Course Introduction

We are two educators with vast experience in different roles within K–12 and post-secondary contexts. We feel we represent a strong collaborative team well suited to guiding and facilitating additional language educators’ understanding of decolonization and Indigenization. I (Shirley Cardinal) am from Treaty 6 territory and am incredibly grateful to be a nēhiyaw (Plains Cree) and to have been able to speak my language since childhood. Language acquisition is still my life’s journey as I seek to understand and learn the sacredness of nēhiyawēwin. Diverse learning and teaching experiences guide my passion for Indigenous language acquisition and education.

As a settler working with students from diverse backgrounds in the K–12 system and now as a teacher educator, I (Gemma Porter) have been afforded the opportunity to learn and cultivate working relationships with Indigenous individuals and organizations. These experiences, in both Western Canada and now in the Maritimes, have been instrumental to my own learning journey around decolonization and Indigenization in education.

As educators begin and continue to honour increasing calls to decentre Western notions of education, it is incumbent upon professional organizations to provide the resources to support educators in those goals. We hope you find meaningful support through the course we have designed.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Explore how:
  • Positionality is implicated in the processes of decolonization
  • Personal stories are connected to language and language learning
• Examine colonial pedagogies and understand how to deconstruct them through a decolonization lens
• Consider changes needed to decentre colonial narratives and naturalize Indigenous ways of knowing and being (Indigenization) in additional language (L+) learning