Reflections on Reconciliation from Non-Indigenous Teachers in Northern Post-Secondary Learning

Abstract

With a recognition that reconciliation within post-secondary education in Canada requires both decolonization—deconstructing structures and practices that privilege Eurocentric world views—and Indigenization—elevating Indigenous Knowledges and participation—this study explored how seven non-Indigenous post-secondary instructors in the Yukon are interpreting these concepts through their teaching practices. Applying a thematic analysis to semi-structured interviews revealed a number of pedagogies that flow first and foremost from the respondents’ understandings of personal identity and positionality. The pedagogies described in this study include a decolonized spirit of learning, physical learning environment, the ability to create and hold space, welcoming the whole student, and collaboration/relationality. By connecting to a review of Indigenous scholarship, these pedagogies (and missing pieces) were further examined, with a look toward perceived challenges in this work and potential sites of action.