'It is the belt!' This is how middle school teachers in a science teaching professional development program rationalized why they believe Orion is the most recognizable of all constellations in the night sky. It was from this foundation that we chose Orion to be the focus of a four-phase ethnoastronomy-based project reported here. Ethnoastronomy,…

Two Anishnabek kindergarten teachers discuss four principles of Indigenous pedagogies in a project with a university researcher that created a context for children to engage in activities to learn their Anishnabek language and culture, and create positive identities. The university researcher sent a rabbit puppet named Niichii (Friend), who was…

This paper privileges the voices of Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Holders. Since time immemorial, Indigenous Elders, whether in a Canadian or global context, have been at the core of teaching and learning and have had the responsibility of transferring knowledge. However, their role in the transmission of culture has been undermined by the…

Aboriginal perspectives are a very important topic in today's educational system. There is an urgent need for educators to infuse these perspectives in classrooms and school culture, ultimately benefitting communities. However, in doing so, there are several challenges, including how to infuse these perspectives respectfully while embracing the…

Community-based research and learning can never be prescribed. The study entitled "Intergenerational Learning in Indigenous Textile Communities of Practice," funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, illustrated this point in many ways. Although it was conceived as community-based research, it was not initially…

This article discusses the development of a methodological metissage that combined Indigenous and interpretive traditions. This metissage was developed during a doctoral study conducted with Canadian environmental educators who incorporate Western and Indigenous knowledge and philosophy into their ecological identities and pedagogical praxis. It…

Elders gather to teach, discuss, and pass on oral traditional knowledge to the younger people. This discussion takes place over a four-day period according to the request of and procedural direction provided by Elders. The procedures and teachings are provided in order to share indigenous oral teachings; an attempt to share aspects of oral…

This paper reports on an innovative approach to oral language development in one British Columbia elementary school, in the context of a larger-scale research project aimed at building cultural inclusive classrooms through the development of imaginative teaching practices. A number of approximately three-week units were designed to lead students…

As an oral culture, Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning come through practice and practical application first, rather than through theory or text. For Aboriginal students, the Western methodological approach to learning theory first, poses a counterintuitive near insurmountable roadblock, particularly in science. This paper presents the…

My action research investigation into place-conscious writing practices invited experienced Non-Aboriginal teachers from the Northwest Territories to think through writing practices that might engage Northern students, many of whom are Indigenous. In this paper, I will focus on what the teachers had to say about the influences of aspects of…

Indigenous digital storytelling and research are as much about the process of community relationships as they are about the development of digital products and research outcomes. Indigenous researchers, digital storytelling producers, and academics work in different communities with research collaborators who are indigenous community members,…

This research draws on the reflections from group discussions with indigenous families and interviews with early childhood educators and community stakeholders from five First Nations reserve communities in Canada whose young children participate in the national aboriginal Head Start On Reserve (AHSOR) programme. The purpose of the study was to…

What is the relationship between Indigenous peoples and violent reactions to contemporary states? This research explores differing, culturally informed notions of attachment to land or place territory. Mechanistic ties and organic ties to land are linked to a key distinction between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. Utilizing the…

In December 2005, a Canadian federal court justice dismissed a six-hundred-million-dollar claim by the Samson Cree related to alleged mismanagement of its energy royalties. In newspaper interviews, a lawyer for the Samson Cree expressed disbelief that the justice discounted the testimony of our elders and followed essentially the written word of…

Indigenous oral narratives are an important source for, and component of, Coast Salish knowledge systems. Stories are not only to be recounted and passed down; they are also intended as tools for teaching. Jo-ann Archibald worked closely with Elders and storytellers, who shared both traditional and personal life-experience stories, in order to…