Understanding the Role of Land
Land plays a critical role in the understanding of identity and situating yourself through an Indigenous lens. To work effectively with Indigenous content and through Indigenous paradigms in academia, it is important to understand how Land effects the work that you do and your conception of self.
Take some time to watch the following video on Traditional Knowledge and the Environment (Mandawe, 2017).
Traditional Knowledge and the Environment
Here is a short film on Indigenous knowledge and the environment, highlighting the Walpole Island First Nation (Bkejwanong) community.
Now that you have watched the video, it is time to explore the role of Land further. Go through the following dialogue cards to learn more now.
land or Land?
You may notice throughout this module that sometimes land has a capital “L” and sometimes it is written with a lowercase “l”. This is because of Sandra Styres conceptualization of land in her article “Pathways for remembering and recognizing Indigenous thought in education: philosophies of Iethi’nihstenha Ohwentsia’kekha (Land)” (2017). In this piece, Styres defines “land” as the physical land which we inhabit. Alternatively, “Land” with a capital is a theoretical and spiritual concept, therefore land itself is a key actor in the identity making process and a proper noun.
Now that you have reviewed the role of Land, take some time to check your understanding by sorting the following statements into colonial and Indigenous conceptions of Land.
