Learning From Place: Rehabitation and Decolonization
Once again, I would like to please note that all paragraphs and indentation have been lost on the blog hub. However, it is all present on my website.
This week for ECS 210 I read Restoule et al (2013) Learning From Place and responded to the following prompt:
A “critical pedagogy of place” aims to: a) identify, recover, and create material spaces and places that teach us how to live well in our total environments (reinhabitation); and (b) identify and change ways of thinking that injure and exploit other people and places (decolonization) (p.74). List some of the ways that you see reinhabitation and decolonization happening throughout the narrative. How might you adapt these ideas / consider place in your own subject areas and teaching?
The main way the Mushkegowuk community showed rehabilitation and decolonization was through connecting the elders and the youth to share experiences together. The first example of this is with the interviews that encouraged storytelling and relationship building within the community. At one point in reference to the interview project, one of the participants said the Elders were, “Just waiting for young people to visit, because they have stories” (p.82 Jean-Paul Restoule and others). This demonstrates that the elders want to be able to share their traditions and culture with the younger generation and just need to opportunity to do so.
Another example of decolonization and rehabitation is the outdoor excursion along the river. ” Learning from land and place beyond institutional walls is a return to traditional Mushkegowuk modes of teaching and learning ”(p.82). Teaching and using such methods demonstrates their value. It also helped with language revitalisation as well. The Elders used Cree words to describe where they were.
In my classroom I would like to use resources outside the classroom and go on field trips with my students to explore to learn much like the field trip to the river. I believe that giving hands on experiences to my students will be useful and encourage learning. Furthermore, I believe that it will encourage students to be more engaged within my lessons as they will understand the practical use of what is being taught.
In addition, I would like my students to do activities guided by an Aborigional person to deepen their understanding of First Nation culture and to develop their ability to form relationships with the First Nation community. In one of my own experiences, we went on a field trip to Wendake First Nation near Quebec City. It was a two part trip. The first part was at the friendship centre making bannock and eating other traditional foods. At the friendship centre we also heard first hand stories of the guide’s own experiences of the Wendake culture. The second half was a nature walk in the forest, on the reserve. Our guide, a Wendake woman, told us the history of the land and made frequent stops to explain the significance of certain plants and animals. Another meaningful portion of the trip was when we stopped and sat in silence to appreciate the sounds of nature. I would very much like to replicate an experience similar like this for my future students as I learnt a great deal and appreciated the first-hand experience.