In May 2017, we gathered in Toronto, at Ryerson University and the City of Toronto, located The Dish with One Spoon, a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas, and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. Many of us used this acknowledgment in our conference sessions, as a reminder that the conference is took place on Indigenous lands.
Engaging in reconciliation in ways that are respectful, relevant, accountable, humble, collective-non-consensual is a long journey. As the memories of the conference are starting to fade, I am drafting this as an open invitation, to revisit some of the echoes of how we have learned during this brief moment, at Ryerson University, in Toronto, in Dish with One Spoon Territory. Inspirited by Marsden (2004), a scholar from Mississauga Scugog First Nation, I wish to speak here from the language of dreams.
What has it sunk-in, reappeared, informed, transformed, appeared in your dreams on your journey home?
Dreams are pathways to intuitions, emotions, fluidity in reshaping relationships to knowledge, to welcome personal, collective and theoretical knowledges, in their holistic intertwining of our learning journey. I am sharing here a few dreams, which took many shapes, in a complex, fluid, transcient, realignment of perceptions.
I dreamt of a forest, weaving land and languages connections with reconciliation.
Kathleen O’Reilly and Angelina Weenie, from First Nations University, weaves-in dreams into their pedagogical practices. Respectfully approaching this praxis-of-dreams, « Pawatamowin », as a way to build relationships with learners of English as an additional language.
I dreamt of imperfect translations and visual poems.
Enmeshed within stories from Kevin Lamoureux, Associate Vice-President of Indigenous Affairs and a doctoral candidate at University of Winnipeg, were invitations to translate, although imperfectly, territorial acknowledgments in the language(s) of the nation(s) of this land; and to be accountable to each other’s families. Sara Davidson used visuals in her territorial acknowledgment, as a way to avoid mispronouncing and transgressing linguistic spaces. Their pathways echoed, radiated from within. There, Antoinette Gagné and Clea Schmidt brought a reconciliatory perspective in English as an additional language teaching and learning, triggering in an en(gau)ment of criticality. For me, it means hoping to develop an acquaintance to speaking/hearing this praxis en français, but moreover in Anishinaabemowin, Mississaugas, and Haudenosaunee becomes a “responsive, resonant” praxis (Mardsen, 2004) with/in our collective responsibilities.
Dreaming louder as pathways to reconciliation
Maria Campbell’s “Learn how to listen!” echoed into learning ways to dream responsibly, and to act upon these dreams now. As a translation of an embodied praxis of care. Sur-thrivance. For resurgence, restitution, accountability and renewal. Now.
In dreaming louder, reconciling becomes a response-ability, within and outside academia, to be supportive to colleagues, communities, and families as we revive, strive, celebrate, acknowledge, learn, respect, the first languages of the land we are on, and learn to coexists in reciprocal and equitable ways, so that the next 150 years can actually happen without erasing ancestral ties at the expense of First Nations, Metis and Inuit People.
As I arrived home, now on Anishinaabeg unceded territory, a friendly taxi driver, initiated a conversation using words like “coexistence, responsibility, reciprocity”. He heard you.
Ces questions peuvent être posées d’un point de vue d’application de principes, d’appels à l’action, de pratiques institutionnelles. Elles peuvent aussi être envisagées au regard de ce qui, dans nos pratiques de la réconciliation, nous permet de développer des rapports éthiques, respectueux, pertinents, humbles, authentiques, collectifs-sans-être-consensuels, et des milieux d’apprentissages sains et justes pour tous les apprenants. Dans les soixante langues autochtones de ce pays.
Dans ce rêve
Nos enfants remaillés
Marcheront
Dans ce que nous apprenons
Au creux du lichen.
En ce qui se terre.
En son sein.
Se serre.
Une rivière
References:
Davidson, S.R. (2016) Following the Song of k’aad ‘aww (Dogfish Mother): Adolescent Perspectives on English 10 First Peoples, Writing, and Identity
Davidson, S.F. (2017) English 10 First Peoples: One school’s journey with mandating Indigenous content. Presented at Canadian Society for the Study of Education, 2017, Toronto, ON.
Gagné, A., Schmidt, C. (2016). EN(gauging) Criticality in Teacher Education: Assignments with a Critical Edge. In What Should Canada’s Teachers Know? Teacher Capacities: Knowledge, Beliefs and Skills Mark Hirschkorn (ed.). Canadian Association of Teacher Education.
Marsden, D. (2004). Expanding knowledge through dreaming, wampum and visual arts. Pimatisiwin, 2, 2.
Congress Sessions referenced:
Present and Powerful Indigenous Women : Tracey Lindberg, author of the novel Birdie, university teacher, academic writer, Maatalii Okalik, President, National Inuit Youth Council, Maria Campbell, Elder in Residence, Athabasca University
http://www.congress2017.ca/calendar/1004
Remembering our past, rethinking the next 150 years and beyond : Frank Deer, Kevin Lamoureux and Judy Iseke : http://www.congress2017.ca/calendar/1132
Dream a little dream: pawatamowin : Kathleen O’Reilly (First Nations University of Canada; Regina)
En(gauging) Criticality in Teacher Education: Assignments with a Critical Edge
Clea Schmidt (Manitoba), Antoinette Gagné (Toronto)
Un avant-goût des rôles identitaires, défis et succès dans la mise en oeuvre des Appels à l’action de la CVR. Julie Vaudrin-Charette (CACS CNSE), Natasha Lagarde (CACS CNSE), Tasha Ausman (CACS)
Julie Vaudrin-Charette, B.A., M.A.
Doctorante en éducation – société, cultures et langues. Université d’Ottawa
http://twitter.com/VaudrinJhttp://sites.google.com/a/csimple.org/reconciliationetcolleges/http://uottawa.academia.edu/JulieVaudrinCharettehttp://www.linkedin.com/in/julievc/