Foreword

It is a thrill for me to see this book and to know that it will be a readily available reference for learners and educators alike. At a time when Canadians are finally embarking on a journey of Truth and Reconciliation with Aboriginal Peoples, this insightful edited volume is both timely and critically important. Together, the co-editors and authors, almost all of them Aboriginal, present multiple useful paths towards identifying and recognizing two huge shortfalls in the Canadian educational system to date. One is the abysmal failure of many schools to provide quality education for Aboriginal children and youth, particularly in the areas of science, technology and health. This situation is reflected today in the marked underrepresentation of Aboriginal students participating in university level programs in these areas, and, further, in the dearth of professional scientists from Aboriginal communities across the country. The second gap, equally lamentable, is that students of mainstream western science and technology have been deprived of learning about the immense body of Indigenous scientific knowledge, perspectives and applications acquired and built over generations of dwelling in particular places.  Knowing Home…  will be a wonderful resource that will bring all Canadians to a higher level of understanding in these two areas.

Nancy Turner, CM, OBC, PhD, FRSC, FLS
Professor Emeritus and P. E. Trudeau Fellow
School of Environmental Studies
University of Victoria