A program with Fanshawe College’s Institute of Indigenous Learning is helping its staff gain an understanding of Indigenous knowledge, culture, and views.
The “All My Relations” program gives faculty the confidence to educate Indigenous students without having to look to Indigenous staff, said Fanshawe Indigenous Strategic Learning Guide Kristen Longdo
“It’s just to provide the knowledge that faculty need to be able to work among and to teach Indigenous students and staff, and to have the knowledge to develop curriculum on their own, to know what is respectful and not respectful to do or to talk about, but also to equip them with the skills and knowledge so that they can carry it out in their own work.”
According to the Fanshawe College website, the Institute of Indigenous Learning was established in 1996, and over the last 30 years they’ve grown from 72 to over 500 registered students.
When Longdo first took on the program, she decided to re-invent the course, gearing it towards her knowledge.
“I re-founded, re-developed, and renamed the program from a Mohawk perspective… I wanted to bring a Haudenosaunee perspective because that’s what I know and where my heart lies, so I wanted to make sure that the name reflected that,” said Longdo.
When asked about how the program benefits the Fanshawe community, Longdo said it opens up comfort zones.
“Learning about a culture that’s not your own can be very daunting… and I think a lot of people are scared to offend so they stay away. It’s a way that they sometimes avoid stepping into spaces they’re anxious about. When they step into the space I try to make it as enjoyable as possible while still teaching them these core lessons… so that they can carry that on and we can contribute to the decolonization of education and the indigenization of education.”
Fanshawe’s campus is close to many Indigenous Reserves including Chippewas of the Thames, Oneida of the Thames, and Munsee-Delaware Nation.
The program is a seven week professional development course offered to all Fanshawe faculty, highlighting the differences between Indigenous and Western views in education.
The course takes place every other Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program averages around 30 participants per semester, however enrolment for the winter semester is only 15 due to the timing of the semester.
