On this page
Contact Ashley Edwards, Indigenous Initiatives and Instruction Librarian, with any questions.
Overview
The Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre (ICRC) provides materials for SFU instructors and researchers to decolonize and Indigenize their courses. The materials available will assist instructors and researchers in learning about how and why this work should be undertaken. The ICRC will also include materials appropriate to support this work in the classroom.
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the ICRC collection, the ICRC Librarian will collaborate and consult with the liaison librarians.
(Note: see Indigenous materials: Collection development guidelines for guiding practices for collecting Indigenous-authored materials across all disciplines.)
The Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre collection
The ICRC physical resources will be located at the W.A.C Bennett Library, and catalogued using a modified version of the Brian Deer Classification System. Emphasis will be placed on collecting resources by Indigenous authors, from Indigenous publishers and agencies.
The geographic focus of the collection will be on British Columbia, particularly Coast Salish Nations. Recognizing the created boundaries of both BC and Canada, materials relating to neighbouring USA Nations may also be included. Likewise, materials on Indigenizing and decolonizing efforts in other colonial countries (such as Aotearoa/New Zealand and Māori) may be included.
When engaging in decolonizing and Indigenizing work, gaining knowledge about Indigenous topics in general is necessary. Materials to support this learning may also be located in SFU Library’s main collection.
Indigenous classification
Academic libraries typically use the Library of Congress Classification, and most libraries use Library of Congress Subject Headings, though in Canada the Canadian Subject Headings are also used. The LC Classification and Subject Headings were written in the late 1800s, and are often representative of that time. There have been changes and additions over the years, to bring the systems into alignment with current socio-cultural understandings.
The materials will not be classified using the Library of Congress system but will be classified using a modified version of the Brian Deer Classification System.
Fiction
Including Indigenous fiction on a reading list is a great way to Indigenize courses and curriculum. However, fiction will not be located in the ICRC collection unless directly related to post-secondary education and are intended to be used as curricular resources.
Non-fiction
The ICRC will collect works that support the Indigenizing of a topic but without delving into theory. Those items would be with the main collection, curated by the liaison librarian for that area.
Children's books
Children’s books are primarily located in the Curriculum Collection at the WAC Bennett Library, to support the Faculty of Education. The ICRC may include materials on Indigenizing K-12 Education programs, but children’s books - fiction and non fiction - by Indigenous authors will be in the Curriculum Collection.
Personal narratives
Personal narratives, biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs are good ways to bring Indigenous voices into the classroom. Similar to fiction and children’s books, only titles with a focus on Indigenous teaching, learning, and knowledge sharing practices, or the experiences of Indigenous people in post-secondary settings will be included in the ICRC. Other titles will be located in the main collection.
Non-print materials
In addition to print and electronic books, the ICRC will actively collect non-textual materials to assist with Indigenizing and Decolonizing curriculum. Types of materials that could be included are (but not limited to) games, video recordings, sound recordings, and artwork.
Residential school materials
The Residential school era was a period of turmoil, trauma, and disruption to all aspects of Indigenous culture and society. Education was weaponized, and used as an assimilation tactic. The ICRC will collect works on Residential schools to commemorate the survivors and brave people who spoke out about the atrocities endured. As Senator Murray Sinclair has said, education got us into this mess and education will get us out.
It is integral to Indigenization and decolonization efforts that we don’t lose sight of the past.