Summaries
Andra Coulter
Andra has been a special education teacher for many years, with a focus on severe behaviour, learning disabilities, and trauma-informed practice and intervention. Self-described as an apprehensive settler-educator, Andra utilized critical self-reflection to examine concepts of decolonization, restorying, counter-narratives, and power and control. Weaving narratives from her first steps into reconciliation, her family’s history, a helpful mentor, and a graduate-level program, she argues that successfully facing fears can lead to transformative learning. The lessons learned through her service-learning project offer a much-needed perspective to non-Indigenous educators new to reconciliatory practice.
Erin Cavallin, Helen Domstad, & Harmony Jeffery Gordon
As a trio of public educators of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ancestry, Erin, Helen, and Harmony set out to work with WinSport, a leader in recreation and athletic development in southern Alberta. Guided by the foundational knowledge and teachings received in the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Education: A Call to Action program, their pathway to working on reconciliation with this enthusiastic community partner was reoriented to pinpoint decolonization as the trailhead. With all parties focused on relationship building, reciprocity, and a willingness to take risks, all travelled their own journey towards reconciliation.
Haboun Bair
Haboun collaborates with faculties and instructors across campus to help guide their course design process. Her interests are deeply rooted in online learning, mental health and wellness, the inclusion of Indigenist and Decolonizing methodologies and perspectives, and inclusive design. Designing meaningful student learning takes shape in so many ways. Exploring those paths in relation to student-centred learning and relationship-driven learning environments that are based on mutual respect and understanding are among Haboun's passions in designing for engaged learning communities.
Jennifer Brooks
Jennifer Brooks is a settler Canadian originally hailing from unceded Sekani territory in north central British Columbia who spent three years working at a B.C. offshore school in Doha, Qatar. In this international context, Jennifer found three themes emerged during her time as an international teacher of a Canadian curriculum and a student in the Indigenous Education: A Call to Action program with the University of Calgary. These were: the openness of my students to learning about Canada’s history of colonization, the vast differences in educator familiarity with, and understanding of, Canada’s past within a B.C. offshore school, and the discovery of a need for action outside of Canada in response to reconciliation were all significant findings.