• Indigenous arts and stories, The Canadian Encyclopedia (web page)
  A collection of art and literature, this website presents the work of several Aboriginal artists and includes artist statements that explain the personal, artistic, and cultural backgrounds of these works.

• Our voices, our stories: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit stories, by Library and Archives Canada (exhibit)
  This exhibit is a presentation of oral stories organized by community. The ‘Educational Resources‘ tab provides classroom content.

• Qallunaat! Why White people are funny, by Mark Sandiford and Zebedee Nungak (Inuit) (video, 52 minutes)
  “This documentary pokes fun at the ways in which Inuit have been treated as ’exotic’ documentary subjects by turning the lens onto the strange behaviours of Qallunaat (the Inuit word for white people). The term refers less to skin colour than to a certain state of mind: Qallunaat greet each other with inane salutations, repress natural bodily functions, complain about being cold, and want to dominate the world. Their odd dating habits, unsuccessful attempts at Arctic exploration, overbearing bureaucrats and police, and obsession with owning property are curious indeed.” (Abstract retrieved from the National Film Board)

• Rationalism and the silencing and distorting of Indigenous voices, by Yann Allard-Tremblay (Huron-Wendat First Nation) (article, 25 pages)
  The author explores how rationalism as an approach to political theorizing can cause Indigenous voices to be distorted and silenced. Specific examples are provided, inviting the reader to consider how theorizing approaches may sustain perceptions of Indigenous peoples “merely as an object, as opposed to agents, of theorizing,” thus prolonging cultural oppression (p. 1025).
  Learn more about Professor Allard-Tremblay and his work at McGill and beyond.

• The breath of life versus the embodiment of life: Indigenous knowledge and Western research, by Cindy Blackstock (Gitxsan First Nation) (article, 14 pages)
  This article considers distinctions between Indigenous and Western conceptions of knowledge, particularly regarding the wisdom of previous generations, relationships to land and knowledge, and how space and time are understood. The author recommends that Indigenous ways of knowing inform research and practice regarding child welfare.
  Learn more about Professor Blackstock and her work at McGill and beyond.

• Towards a new relationship, by the Indigenous Working Group of the British Columbia Association of Social Workers (toolkit; 13 pages)
  This toolkit explains how to integrate Indigenous knowledge into social work and how one can change their practice to reflect these values. Tools and methods for practicing awareness and self-reflection are described, along with different frameworks to consider. Many of the reflective exercises and recommendations in this toolkit are transferable to other disciplinary contexts.  

• Visioning a Mi’kmaw humanities: Indigenizing the academy, by Marie Battiste (book, 347 pages)
  This book shares the stories, experiences, and pedagogical scholarship of Mi’kmaw authors from various disciplines, from language to law to commerce. Collectively they affirm the significance of a Mi’kmaw humanities, while noting the repeated ways in which contributions have been discounted by Western educational systems.

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Continuing studies

Instructors might consider supplementing the following resources with those from relevant disciplines.

• A foundation for mutual understanding and respect: Developing an Aboriginal rights-focused curriculum for public administration students, by Judith Zwickel (thesis, 142 pages)
  The author proposes a graduate-level course about Aboriginal peoples and issues for students in a public administration program in British Columbia (BC). The proposed course includes six modules, ranging from historical background to legal considerations, Treaty and non-Treaty agreements, approaches to consultation, and rights, powers, and interests. While the BC context informs the recommendations, many ideas remain salient to instructors who might be thinking about developing or redesigning a course on Indigenous considerations within the public administration context.

• Creating valuable Indigenous learning environments, by Lorinda Riley (Native Hawaiian and Cherokee) and Morgen Johansen (article, 25 pages)
  This article shares a multi-pronged approach to fostering a learning environment that is supportive of Indigenous students within a public administration program: incorporating Indigenous issues and ways of knowing into the core curriculum and program, providing for Indigenous-focused student assessment, and ensuring cultural appropriateness. While framed within the Hawaiian (United States) context, the underlying approach has relevance for the Canadian higher education context as well.

• Decolonizing the business school: Reconstructing the entrepreneurship classroom through Indigenous pedagogy and learning, by Christine Woods, Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou), and Brigid Carroll (article, 50 pages)
  This article describes an entrepreneurship course with Māori students in Aotearoa (New Zealand) that used a virtual learning platform to explore the relevance of entrepreneurship to students’ Māori communities and culture. Four ways of knowing emerged as relevant – conceptual, cultural, political, and relational. The authors describe what Indigenization can involve in the business school context, how to promote Indigenization via pedagogy, and the instructor’s role in creating spaces for Indigenous students to engage with their own ways of knowing.

• Indigenizing curriculum in business education, by Annette Gainsford and Michelle Evans (article, 14 pages)
  Within the context of a business education curriculum reform effort at Charles Sturt University in Australia, the authors describe the importance of: (1) a university committed to Indigenizing the curriculum, including discipline-specific resources (e.g., case study examples) developed by Indigenous educators and (2) Indigenous leadership at the Faculty level.

• Indigenous conflict management strategies: Global perspectives, edited by Akanmu G. Adebayo, Jesse J. Benjamin, and Brandon D. Lundy (book, 302 pages)
  This book examines Indigenous-based strategies for addressing conflict from multiple continents, articulating how these can be relevant in both Western and non-Western contexts. While the chapters are organized geographically into three main sections that articulate approaches from the Americas, Africa, and Asia, multiple authors speak to cross-continent similarities in how conflict management approaches are applied by Indigenous peoples.

• Indigenous Relations Initiative (IRI), by School of Continuing Studies, McGill University (website)
  This website describes the various ways in which the School of Continuing Studies builds capacity and relationships with Indigenous communities. It includes links to the IRI’s strategic plan, a description of the holistic approach to learning taken by the IRI, partnerships, programs, funding opportunities and other support for students, and upcoming events.

Dental medicine and oral health sciences

• An oral health intervention for the Māori Indigenous population of New Zealand: Oranga niho Māori (Māori oral health) as a component of the undergraduate dental curriculum in New Zealand, by John Broughton (Māori) (article, 6 pages)
  This article shares how the goals of a university’s Māori strategic framework were applied to the undergraduate dental curriculum. This involved articulating and following up on the learning objectives—knowledge, skills, and values—that students would develop through class and clinical experience with local Māori communities. A portion of the final exam helped to evaluate students’ achievement of these learning outcomes.

• Exposing the hidden curriculum influencing medical education on the health of Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand: The role of the critical reflection tool, by Shaun Ewen, Odette Mazel, and Debra Knoche (article, 6 pages)
  The authors advocate becoming attuned to a university’s hidden curriculum – “the unwritten rules, regulations and routines” (p. 201) – via a critical reflection tool that looks at faculty context, course outcomes, curriculum (and implementation and assessment thereof), teaching and learning, assessment of students’ learning, and Indigenous students’ experience.

• Strengthening Indigenous cultural competence in dentistry and oral health education: Academic perspectives, by Cathryn Forsyth, Michelle Irving, Stephanie Short, Marc Tennant, and John Gilroy (Yuin) (article, 8 pages)
  Following calls to incorporate Indigenous cultures into the dentistry curriculum, this article shares the results of a series of interviews exploring: (1) the existing curriculum, (2) supports and barriers to including Indigenous cultural competencies, and (3) pedagogical strategies to support students’ cultural competencies.

• Teaching cultural competence in dental education: A systematic review and exploration of implications for Indigenous populations in Australia, by Cathryn Forsyth, Michelle Irving, Marc Tennant, Stephanie Short, and John Gilroy (Yuin) (article, 12 pages)
  This article discusses the importance of integrating lessons on different cultures in dental education. It focuses on Indigenous peoples’ healthcare experiences and emphasizes the need to teach about community health and take the patient’s perspective.

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Education

• Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC) professional development resources (guides)
  The ARPDC’s website offers many publications for primary and secondary school teachers. Readers can locate guides on Indigenous ways of knowing, ideas for activities and collaborations, key literature, and webinars by going to “Focus,” selecting “First Nations, Métis, Inuit,” and then selecting the appropriate audience, level, and type of resource for your context.

• Authentic First Peoples resources, by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and the First Nations Schools Association (guide, 144 pages)
  This guide provides titles and annotations of publications appropriate for students in grades K-9. The resources in this guide are “historical or contemporary texts that present authentic First Peoples voices ( … ), depict themes and issues that are important within First Peoples cultures ( … and) incorporate First Peoples story-telling techniques and features as applicable” (p. vi).

• Courage: Going forward in Aboriginal education, by Brad Baker (Squamish Nation) (video, 12 minutes)
  This TEDx video discusses the importance of courage as a concept that will help Indigenous educators or those teaching Indigenous students to move forward with reconciliation in Canada.

• Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning spirit, by Marie Battiste (Mi’kmaw, Potlotek First Nation) (book, 217 pages)
  This book presents the history of Eurocentric education models and their enduring negative effects within Indigenous communities. Focusing on the future, Battiste proposes new models of educating Indigenous youth and presenting Indigenous perspectives, moving beyond lessons rooted in colonial thought.

• First Nations Education Council (FNEC) (website)
  The FNEC represents First Nations communities in Quebec and works to offer accessible and quality education to all Indigenous peoples. The website contains information on administrative and educational support, and opportunities for networking with professionals in the field.
  Également disponible en français : Conseil en éducation des Premières Nations

• Indigenous cinema in the classroom, curated by the National Film Board (video collection)
  Playlists of Indigenous-made films are intended for educators, parents, and the general public. The playlists are curated by grade level, for classroom use with learners ages 6-11, 12-14, and 15-18.

• Niinwi – kiinwa – kiinwi: Building non-Indigenous allies in education through Indigenous pedagogy, by Lindsay Morcom (Algonquin / Métis) and Kate Freeman (article, 26 pages)
  Further to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (2015) Calls to Action that address education, the authors explore how reconciliation can take place in Indigenous teacher education, informed by an Anishinaabe perspective that draws on the Medicine Wheel and Seven Grandfather Teachings. 

• Our stories: Language stories and experiences of young adult Mi’gmaq, by Janine Elizabeth Metallic (Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation) (dissertation, 247 pages)
  This dissertation explores how young adult Mi’gmaq learned their heritage language by: “1) reflecting on past language learning experiences; 2) finding a place in the classroom; and 3) maintaining cultural continuity” (p. vii). Concurrently, the teacher’s pedagogical practice to teach the Mi’gmaw language included: “1) creating a comfortable classroom; 2) relating to others; and 3) fostering a collaborative learning community” (p. vii).
  Learn more about Professor Metallic and her work at McGill and beyond.

• Silencing Aboriginal content and perspectives through multiculturalism: “There are other children here,” by Verna St. Denis (Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation) (article, 15 pages)
  The author shares the perspectives of Aboriginal educators and their recommendations for teaching Indigenous histories. She discusses the risk of multicultural education in Canada silencing Aboriginal content through attempts to maintain neutrality in the classroom.

• Vers l’autochtonisation : pratiques éducatives inspirantes à l’ère de la réconciliation, edited by Constance Lavoie, Natasha Blanchet-Cohen, and Marco Bacon (Pekuakamiulnutsh of Mashteuiatsh) (journal, 279 pages)
  This special issue shares pedagogical approaches to Indigenizing teaching and curricula with contributions from Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors. Articles address various educational contexts across Canada, in both rural and urban locations and in various disciplines, from the primary school level through higher education. 

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Engineering

• Aboriginal architecture: Living architecture, by Paul M. Rickard (Omuskego Cree) (video (DVD), 92 minutes)
  “Featuring expert commentary and stunning imagery, Aboriginal Architecture: Living Architecture provides a virtual tour of seven Aboriginal communities–Pueblo, Mohawk, Inuit, Crow, Navajo, Coast Salish and Haida–revealing how each is actively reinterpreting and adapting traditional forms for contemporary purposes” (partial abstract retrieved from the National Film Board).

• Canada 150: The integral role of Indigenous architects, by Daniel Viola (article)
  This article describes the experiences of Indigenous architects in Canada today and the importance of their work in Canadian society. The history of Indigenous architectural work is explained along with a focus on the barriers First Nations peoples have faced in relation to building their own structures.

• Encouraging cultural awareness in engineering students, by Thomas Goldfinch, Catherine Layton, and Timothy McCarthy (article, 6 pages)
  This conference paper presents a curriculum initiative carried out over three weeks in an undergraduate engineering course in Australia. A series of lectures and activities aimed to support students’ development of cultural awareness relating to local Aboriginal communities within the context of an authentic team project, at first implicitly and then explicitly.

• Indigenize Montréal: Book of works, by Native Montréal and Ville de Montréal (book, 56 pages)
  This book was created in the context of a 2017 exhibit about possibilities for Indigenous architecture in Montreal. It includes photographs and descriptions of structures (cultural centers, community buildings, museums, university buildings, and airports) inspired by Indigenous approaches to engineering and construction from multiple continents. (Également disponible en français à la même adresse : Autochtoniser Montréal : cahier des œuvres)

• Indigenous planning: From principles to practice, by Libby Porter, Hirini Matunga (Ngai Tahu descent; hapu: Ngai Te Ruahikihiki, Ngai Tuahuriri, Ngati Huirapa), Leela Viswanathan, Lyana Patrick (Stellat’en First Nation of the Carrier Nation and Acadian/Scottish), Ryan Walker, Leonie Sandercock, Dana Moraes (Ts’aahl Haida Eagle Clan of Kaay Llaanas; of Haida and Musqueam descent), Jonathan Frantz, Michelle Thompson-Fawcett (Ngāti Whātua), Callum Riddle (Te Tai Tokerau) & Theodore (Ted) Jojola (Pueblo of Isleta) (article, 30 pages)
  This article focuses on the Indigenization of urban planning with perspectives from authors specializing in varied urban planning contexts.

• Role models in engineering (Indigenous Futures in Engineering) (website)
  This website includes profiles of Indigenous engineers across Canada, including stories from their personal lives and careers, and their advice for other Indigenous people about life, university education, and engineering. Tabs provide links to educational materials about engineering for primary and secondary school teachers.
  

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Law

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action report recommendations 27, 28, and 50 relate specifically to law or legal education.

• Justice as healing: Indigenous ways, by Wanda McCaslin (Métis) (hard-copy book, 459 pages)
  This anthology of 45 articles from predominantly Indigenous authors shares the Indigenous roots of the restorative justice tradition and the ways in which harmony can be restored in relationships when harm occurs. The articles are drawn from the Justice as Healing newsletter from the Native Law Centre of Canada at the University of Saskatchewan.

• Making space for Indigenous law, by Hee Naih Cha Chist (Estella White) (Hesquiaht First Nation, House of Kinquashtacumlth) (article)
  This article discusses the need for greater recognition and integration of Indigenous laws in Canadian legal systems. The author discusses what actions individuals in the field of Law can take towards reconciliation, while also discussing the place of Indigenous law in educational institutions. 

• Reconciliation in translation: Indigenous legal traditions and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by Kirsten Anker (McGill University) (article, 30 pages)
  Emphasizing the need to de-center a “dominant legal sensibility” (p. 15), this article describes reasons to engage with Indigenous legal traditions within the Canadian context, including understanding harm to language, culture, and self-determination, and considering the limited ways in which Indigenous law has been understood and recognized in the Canadian legal system. Drawing on implications of cross-cultural (mis)translation, the article describes three examples of Indigenous approaches to reconciliation.

• Residential schools, respect, and responsibilities for past harms, by John Borrows (Anishinaabe, Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation) (article, 20 pages)
  This article describes the importance of listening to and engaging seriously with views that do not align with one’s own. The author presents arguments and counterarguments about the responsibilities of current governments and citizens for past harms that nonetheless have present-day impacts. In so doing, he engages with the idea of communal responsibility and elicits the complexity inherent in differences of perspective.

• Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice (journal, 219 pages)
  This special issue includes articles from Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars on a variety of topics in Indigenous legal pedagogy. Authors include John Borrows (Anishinaabe, Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation), Hannah Askew, Robert YELḰÁTŦE Clifford (WSANEC (Saanich), Tsawout First Nation), Jeffery G. Hewitt (Cree), Hadley Friedland, Sarah Morales (Cowichan Tribes, Coast Salish Nation), Kerry Sloan (Metis) (Learn more about Professor Sloan and her work at McGill and beyond), Lindsay Borrows (Anishinaabe, Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation), Aaron Mills (Bear Clan Anishinaabe, Couchiching First Nation) 
  Learn more about Professor Mills and his work at McGill and beyond, and read about his approach to teaching here and here, and Nancy Sandy (Secwepemc Nation).  

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Management

• A human resource capacity tool for First Nations: Planning for treaty, by the British Columbia Treaty Commission (toolkit, 131 pages)
  This toolkit can assist instructors and students in better integrating First Nations’ knowledge and needs into Human Resource (HR) planning and management. While this tool can be used to meet the needs of many First Nations communities, it is not meant to be all-encompassing or represent the needs of all Aboriginal peoples. This resource discusses participatory approaches to planning, contains planning tables, and explains realistic steps individuals can take to help Indigenize their HR policies. 

• Building a competitive First Nation investment climate, Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics (textbook, 229 pages)
  This textbook is intended for both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people who wish to collaborate with Indigenous peoples. It describes what some Indigenous approaches to economics have historically entailed, and shares considerations surrounding property rights, relevant legal frameworks, infrastructure, administrative approaches, and more.

• Decolonizing the business school: Reconstructing the entrepreneurship classroom through Indigenous pedagogy and learning, by Christine Woods, Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou), and Brigid Carroll (article, 50 pages)
  This article describes an entrepreneurship course with Māori students in Aotearoa (New Zealand) that used a virtual learning platform to explore the relevance of entrepreneurship to students’ Māori communities and culture. Four ways of knowing emerged as relevant – conceptual, cultural, political, and relational. The authors describe what Indigenization can involve in the business school context, how to promote Indigenization via pedagogy, and the instructor’s role in creating spaces for Indigenous students to engage with their own ways of knowing.

• Financial empowerment: Personal finance for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, by Bettina Schneider (textbook, 451 pages; videos; 16 slide decks )
  This textbook (451 pages) focuses on financial planning and decision-making within the context of a first- or second-year business course in the Canadian context. It is divided into four main sections: (1) learning basic skills, knowledge, and context; (2) achieving your financial goals; (3) protecting what is important to you; and (4) planning for the future. It includes videos of Elders’ perspectives and 16 PowerPoint slide decks to accompany the text.

• Indigenizing curriculum in business education, by Annette Gainsford and Michelle Evans (article, 14 pages)
  Within the context of a business education curriculum reform effort at Charles Sturt University in Australia, the authors describe the importance of: (1) a university committed to Indigenizing the curriculum, including discipline-specific resources (e.g., case study examples) developed by Indigenous educators and (2) Indigenous leadership at the Faculty level.

• Indigenous leaders column, Globe and Mail Karl Moore (McGill University) and Wáhiakatste Diome-Deer (Kanien'kehá:ka) (newspaper column)
  The authors of this bi-weekly column interview Indigenous leaders across Canada on their perspectives, experience, and recommendations for leadership and business.

• Nine tips for doing business with First Nations, by Bob Joseph (Gayaxala, Gwawa’enuxw) (blog post)
  This blog post outlines nine tips for conducting business with Aboriginal peoples, including explanations of the cultural rationales behind these business practices.

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Medicine and health sciences

• Evaluating an Indigenous health curriculum for diabetes prevention: Engaging the community through talking circles and knowledge translation of results, by Maedeh Khayyat Kholghi, Gillian Bartlett, Morgan Phillips (Kanien’kehá:ka, Wolf Clan), Jon Salsberg, Alex M. McComber (Kanien’kehá:ka, Bear Clan), and Ann C. Macaulay (article, 8 pages)
  This article describes the evaluation of the Health Education Program (HEP) for Diabetes Prevention at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre in Kahnawà:ke. A survey and talking circles showed that facilitating aspects “included teachers beliefs of the value of the HEP and appreciation of prepared lessons, the potential for integrating some content into academic lessons and the strong presence of the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project in the community ( … ) The barriers to delivery included decreased administrative support, lack of time, other competing academic requirements and the need for more parental education” (p. 6).
  Learn more about Professor McComber and his work at McGill and beyond.

• First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health Core Competencies: A Curriculum Framework for Undergraduate Medical Education, by Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (article, 18 pages)
  This curriculum framework defines cultural safety in the context of working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients. It then describes seven core competencies for undergraduate medical education focusing on health promotion with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients and communities: medical expert, communicator, collaborator, manager, health advocate, scholar, and professional. Each core competency is paired with specific objectives that students can demonstrate.

• Health, by the Assembly of First Nations (website)
  This website shares the First Nations Health Transformation Agenda and its initiatives, progress, and overall goals for increasing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of First Nations peoples in Canada. The website provides information on current health concerns of First Nations populations.

• Incorporating Aboriginal wisdom to promote ecoliteracy, by June Kaminski (Ketegaunseebee Anishnabai, Garden River First Nation) (56 slides)
  This presentation shares an overview of several Indigenous principles that can inform teaching and learning, with a particular focus on the implications of ecoliteracy for nursing students. The principles include: seven generations, all my relations, the four directions, the four pillars of learning, connection to place, stewardship of land, walking softly on the earth, learning together experientially, and raising voices in collective activism. The slides include reflective prompts for students and instructors.

• Indigenous knowledge to close gaps in Indigenous health, by Marcia Anderson-DeCoteau (Cree-Saulteaux) (video, 19 minutes)
  This video discusses the need to consider the cultural perspectives of patients during treatment and to find ways to integrate Indigenous views on medicine into the existing Western-focused health system.

• Interventions to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA: A systematic review, by Anton Clifford, Janya McCalman, Roxanne Bainbridge (Gunggari / Kunja), and Komla Tsey (article, 10 pages)
  This article describes a systematic review of studies that “evaluated an intervention strategy designed to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, USA or Canada ( … and) reported on the effectiveness of the intervention strategy” (p. 90). Intervention strategies to promote cultural competency included offering trainings for health professionals / students, increasing culturally competent health care programs and services, and increasing Indigenous involvement in health care for Indigenous people.

• Introduction to Indigenous health teaching, by Kent Saylor (Mohawk) (webinar, 47 minutes; 60 slides; Q & A)
  This webinar (47 minutes) provides an introduction to the Indigenous peoples of Canada, the impact of historical events on Indigenous peoples’ health, and social determinants of health for Indigenous peoples.

• Reflecting on Inuit healthcare and research, by Richard Budgell (Labrador Inuit) (video, 38 minutes) 
  This recorded webinar offers an introduction to Inuit history and geography, current terminology and selected Inuit concepts, and community and family history in Labrador. Participants were invited to share how having a close colleague who is Indigenous might change the way they work. Emerging themes included the importance of educating oneself, demonstrating respect and cultural humility, recognizing one’s implicit biases, and listening. Slides are available.
  Learn more about Professor Budgell and his work at McGill and beyond.

• Resources for McGill educators, by the Indigenous Health Professions Program, Eniethi'nikonhraiéntho' (We’ll plant a seed in their minds) (resource list, 7 pages)
  This resource list includes “scientific, community, and interactive resources for critical allyship, teaching and research around Indigenous-focused topics” (p. 1). It is organized into four sections: (1) scientific resources for teaching and research; (2) podcasts and movies for allyship and teaching; (3) online professional development opportunities; and (4) organizational websites focused on Indigenous advocacy and education.

• The development of an Indigenous health curriculum for medical students, by Melissa Lewis (Cherokee Nation) and Amy Prunuske (article, 8 pages)
  This article describes an Indigenous health curriculum developed at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Stakeholder input via a retreat and survey prioritized topics including “cultural humility, Indigenous culture, social / political / economic determinants of health, and successful tribal health interventions” (p. 641). The importance of Indigenous involvement in teaching and the need for experiential learning and cross-disciplinary engagement in these topics is emphasized.

• The impact of residential schools on Aboriginal healthcare, by Dawn Tisdale (video, 13 minutes)
  This video discusses the consequences of the Residential Schools system in Canada for present-day Indigenous community members’ health. Being aware of the history is not sufficient. Tisdale discusses the need for the Canadian healthcare system to support Residential School survivors’ health, as well as the health of their children, which has been negatively affected further to their Residential School experiences and resulting intergenerational harm.

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Music

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) musicians (LibGuide)
  The Marvin Duchow Music Library at McGill has developed this LibGuide to share resources on exploring “the musical traditions, compositions, and scholarship of Black, Indigenous, people of colour (BIPOC) musicians (and to) help start the scholarly conversation and encourage the study and performance of more diverse repertoire.”

• Cross-cultural resources and Indigenous arts, by the National Arts Centre / Centre national des arts (website with teaching guides and multimedia)
  This website includes sheet music, audio recordings, pronunciation guides, and teaching guides to support Indigenous music education.
  (Également disponible en français : Ressources interculturelles et arts autochtones)

• Enacting curriculum ‘in a good way:’ Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews in British Columbia music education classes, by Anita Prest, J. Scott Goble, Hector Vazquez-Cordoba (Totonac) and Beth Tuinstra (Mi’kmaq) (article, 18 pages)
  This article describes approaches to Indigenous music education used by music educators and Indigenous community members on the unceded territories of the Gitxsan, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Hul’qumi’num First Peoples. It is based on interviews with classroom stakeholders, and informed by concepts of reconciliation, resurgence, decolonization, and land. A common approach to music education was oral teaching of singing and drumming that included language learning and understanding the songs’ meanings. This approach was supported by developing relationships and following local Indigenous protocols.

• Facing the Indigenous ‘other’: Culturally responsive research and pedagogy in music education, by Terry Locke and Lauren Prentice (article, 13 pages)
  This article explores the literature on the relationship between “mainstream” music education and Indigenous performing arts traditions in Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand). Recommendations to inform curricular policy include: increase teacher training in Indigenous music traditions, develop place-based pedagogical practices that recognize cultural contexts, be sensitive and aware of cultural ownership considerations (especially regarding songs) and avoid cultural appropriation, and be attentive to questions of power and privilege. 

• Native drums (website)
  This website shares the sounds and descriptions of different drums in Indigenous cultures. This resource allows for listening to the drums, and learning about their history and the traditional oral stories that inform their use.

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Science

• An emerging decolonizing science education in Canada, by Glen S. Aikenhead and Dean Elliott (article)
  This article expresses a need to decolonize science education and discusses how science education often reflects colonial values. It provides examples of existing science curricula that have integrated Indigenous knowledge.

• Concrete ways to decolonize research, by Hugo Asselin and Suzy Basile (Atikamekw) (article, 8 pages)
  The authors describe the historical and current context of Western and Indigenous approaches to research, including both challenges and successes. They emphasize that how we see and create knowledge is grounded in cultural understanding, and note the need for ethical research approaches and methodologies that draw on Indigenous worldviews or are co-constructed to include Indigenous and non-Indigenous views.

• Considering Indigenous knowledges and mathematics curriculum, by Gladys Sterenberg (article, 15 pages)
  The author describes an Aboriginal teacher’s approach to including Indigenous knowledges in mathematics at a Blackfoot First Nation school. The need to understand the dynamic, contextualized nature of Indigenous knowledges and avoiding simplistic taxonomies is emphasized. The pedagogical approach is informed by the importance of relationship in multiple ways: ensuring relevancy of the content to the students’ lived experiences, and recognizing the ancestors of the community and the many ways of learning from the land.

• Indigenous knowledge and Western science, by Gregory Cajete (Tewa, Santa Clara Pueblo) (video, 29 minutes)
  The author explains the connection between Indigenous knowledge, energy, and physics. He discusses the ways in which Indigenous knowledge can be integrated into science-based curricula and explains the practicality of ‘Native science’ as a basis for teaching.

• Settlers unsettled: Using field schools and digital stories to transform geographies of ignorance about Indigenous peoples in Canada, by Heather Castleden, Kiley Daley, Vanessa Sloan Morgan, and Paul Sylvestre (article, 13 pages)
  The authors describe how a graduate level environmental management course used two main strategies – a week-long field school and the development of digital stories – to create a learning experience that challenged and transformed students’ worldviews. The course aimed to address non-Indigenous students’ widespread ignorance about Indigenous peoples’ lived experiences, in part through engagement with Mi’kmaq communities and organizations in Nova Scotia. The digital stories students developed were shared publicly with the communities, and a research project synthesized the implications of this course for students’ learning.

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