Indigenous pedagogy (or the method and practice of teaching) incorporates Indigenous worldviews into engagement with information. As Wendy Burton and Gwen Point (Stó:lō) write in their work on Indigenous adult education, “the rubric of Indigenous education [is]: look, listen, and learn” (2006, p. 37). They go on to say that education was context specific, with stories and ceremony being essential pedagogical tools (Burton & Point, 2006).  

The foundations of Indigenous pedagogy are respect, mutual learning between student and teacher, and positionality or recognizing that everyone has different experiences that brought them to this learning (Kamanski, 2008).  

Using narrative practice, or storywork as described by Q’um Q’um Xiiem (Dr. Jo-ann Archibald, Stó:lō), Indigenous pedagogies highlight the interconnectedness of all living things. Through oral traditions, stories, and land based teaching, education using Indigenous pedagogies supports a holistic learning environment, and teaches about the relationality of people, plants, animals, and environment (Kamanski, 2008).  

See also: Land based pedagogy and Relationality.

Further reading

To learn more, check out these resources 

• Indigenous pedagogies, Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre, SFU Library
• Niinwi - kiinwa - kiinwi: Building non-Indigenous allies in education through Indigenous pedagogy. (2018). L. Morcom and K. Freeman. Canadian Journal of Education, 41(3), 808–833.
• Brave work in indigenous education. (2021) edited by Jennifer MacDonald and Jennifer Markides. DIO Press.
• Foundations of Indigenous pedagogy. (2022). Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queens University, YouTube, 32 minutes
• Indigenous pedagogies: Weaving communities of wonder. (2022). R. Elke. LEARNing Landscapes, 15(1), 141–158.

The Decolonizing the Library Working Group invites everyone to learn alongside us with Project 57. This project is a response to the TRC Call to Action 57, which calls on "federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples." 

For more information visit Indigenous Initiatives.