Running Head: A SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE

A Shifting Perspective:

A Visual Essay on Indigenous Education

Janessa

University of Calgary
A SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Two photos taken in my past are contrasted to explore my changing perspective on indigenous

education. The first photo explores my changing view of Kiixin – sacred land of the Huu-ay-aht

First Nations on Vancouver Island. Now that I have learned more about this indigenous group I

feel more appreciation on being able to visit this land. The second photo is of Camilla Point on

the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. I chose photos that look similar as I want to

demonstrate how lines designating Indian Reserve Land come from a Eurocentric perspective.

From an indigenous viewpoint, distinguishing land make no sense as everything is connected and

whole. Vancouver Island is a significant place of my science education. I explore how my

approach to science education is shifting to become transformative in including indigenous ways

of knowing the Earth. I now understand that Eurocentric and indigenous viewpoints can come

together for a more complete view on the world.

Keywords: Indigenous Education, Science Education

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The photos I have selected are both personal to me and represent my shifting awareness

of these places and my perspective on indigenous education. These two photos represent a

disconnect in indigenous and Eurocentric perspectives in relation to the land. The photos are

very similar in tone, mood and environment. At first glance, one might even think they are of the

same rock formation. However, they are taken at two different places which have been given

different meanings overtime.

The first photo is of Kiix ̣in which is sacred, protected land of the Huu-ay-aht First

Nations on Vancouver Island (Huu-ay-aht First Nations, n.d., para. 9). One can only visit this site

with an indigenous guide. I had the privilege to visit this place as student at the Bamfield Marine

Sciences Centre in Fall of 2015. I remember seeing traditional indigenous house remains, but

overall the environment seemed like other places on the west coast and I was not too impacted

by the experience. Now that I have learned more about the history of indigenous people I am

rethinking and reliving that experience.

Understanding now the complexity between different nations, I researched this nation to

understand their specific values, language, traditions and to understand the history of Kiix ̣in.

Their historical story of the origin of man and women highlight the importance of their ancestors

and represent the ancient connections of the spirit to the land (Huu-ay-aht First Nations, n.d.,

para. 7). As stated by Little Bear (2000), “Tribal territory is important because Earth is our

mother...The Earth cannot be separated from the actual being of Indians.” (p. 79). This land has

clear connections to this indigenous group and I am appreciating this place more now that I have

learned some of their history.

In many ways Indigenous people were the founding people of our nation (Dickason,

2009). Perhaps their history does not leave as grand of relics of renaissance Europe, but I am
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appreciating more and more their contributions to Canada. It is tragic what has happened to their

culture because of colonization. Now that I’ve learned more about the impacts of residential

schools and colonization, I want to do my part in reconciliation and decolonization. Many of the

Huu-ay-aht First Nations were so welcoming to us students at the Marine Science Centre and

offered to take us to Kiix ̣in. Despite the oppression they’ve faced, they were still so kind to us

and I think it demonstrate the resiliency of their people.

The second photo is of a photo taken near Camilla point and is part of the West Coast

Trail on Vancouver Island. I hiked the West Coast Trail this past June of 2018. Numerous parts

of the trail are designed as Indian Reserve land and it is prohibited to camp there. I never thought

of it much before, but now it seems strange that an area would suddenly be marked as Indian

Reserve land when the environment hasn’t changed at all. The invisible lines that designate

reserve land are almost arbitrarily created and it’s clear to me that this system has been imposed

from a Eurocentric mindset. Indigenous values focus on cyclical patterns and wholeness in

relation to the land (Little Bear, 2000, p. 78). Similarly, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations have a

guiding value of “hišuk ma c̕awak” meaning everything is one (Huu-ay-aht, n.d., para. 3). From

this principle, it makes no sense to treat land like property. I purposely selected two photos that

look similar as I want to demonstrate that all land is connected even if we label them differently

and designate them to different people.

I have selected these photos taken in my past to demonstrate how I am continually

reflective on my prior experiences and changing perspective. These photos were taken on the

west coast of Vancouver Island and this place has significant memories for my science

education. I took numerous field and marine biology courses here and it is here where I

developed my true passion for nature and science. As a scientist, I’ve been taught to look at
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things objectively and to focus on quantitative data. When I entered this course, I found it

challenging to understand how I would bring indigenous ways of knowing into a western

scientific context. Now I understand that learning will be an integration of aboriginal and

Eurocentric knowledge. As stated by Battiste (2003), successful indigenous education programs

“Encouraged a transformative approach to learning which embraced Indigenous knowledge,

experience, and knowing while respecting mainstream knowledge and experience” (p. 176). The

two perspectives can work together to form a more complete scientific education.

As a future science teacher, I want to incorporate indigenous ways of understanding the

Earth into my lessons. As I understand now, just teaching indigenous heritage is not enough - we

must also teach indigenous knowledge. I will do this by making space for indigenous voices and

perspectives. I will also make space in my classroom for spirituality - which will hopefully allow

students to find meaning in their work. Furthermore, I will work hard to develop close

relationships with indigenous students so that they feel welcomed and empowered in class. As

stated by Anoee (2015), “Sometimes, as educators, we overlook the human dimension that is so

central to our work." (p.90). First and fore mostly, indigenous students are human and I think my

part in reconciliation involves making school a safe space for their worldviews.
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References

Anoee, N. (2015). Learning through tunnganarniq. In F. Walton & D. O’Leary (Eds)., Sivumut,
Towards the future together: Inuit women educational leaders in Nunavut and Nunavik
(pp. 89-102). Toronto, ON: Women’s Press / Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Battiste, M. (2013). Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning Spirit. Saskatoon, SK:
Purich Publishing Limited 2013.

Dickason, O. with McNab, D. (2009), Introduction. In Canada’s First Nations: A History

of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Huu-ay-aht First Nations. (n.d.). Our history and Kiix ̣in. Retreived from
https://huuayaht.org/services/language-culture/culture-history/

Huu-ay-aht First Nations. (n.d.). Sacred principles. Retrieved from

https://huuayaht.org/about/sacred-principles/

Little Bear, L. (2000a). Jagged worldviews colliding. In Battiste, M. (Ed.), Reclaiming

Indigenous voice and vision, (pp. 77-85). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.