Pathways to decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation
Reconciliation in education
“Education is the key to reconciliation. Education has gotten us into this mess, and education will get us out.”
Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair
Reconciliation
Reconciliation is about addressing past wrongs done to Indigenous Peoples, making amends, and improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to create a better future for all. Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has stated, “Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem – it involves all of us.”
- With reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we are not only talking about a relationship between two individuals but we are also talking about a relationship between multiple groups of people and between many generations over hundreds of years. Clearly, the onus for this action is on the party that perpetrated the harm, which, in this case, is settler society.
- Reconciliation necessarily involves intensive emotional work for all parties. For Indigenous Peoples, it means revisiting experiences of trauma and becoming open to forgiveness, and for settlers, it involves gaining an in-depth understanding of one’s own relation to Indigenous Peoples and the impacts of colonization, including recognizing settler privilege and challenging the dominance of Western views and approaches.
- Repairing this relationship would mean apologizing, rebuilding trust, hearing each other’s stories, getting to know each other to appreciate each other’s humanity, and taking concrete action to show that the relationship will be different from now on.
Engage with the following 3-minute and 11-second video with Indigenous educators taking a look at what it really means to reconcile after generations of systemic racism against Indigenous peoples.
Teaching and learning application
Aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy, the “head, heart and hand” (3H Model) is a holistic approach created by David Orr that considers that transformative learning experiences need the involvement of all three domains:
- Cognitive (Head)
- Affective (Heart)
- Psychomotor (Hands)
“The 3H model proposes that any effective teaching or learning activities should embed the Head as essentially responsible for imparting knowledge, Heart that inculcates in an individual the values and a sense of appreciation, and Hands component that encourages active involvement during teaching and learning activities. The Heads-on creates the knowledge culture, Heart-on influences reflection and Hands-on helps develop student’s thinking and living skills” (Islam et al, 2022).
Before you continue your learning journey in this course using the 3H Model, take a moment to consider what you have learned about the truth and reconciliation process.
- Have your thoughts and/or emotions about truth and reconciliation changed? If yes, how have they changed?
- What place are you in now in terms of your truth and reconciliation journey?
- How would you apply the 3H Model to your own teaching practices in the context of truth and reconciliation?
Sources:
Antoine, A. et al. (2018a) Pulling together: A guide for curriculum developers. Victoria: BCcampus, BC Open Textbook Project. Available at: https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/ (Accessed: 10 July 2024)
Wilson, K. and Hodgson, C. (2018) Pulling together: Foundations guide. Victoria: BCcampus, BC Open Textbook Project. Available at: https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationfoundations/ (Accessed: 10 July 2024)
