CTSI Equity Roundtable – Engaging with Indigenous Knowledges and Pedagogies in the Post-Secondary Class

Facilitator: Andrew Bomberry, Special Projects Officer (Curriculum and Education), The Office of Indigenous Initiatives

The TRC Calls to Action were released in 2015 and spelled out 94 Calls that were intended to redress past harms, end present ones, and set a course for a new, just relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Since then the University of Toronto has also developed its own Calls to Action to guide its own commitments to reconciliation: Wecheehetowin: Answering the Call: Final Report of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. News story after news story of Indigenous-Canada relations emphasizes how critically important it is to follow up on these commitments. The task ahead is substantial and essential. 

The University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) is here to support the university in this work. In this workshop we will be focused on how to implement practices that support reconciliation in the classroom and look at some of the challenges professors face in doing this work. We will also explore some basic concepts and considerations that will be useful for instructors in thinking through how to approach and address these challenges.  This workshop will be focused on Indigenous curriculum and pedagogy, including how instructors can leverage support from the OII Special Projects Officer for Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy to incorporate Indigenous knowledges and practices into their courses.

Learning Outcomes 

By attending this workshop participants will:

• become aware of the meanings and potential applications of the concepts: Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation in the context of the post-secondary classroom 
• understand the difference between a multicultural approach to education and an Indigenous sovereignty approach 
• learn about the role of the OII SPO in working with professors to apply these concepts and knowledges to their classrooms