By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade)– Email
Print Edition: September 11, 2013
We hear the term ‘indigenization’ a lot around campus. It’s the new buzzword, used in very politically correct statements issued from the bowels of bureaucracy at UFV.
It’s a word that’s easy to write off as a topic that is not relevant to the general population of students; the majority of us are not of aboriginal decent. Why should the indigenization of UFV matter to those of us whose studies are not concerned with aboriginal issues in the slightest?
Consider the backlash from students and instructors when a day of classes was cancelled in order to host a day of learning about residential schools. Now, consider the context.
The abuse that took place in residential schools occurred over a period of 100 years. The physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that took place there has far-reaching negative effects in the aboriginal community.
“There are intergenerational impacts that will reverberate not only until today but into future generations as well,” UFV’s elder-in-residence Eddie Gardner explains.
Residential schools are an important part of Canadian history. UFV, as a provincially funded institution of higher learning, has an obligation to facilitate the education of its population about residential schools, their history, and their legacy.
But it’s also a question of personal responsibility, according to Gardner.
“It is important for students, for faculty, for members of the community to come together and participate in raising awareness on how recent this legacy lasted.”
This is what Gardner hopes the Indian Residential School Day of Learning will bring to UFV. The day will run alongside the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission, which is present in Vancouver September 18 through 21.
Gardner, who is a member of both the planning committee and cultural committee of the Indian Residential School Day of Learning, explains that the event is a “transformational day of learning.” The goal, he says, is to transform students’ studies to a focus on “impact that the Indian residential schools had on society.”
The idea is to take a day to “pause, to really think of the impact, to really come to a good understanding of what took place,” Gardner explains. It is an attempt to really illustrate the “great disturbance” that took place in aboriginal communities.
To complain that this day of education interrupts classroom learning displays a remarkably narrow-minded vision of what learning is in a university context. Learning does not just happen in discreet units of the classroom for the purpose of accumulating credits that lead to a degree, a job, and so on. A broader vision of learning sees education taking place in various contexts, many if not most outside the classroom, and outside the regular class schedule. The Indian Residential School Day of Learning is one of those opportunities for everyone—not just students—to be educated.
If anything, learning about this blight on Canada’s past can help create understanding and cooperation between communities of British Columbia–in our case, the communities right here in the Fraser Valley.
Truth and reconcilliation
So what does ‘truth and reconciliation’ really mean?
“It’s a soul searching question,” Gardner says. “It’s something that impacts the cultural, political and social fabric of Canadian society.” To try to answer that question, Gardner spoke to aboriginal elder Siyamia Teliyot, who is one of the few remaining speakers of Halq’eméylem. Reconciliation, to First Nations people, she explained, could be summed up in two words: understanding and harmony. The purpose of this day is then to move in a direction of reconciliation, or “Xwla ye toteló:met qas ye slilekwel” or “towards understanding and harmony.”
The last residential school in Canada was closed in 1996. There were two Indian residential schools in our territory: Coqualeetza and St. Mary’s. Both were closed by 1984. The purpose of the residential schools, according to Stephen Harper’s apology in 2008, was to isolate children from the cultural influence of their homes, thereby assimilating them into the “dominant” society. It was an attempt to stamp out aboriginal culture.
Gardner hopes to feel a “resurgence” of the “culture and spirituality” of the First Nations people.
“The Indian residential schools had no respect for our language and culture,” he states. This is a stark contrast to “the growing appreciation, acceptance and respect that is being shown in contemporary society.”
Events to proudly display First Nations culture will take place on the day, such as a performances by Kelsey Charlie and the Sa:skets Dancers, and Darwin Douglas and the Semoya Dance group. These groups will display the resilience and strength of this culture.
Associate dean Ken Brealey, a member of the indigenous studies advisory committee, says that it is important that students take this opportunity to educate themselves on the impact of residential schools.
“UFV students are, in a sense, a microcosm of the larger body politic or public population,” Brealey explains, “Many people in general terms, [including] students, don’t know a whole lot often about the residential school experience and what it meant for people.”
Residential schools are a huge part of Canadian history, not a “historical footnote,” Brealey says, and should not be overlooked. This does not mean that we should feel a collective guilt, but rather seek awareness on the issue. We need to be mindful of what occurred in the schools so we can understand with compassion the generational effects that are left. The children that were taken there were emotionally and physically scarred, often leading to addiction, Brealey says.
Indigenization at UFV
The Indian Residential School Day of Learning is a step in the right direction when it comes to the indigenization of UFV. But indigenization is a long process, Brealey says. It is something that takes more than a shift in course content and programming. What is necessary is a “thorough rethinking of how we structure the institution.”
UFV is based on a “tradition of western academic learning,” Brealey explains. This involves the typical structure of composition, essay formatting and exam writing.
“Those methods may not be appropriate for those that are used to learning in an oral culture and in an often more ceremonial and spiritual manner.”
The university needs to become more “sensitive to alternative ways of teaching and learning so that [indigenous students] can succeed using the skills and knowledge they have.”
“In that sense indigenization means making sure that the university is a lot more culturally sensitive to how it is that indigenous students actually learn, develop, grow.”
Indigenization starts with awareness. It’s time for UFV students to take responsibility and educate themselves on the issues that Canadians have shied away from for far too long.
There are many people of the aboriginal descent who have worked hard to make this day happen. Let’s respect their efforts and honour their desire to create understanding and take the opportunity to move forward, intelligently and compassionately, towards healing.
