Amanda White, Acting Director, Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge and Learning, and Kerry Wabange, Human Resources Strategic Partner and Indigenous Specialist.

Mohawk College launches new Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge and Learning and commits to embed Indigenous learning outcomes into all programs.

Mohawk College is making a deep and wide-ranging commitment to Truth and Reconciliation with the new Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge and Learning (CIRKL) and an ambitious plan to embed Indigenous learning outcomes into each of its programs. 

Meaningfully advancing Truth and Reconciliation is among six aspirations contained with Mohawk College’s 2022-2025 strategic plan. 

CIRKL is a significant piece of achieving that aspiration and will lead the way in ensuring that all academic programs include land-based Indigenous ways of learning, says Amanda White, Acting Director, Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge and Learning. 

“We have broad support and commitment from the College’s executive and senior leaders, and among faculty, staff, and students. There is acknowledgement that this is the right path to take,” she says. 

Building relationships is foundational to the work of CIRKL. 
 

The College’s approach to reconciliation, as well as its ambitious commitment to climate change action, is built on the framework of “Two-Eyed Seeing”. 

The concept is that faculty, staff, and students can learn to see from one eye with respect for the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledge. This dual understanding is meant to benefit all and find common ground, while upholding Indigenous perspectives as autonomous and equal. 

“We're not just looking to be included in the systems that are in place right now, we want to change the systems because those systems weren't built for us,” says White. “It’s really about different ways of doing things from that Indigenous lens.” 

Embedding learning outcomes 

A critical step forward is the establishment of seven Indigenous knowledge learning outcomes (IKLOs) that were developed through two years of deep consultation with Elders, Knowledge-Keepers and Indigenous leaders of Six Nations, Mississaugas of the Credit, and the urban Indigenous community, along with faculty, staff and students at Mohawk College. 

IKLOs will help all college learners, regardless of their field of study, better understand Indigenous peoples, histories, cultures, and realities by the time they graduate. They present an opportunity to decolonize curriculum and education and to make education safe for those who are underrepresented. 

“We know, through the work that was done through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that education has historically been weaponized against us,” says Carlie Myke, Acting Manager, Centre for Indigenous Relations, Knowledge and Learning. 

“We need to be able to see ourselves, our ways of knowing and our ways of doing things reflected in institutions. We need to be able to see our histories and our true history reflected in what is taught. Seeing that we have prioritized Indigenous ways of knowing and doing in content and curriculum, I think that that's very meaningful.” 

This work has also been heavily influenced by the success of similar learning outcomes developed by Confederation College. The CIRKL team was mentored by Confederation’s Indigenous leaders to learn about the challenges and opportunities in implementing the IKLOs. 

With support from CIRKL, consultations with each of the College’s academic areas have begun through the Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI), which will contribute to plans that will introduce and build content around such things as residential schools, treaties, royal proclamations, the First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession, and wise practices around engaging with Indigenous communities. 

Also being closely examined is the College’s approach to research involving Indigenous people or communities. 

Too often, research focused on Indigenous people or practices or culture includes gathering and extracting data without the community understanding what has become of the information. 

“There must be understanding that we own and control how that information can be used, how it's protected, how we share it. It's meant to govern the idea of data sovereignty. As we say, nothing about us without us,” says White. 

The Hoop Dance Gathering Place at Mohawk College's Fennell campus.

Indigenous visibility 

CIRKL is located at the Fennell campus, where a new indoor Indigenous gathering place is to be opened this spring. It will be the site of meetings, gatherings, and events, in conjunction with the outdoor Hoop Dance Gathering Place, which opened in 2016. 

“It's important that our staff and students from our communities see themselves reflected at the College and that they belong here. These spaces are about visibility,” says White. 

That will be augmented with more representations of Indigenous language and artwork and extended to the Stoney Creek campus and the Institute for Applied Health Sciences at McMaster University. 

When it comes to faculty and staff, the College’s people strategy includes seven pillars and Truth and Reconciliation is at the heart of each, says Kerry Wabange, a Human Resources Strategic Partner and Indigenous Specialist. 

Her work includes developing and training HR staff and leaders in cultural fluency, reviewing all employment policies and practices to ensure Indigenous worldviews are included, and integrating Indigenous knowledge and practices into employment procedures. The goal is strong recruitment and retention among Indigenous candidates. 

“In order for HR-focused reconciliation to be meaningful it is imperative that as Indigenous employees, we see ourselves reflected in the work environment as well as the policies, procedures and programs. Additionally, there should be an authentic sense of belonging and cultural and psychological safety so that we can confidently bring our whole selves to work.” 

This story originally appeared in Momentum Magazine.

Four previous Pathfinder participants and two Mohawk College staff members presented at the World Indigenous People Conference on Education (WIPCE) in Adelaide, Australia in September. 

The group shared about the innovative program and their own personal experiences. 

Pathfinder is a three-week land-based program at Mohawk College’s campus that marked its 12th year this summer. It encourages Indigenous students to learn about and become engaged in post-secondary education while at the same time learning about their Indigenous heritage through learning from local elders, knowledge keepers, and facilitators. 

WIPCE draws Indigenous education experts, practitioners, scholars, and students from across the globe to share successes and strategies for culturally grounded education. It’s the largest and most diverse Indigenous education forum in the world. 

“The cool thing is that we have seen there are a lot more organizations and schools doing this kind of program globally than we would have thought,” says Amanda White, Manager of Indigenous Student Services. 

The Mohawk contingent was supposed to travel to the conference in 2020, but COVID delayed that. When they finally got to go two years later, it took two days longer to get to Adelaide than scheduled when three plane rides became six. 

Despite the delays and the exhausting time zone changes, it was all worth it to be there, says the group. 

“It’s incredible to see the different cultures,” said Amanda Aitchison, an Indigenous awareness programmer at Mohawk. “On the first day, there was a parade of nations and they all shared a song or their language. That was empowering to hear these languages because so much of that has been lost.” 

The group also took an excursion that featured boomerang throwing, wood carving and cooking. 

The conference was nothing but positive energy, says Ashley Hogan, who participated in the Pathfinder program beginning in Grade 9. It enabled her to learn about her Indigenous culture and grow in confidence. 

“It definitely helped me to spread my wings in numerous ways,” she says. “It’s a very supportive community. You are able to be yourself without any judgement.” 

A trip to British Columbia with the program introduced her to the concept of neuroscience. Hogan, 20, completed a Pre-Health program at Mohawk College before enrolling in human behaviour at McMaster University. 

Caroline Hill took part in Pathfinder in one of the first cohorts and attended four more times. Now 26, she is a graduate of Mohawk’s Recreation Therapy program and then earned a graduate certificate in Mental Health and Disability Management. Hill now works in a long-term care home and serves as a mentor for younger Pathfinder participants. 

“It’s a rewarding thing to help younger students find their own footing.” 

She says she would have never found her way to post-secondary studies without the Pathfinder program. 

“It made me enjoy learning in all its forms, like classrooms, listening to elders, doing hands-on things. I really can’t believe this program that I didn’t really want to go to has led to all of this.” 

Jason Seth and Chris Smoke all took part in the trip as Pathfinder participants, who each earned a credit in Global Experiences. The travel was supported by a program donor. 
 

This story originally appeared in Momentum Magazine.