Friday, February 20, 2015

15 Unsettling Things in 2015

How can I "unsettle" myself in 2015 by working toward decolonizing and indigenizing my way of being reflecting the territory in which I live and work? (Adapted from http://www.mfnerc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Section6_Decolonizing-Our-Practice-Indigenizing-Our-Teaching.pdf)

Would you consider 15 Unsettling Things in 2015? Here's some choices from a list of over 150: http://treatywalks.blogspot.ca/2015/02/over-150-unsettling-things-unwieldy-and.html 

                          Or, build an Unsettling community:
                 
                          3 friends each do 5 Unsettling Things which equals 15 in 2015.

                          5 friends each do 3 Unsettling Things which equals 15 in 2015.


Here's my list of 15 Unsettling Things in 2015:

1. Write a Treaty song.
2. Start an Unsettling Reading Club. http://treatywalks.blogspot.ca/2015/02/who-wants-to-read-decolonizing-our.html
3. Provoke my Living Curriculum at the Provoking Curriculum conference in Vancouver.
4. Practice rest and play to ensure body and emotion balance with my often overcharged spirit and mind as I lean into Medicine Wheel teachings.
5. Contact Chief Acoose to see if I can help with fundraising regarding bringing the Treaty 4 Medallion home to Treaty 4 territory.
6. Begin dream and team toward the 150th anniversary of Treaty 4, September 2024.
7. Revisit my letter to the Honorable Justice Murray Sinclair of Truth and Reconciliation, specifically my pledge to support memorials for children at the sight of Residential Schools. Consider how we might begin this in Lebret. http://treatywalks.blogspot.ca/2012/05/sun-was-hot-on-my-bare-arms-as-i-walked.html
8. Propose flying the Treaty 4 flag at my high school.
9. Learn how to pronounce these three Cree words: Miyowicehtowin, Pimacihowin, Witaskewin.
10. Host a Fort Qu'Appelle Idle No More Community Circle barbeque or campfire this summer.
11. Indigenize my "Journalism Boot Camp" unit package.
12. Make a poster for my classroom, "How do I create courses which reflect the territory in which I life and work?" -- Dr. Kathleen O'Reilly, Professor Emerita, University of Regina.
13. Study University of Regina Decolonization and Indigenization Process.
14. Consider how I can facilitate Indigenization at the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research into Teaching.
15. Read Chauntel Baudu's Anti-Oppressive Education Through English Language Arts: A Recollecting Journey and Tamara Smith's An Unsettling Journey: White Settler Women Teaching Treaty in Saskatchewan.

Two framing questions to consider:

What do I need to do to begin to accept the gifts that First Nations and Metis people offer me? (Adapted from Pete and Cappello, 2014 SAFE Conference, UofR)

How will I let these gifts change my assumptions about anti-racism work? (Adapted from Pete and Cappello, 2014 SAFE Conference, UofR)


Part 4 of 4 at "Treaty Walks: My Unsettling Journey from Bully to Benevolence and White Back Again" at Provoking Curriculum, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

www.treatywalks.blogspot.com

Follow me on Twitter @treatywalks

3 comments:

  1. Okay. You I'm going to get to know. I'm a white woman living in Labrador working on an Innu reserve, learning as much as I can, as fast as I can. I work with a family treatment centre and also as an outreach counseler. I'll be back! This list is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan, thank you for your kind and courageous words. I look forward to hearing more of your journey.

      Delete
    2. Yay! After I read almost every one of your posts I came to work. All shite is breaking out here - suicide in the community - parents trying to get their kids back - the usual. Can you believe I said that? The usual. There has only been one treaty in Labrador - and that was 2005 but so far only with the Inuit. The First Nations group of Innu have yet to have a treaty - there is an ongoing process in the works that involves the environmental and spiritual desecration called "Muskrat Falls Dam" or the Lower Churchill project.

      The Province has finalized the Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement (“LILCA”) with Canada and the Nunatsiavut Government. LILCA was signed by all three parties on 22 January 2005 and came into effect on 1 December 2005. The Agreement is a modern-day treaty between the Inuit of Labrador, the Province and Canada, and is constitutionally-protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982

      Delete