Indigenous Resurgence Workshops
My approach to facilitation includes methods from popular, peace, environmental, and Indigenous education that encompass hands on, experiential learning. Participants leave my workshops feeling empowered with a sense of urgency to take action and speak out against injustice.
Workshops are adaptable to suit your time frame however, the minimum hours are stated below. If you have a workshop idea that fits my areas of expertise I'd be happy to develop a workshop specific to your needs.
History of Colonization and Decolonization 101
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop uses indigenous theory to outline the systemic causes of colonization to create concrete understandings applied to participants’ own life experiences. Through the use of popular education strategies, community-based methods of decolonization are discussed. For example, participants are lead through an activity that has them prepare a model community that is taken away from them by the colonizer, they must find ways to resist and then discuss how they can restore their community to its healthy state they had envisioned.
The Indian Problem: Aboriginal Rights and Title
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop uses historical maps to demonstrate how Europeans encroached upon Indigenous peoples land in what has ultimately become “Canada”. The colonization of our lands is discussed by starting with the legal necessity of creating treaties to surrender Indigenous land and a shift in policy to extermination and assimilation through the Indian Act and the creation of “status/treaty” Indians; residential school; the sixties scoop; and contemporary and ongoing acts of colonization. Students are expected to leave the workshop with an understanding of the importance of unceded lands; treaty relationships; and a need to uncover the truth of our history and contemporary reality.
Indigenous Economies: From Poverty to Richness
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop begins with a description and analysis of western neo-liberalism/capitalism and engages participants in a more general description of “economy” through a discussion on the values and worldview necessary to create different methods of meeting our needs. Thereafter, participants are led through a series of engaging exercises to create a description of their local, traditional, Indigenous economy; the values inherent in that economy; and finally, to discuss methods of re-creating their local economies for a more sustainable future. Participants will be able to articulate the connection between "Economics" and "Politics" to be able to better understand the issues we currently face in our homelands.
Cultural Competency in the Workplace
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop explores culture from an anthropological standpoint by discussing concepts such as culture, worldview, mainstream and the margins to have students understand their own cultural lenses and begin to discuss issues such as assimilation, racism, stereotypes, colonialism, and make links to inequality in the workplace and the broader economy. A brief history of Aboriginal Rights and Title explains why Indigenous peoples have "status" in Canada, an issue that unsurprisingly creates incredible racial tensions in our country. By enlisting active participation in discussions and posing open-ended questions, students are guided to come up with their own solutions when confronted with cultural difference and opposing worldviews. In addition, students are directed to the laws and policies that are in place to protect individuals from discrimination when respectful communications breakdown.
Indigenizing the Workplace
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop will assist employees in designing or redesigning projects, programs, services, and management styles from an Indigenous perspective. Rather than creating systems that simply mock Western methods, we will look at ways to create meaningful inclusion of Indigenous knowledge; values; language; and community participation in our work, services, and projects. This workshop can be generally focused or specific to your needs by providing details of your project in advance.
Indigenous Women in Resistance
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop helps empower women through a discussion of the impacts of colonialism on our roles as women in today’s society. The impacts on our status and roles as leaders, mothers, educators, healers, etc. have been negatively impacted during the ongoing era of colonization. Displacement from not only our lands but from our respected positions in traditional societies has created a crisis in our communities. This workshop will utilize education as a tool of resistance to empower our women to regain the respected roles in our communities through self-awareness and self-respect.
Indigenous Research Methods
Minimum 30 hours
This training workshop assists community researchers and research assistants how to do work in Indigenous communities. Particularly, the issues of doing research in your own community will be discussed. Indigenous research ethics, values, strategies, and methodologies will guide researchers to be respectful, responsible knowledge gatherers who create meaningful change in our communities. We will also discuss ways to utilize social media and modern technologies to produce our own locally based educational tools and publications.
Traditional Use Study
Minimum 30 hours
This workshop will prepare community researchers to implement “Traditional Use Studies” by conducting interviews, focus groups, surveys, and land use mapping to document traditional use. As a further step towards decolonization we will also look at 1) methods of collecting and interpreting contemporary land uses; 2) strategies to increase contemporary land use and Indigenous presence on the land; 3) holistic land use management; and 4) an overview and critical analysis of Canadian and International law in regards to Aboriginal Rights and Title.
Indigenous Nationhood
Minimum 30 hours
This workshop will introduce participants to the concepts of true Indigenous Governance. By looking at historical and contemporary movements towards Indigenous nationhood, we will discuss self-determination and sovereignty from the understanding that we have not ceded or surrendered our traditional territories. The Indian Act, Treaty Making Processes, and Canadian Law will be deconstructed to demonstrate how they harm our ability to be self-determining nations, however; we will focus on finding methods to overcome the obstacles we face in re-creating our systems of Indigenous Governance. Participants will be encouraged to discuss the traditional governing methods unique to their own communities.
Bringing Back our Traditional Healing Practice (Local workshop for Indigenous eyes only)
Minimum 7 hours in class + territory tour
In this workshop, participants will learn and discuss the importance of reconnecting with our traditional territories in a way that brings back our healing practices. We will look at the healing aspects of simply being on the land in a cultural way; plant medicines; animal medicines; and the tse’zul (healing pit). We will introduce the topics of harvesting, preparing, and preserving as well as the natural and spiritual laws guiding when, where, and how to handle traditional medicines.
Indigenous Parenting Practice & Homeschooling
Minimum 7 hours
In this workshop, participants utilize popular education strategies to discuss Indigenous clans, kinship, and parenting practice; impacts of colonization such as the dislocation from traditional territories, residential school, and sixties scoop; and then turn their focus into developing concrete strategies and lessons to integrate cultural activities and values into their child-rearing practices.
Workshops are adaptable to suit your time frame however, the minimum hours are stated below. If you have a workshop idea that fits my areas of expertise I'd be happy to develop a workshop specific to your needs.
History of Colonization and Decolonization 101
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop uses indigenous theory to outline the systemic causes of colonization to create concrete understandings applied to participants’ own life experiences. Through the use of popular education strategies, community-based methods of decolonization are discussed. For example, participants are lead through an activity that has them prepare a model community that is taken away from them by the colonizer, they must find ways to resist and then discuss how they can restore their community to its healthy state they had envisioned.
The Indian Problem: Aboriginal Rights and Title
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop uses historical maps to demonstrate how Europeans encroached upon Indigenous peoples land in what has ultimately become “Canada”. The colonization of our lands is discussed by starting with the legal necessity of creating treaties to surrender Indigenous land and a shift in policy to extermination and assimilation through the Indian Act and the creation of “status/treaty” Indians; residential school; the sixties scoop; and contemporary and ongoing acts of colonization. Students are expected to leave the workshop with an understanding of the importance of unceded lands; treaty relationships; and a need to uncover the truth of our history and contemporary reality.
Indigenous Economies: From Poverty to Richness
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop begins with a description and analysis of western neo-liberalism/capitalism and engages participants in a more general description of “economy” through a discussion on the values and worldview necessary to create different methods of meeting our needs. Thereafter, participants are led through a series of engaging exercises to create a description of their local, traditional, Indigenous economy; the values inherent in that economy; and finally, to discuss methods of re-creating their local economies for a more sustainable future. Participants will be able to articulate the connection between "Economics" and "Politics" to be able to better understand the issues we currently face in our homelands.
Cultural Competency in the Workplace
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop explores culture from an anthropological standpoint by discussing concepts such as culture, worldview, mainstream and the margins to have students understand their own cultural lenses and begin to discuss issues such as assimilation, racism, stereotypes, colonialism, and make links to inequality in the workplace and the broader economy. A brief history of Aboriginal Rights and Title explains why Indigenous peoples have "status" in Canada, an issue that unsurprisingly creates incredible racial tensions in our country. By enlisting active participation in discussions and posing open-ended questions, students are guided to come up with their own solutions when confronted with cultural difference and opposing worldviews. In addition, students are directed to the laws and policies that are in place to protect individuals from discrimination when respectful communications breakdown.
Indigenizing the Workplace
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop will assist employees in designing or redesigning projects, programs, services, and management styles from an Indigenous perspective. Rather than creating systems that simply mock Western methods, we will look at ways to create meaningful inclusion of Indigenous knowledge; values; language; and community participation in our work, services, and projects. This workshop can be generally focused or specific to your needs by providing details of your project in advance.
Indigenous Women in Resistance
Minimum 7 hours
This workshop helps empower women through a discussion of the impacts of colonialism on our roles as women in today’s society. The impacts on our status and roles as leaders, mothers, educators, healers, etc. have been negatively impacted during the ongoing era of colonization. Displacement from not only our lands but from our respected positions in traditional societies has created a crisis in our communities. This workshop will utilize education as a tool of resistance to empower our women to regain the respected roles in our communities through self-awareness and self-respect.
Indigenous Research Methods
Minimum 30 hours
This training workshop assists community researchers and research assistants how to do work in Indigenous communities. Particularly, the issues of doing research in your own community will be discussed. Indigenous research ethics, values, strategies, and methodologies will guide researchers to be respectful, responsible knowledge gatherers who create meaningful change in our communities. We will also discuss ways to utilize social media and modern technologies to produce our own locally based educational tools and publications.
Traditional Use Study
Minimum 30 hours
This workshop will prepare community researchers to implement “Traditional Use Studies” by conducting interviews, focus groups, surveys, and land use mapping to document traditional use. As a further step towards decolonization we will also look at 1) methods of collecting and interpreting contemporary land uses; 2) strategies to increase contemporary land use and Indigenous presence on the land; 3) holistic land use management; and 4) an overview and critical analysis of Canadian and International law in regards to Aboriginal Rights and Title.
Indigenous Nationhood
Minimum 30 hours
This workshop will introduce participants to the concepts of true Indigenous Governance. By looking at historical and contemporary movements towards Indigenous nationhood, we will discuss self-determination and sovereignty from the understanding that we have not ceded or surrendered our traditional territories. The Indian Act, Treaty Making Processes, and Canadian Law will be deconstructed to demonstrate how they harm our ability to be self-determining nations, however; we will focus on finding methods to overcome the obstacles we face in re-creating our systems of Indigenous Governance. Participants will be encouraged to discuss the traditional governing methods unique to their own communities.
Bringing Back our Traditional Healing Practice (Local workshop for Indigenous eyes only)
Minimum 7 hours in class + territory tour
In this workshop, participants will learn and discuss the importance of reconnecting with our traditional territories in a way that brings back our healing practices. We will look at the healing aspects of simply being on the land in a cultural way; plant medicines; animal medicines; and the tse’zul (healing pit). We will introduce the topics of harvesting, preparing, and preserving as well as the natural and spiritual laws guiding when, where, and how to handle traditional medicines.
Indigenous Parenting Practice & Homeschooling
Minimum 7 hours
In this workshop, participants utilize popular education strategies to discuss Indigenous clans, kinship, and parenting practice; impacts of colonization such as the dislocation from traditional territories, residential school, and sixties scoop; and then turn their focus into developing concrete strategies and lessons to integrate cultural activities and values into their child-rearing practices.
