Curriculum Design and Delivery

We are continually challenged by the need to create a more timely, relevant, and engaging curriculum and by the need to balance Indigenous student and non-Indigenous student learning needs.  Indigenous students come to study at the university to learn more about their own history, culture, and language to enable them to become more engaged as Indigenous citizens of their own nations and to make future contributions to their communities and nations as well as to develop a foundation for careers. Non-Indigenous students are asked to learn about Indigenous peoples and Indigenous histories to engage effectively in reconciliation and build a more inclusive Canada. The Indigenous history and contemporary environment presented in INDG 1001H are part of the lived reality of many Indigenous students. The history that we present is the history of their families. The lived reality of Indigenous students often leads to strong emotional reactions. At the same time, non-Indigenous students often have strong emotional reactions to learning the history and the ongoing impact of colonialism upon Indigenous peoples. Mediating the feelings of these two large groups, as well as a growing number of international students, is an important aspect of the work of seminar leaders.

Our UDL conversations with seminar leaders and our lived experiences made it clear that we had to pay attention to this aspect of the teaching environment. This meant we had to have resources on standby if the material triggered students. We developed good relationships with the counsellors of the First Peoples House of Learning and shared our course outline with them so they could respond effectively if called on.

Our curriculum was also shaped by the Elder’s teachings about how to present history. Elders teach that you cannot build on negativity and deficit; you must build on strength. As we previously stated, we developed an approach focused on two overarching stories: The Long Assault and the Great Healing. The Long Assault told the story of colonialism and its continuing impact; the Great Healing told the story of Indigenous resurgence since the early 1970s. Consistent with the UDL principle of multiplicity, we told both stories through lectures, videos and music. We also challenged student conceptions of Indigenous peoples as poverty-stricken, helpless, and traumatized to the point of paralysis and replaced these with 21st-century conceptions based on resurgence, resistance, reconciliation, and cultural renewal and re-imagination.