My new book is coming June 2027

7 minutes ago

3 min read

My teaching journey has changed over time with many different pathways and experiences that have helped shape who I am today as an educator. I would have to say that throughout all my teaching career, teaching preservice educators has been the best and most fulfilling part of my journey.

I have been teaching new educators for almost 10 years now and when I first started this work, I was so excited to be a part of changing the system and supporting new educators in learning and understanding the history of this place known as Canada today. I leaned into teaching about colonization and what has happened to Indigenous Peoples because of that. With my PhD research focused on teaching the mandated Indigenous education courses for new teachers, I have found that I need to shift my gaze to move away from trauma centered peoples to the whole story of who we are as people. I am moving away from a deficit view of colonization, to one of strength, knowledge, creativity, leadership, resistance, joy, and possibility.

This research has changed my practice as an educator and invited in a new perspective of how and what I teach. All of this learning is in my New Book coming out June 7, 2027 called the Threads of Indigenous Pedagogy.

My journey in doing research for my PhD has been one that has brought me to a place in my teaching practice that I can say I am firmly grounded in the teachings of my ancestors, and they guide each step I do in the classroom. From the research I have found that there are 9 Threads that I spin together when teaching, reciprocity, belonging, witnessing, doing, ceremony, repetition, story, time, and of course relationships.

Through the spinning of these Threads I create a classroom environment that is based in relational teaching practices and community building. It has changed how I teach, how I look at teaching, and what I teach students about their own teaching practice.

A big piece of this work is the inclusion of Indigenous Brilliance. We have spent a long time in the western education system silencing Indigenous voices, knowledges, and pedagogies. Part of this work is recognizing that Indigenous history did not begin with colonization and Indigenous identity is not defined by suffering. It means that we are teaching about the Brilliance of Indigenous communities that have been living with and on this land for over 20,000 years. Thriving communities that allowed the land to teach them how to survive.

When teaching the course, I give students lots of opportunities to research, learn, and teach about the Indigenous Peoples of this land. This practice is what I hope is just a beginning for those starting in their teaching career.

I always love to start with questions to think about when stepping into this work, a great question to think about your own practice is: Am I teaching students only what has happened to Indigenous Peoples, or am I teaching them about who Indigenous Peoples are? This shifts us away from only teaching about the trauma of colonization, to the Brilliance of Indigenous Peoples and knowledges.

As we navigate the system and disrupt the story of loss we also need to push against the system and ask questions like:

· Who decides what counts as knowledge in your classroom?

· Whose stories are in the texts and curriculum?

· Whose ways of learning is considered legitimate?

· Who gets to be recognized as an expert?

The way we can move away from the one-sided story of this place is to include other knowledges, curriculum, experts, and stories so that when students learn, they learn that there are so many different ways to view the world around them and each is important in their own way.

We have to take intentional steps in disrupting the assumptions that western knowledges are the standard that all other knowledge is measured against. Instead of holding one up against another, we need to include other knowledges and ways to view the world into our teaching practice, so that all students can see themselves in their education.

This intentionality will impact your teaching practice, the way you see teaching, and how you step into the classroom as a co-constructor of knowledge making with your students. Teaching Indigenous brilliance is moving beyond the stories of survival to stories of strength, knowledge and resurgence.

I am so looking forward to sharing my new book with everyone and I hope that it gives educators new perspectives and ways to approach teaching in their own classrooms.

June 7 2027! Can’t wait!