To support the calls for Indigenous education sovereignty by the National Indian Brotherhood (1972) and the Assembly of First Nations, (1988), in this paper we explore Indigenous education as envisioned by six educators and knowledge holders in northwestern Ontario. Educators from six different schools and programs who took part in a national project called the National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous education shared their descriptions and visions of Indigenous education. Findings reveal Indigenous pedagogies that align with Lee and McCarty’s (2017) theoretical framework of culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies to promote and support Indigenous education sovereignty. Their visions include pedagogies grounded in the need for equitable education; Indigenous-led instruction for land-based teachings, traditional practices and languages; and, community-based accountabilities. Their visions illustrate that a deeper understanding of the localized and nationhood contexts of Indigenous sovereignty over education is missing and needed in the ongoing movement towards educational sovereignty. Keywords: Indigenous sovereignty; Indigenous education; culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies

This paper explores the role of self-reflection in a teacher education program. In a mandatory Aboriginal Education course in northwestern Ontario, teacher candidates participated in a variety of self-reflection activities that included two reflection papers, non-traditional sharing circles, and lectures, and classroom discussions that challenged common myths, stereotypes, and prejudices about Indigenous peoples. In a survey with open-ended questions administered at the end of the course, 36 teacher candidates shared their perspectives about self-reflection at the end of the course. Findings from the survey were correlated with seven teacher candidates’ reflection papers and with my personal reflections as a participant-as-observer in two of the mandatory courses. The themes that emerged from analysis were placed into three categories; these categories described the role of self-reflection as a process of (1) self-evaluation, (2) establishing personal connections with course theory, and, (3) developing a culturally inclusive pedagogy. The findings suggest that self-reflection in an Indigenous Education course can provide teacher candidates with an effective approach to uncover, identify, and examine internal biases that impact their understanding of teaching Indigenous students and integrating Indigenous content into the curriculum.Keywords: Indigenous Education; self-reflection; teacher education

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This paper explores the development of language instruction programs in universities to support Indigenous language revitalization. Eleven Indigenous educators shared rich insights through interviews. Their visions called for language learning that is functional, inseparable from land-based learning, and within multigenerational learning environments led by Elders. Building on these visions, the authors imagined a third space—an Indigenous-led, in-between space—to discuss the potentialities for universities and local communities to come together. The discussion offers strategies for a third space where universities support language revitalization in communities through co-programming, community-based courses in functional, immersive settings guided by Elders, and an online site for additional supports.

This mixed methods study examined non-Indigenous teacher candidates’ disposition towards a mandatory Aboriginal Education course in teacher education from teacher candidates’ and course instructors’ perspectives. Results from a pre- and post Likert Scale survey of two sections of an Aboriginal Education course at a small Canadian University indicated that teacher candidates felt more knowledgeable by the end of the course, and maintained a fairly strong interest in, and positive attitude towards, the course. Results from course instructors provided additional and, at times, contradictory information, describing the course as limited and, at best, an introduction to the issues and perspectives within Indigenous education. The results suggest the need for mandatory Indigenous Education courses and for faculties of education and school boards to provide further learning opportunities with Indigenous education content and resources.