Understand Indigenous pedagogy terminology
Definitions of several common terms you may encounter when engaging with Indigenous education resources are provided below. Please be aware that these terms may be defined in somewhat different ways in varied contexts. These definitions are intended to provide guidance but not to be prescriptive or limiting.
Aboriginal: a legal term that “collectively refers to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada”.[1]
Colonization: “involves the invasion, dispossession, and subjugation of one people to another,” leading to systemic inequality.[1]
Decolonization: “restoration of Indigenous practices, languages and connection to ways of being [and describing] what happened and is still happening that reinforces colonial power”.[2] This web page is also available in Anishinaabemowin and Kanyen’ke:ha.
Indigenous: “encompasses First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, either collectively or separately; … a preferred term in international usage”.[1]
Indigenization: the process and action of recognizing the value and importance of Indigenous knowledges, and incorporating them in a given organization or system.[2] This web page is also available in Anishinaabemowin and Kanyen’ke:ha.
Reconciliation: “establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in [Canada. This involves] awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour” (pp. 6-7).[3]
References
[1] 1 2 3 University of British Columbia, n.d.
Have a question that was not answered in this article? Visit our FAQs.
While this resource is accessible worldwide, McGill University is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgment is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.
McLennan Library Building 3415 McTavish Street Suite MS-12 (ground level), Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C8 | Tel.: 514-398-6648 | Fax: 514-398-8465 | Email: tls@mcgill.ca