Photo by  Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

1. Upcoming Classroom Climate Series:  
     a. Anti-Racist Teaching Series: Exploring Complex Classroom Dynamics Using Case-Studies -- November
     26th from 10:00-11:30am
2. CTLT Indigenous Initiatives Virtual Coffee Drop-ins
3. Decolonizing Citations: Digital Recording
4. CTLT Indigenous Initiatives Staff Updates: Welcome Dr. Claudia Diaz
5. Across Our Desks: News and Articles Related to Indigenous Engagement in Teaching and Learning

In this workshop, participants explore complex classroom dynamics, such as microaggressions and tensions when students have conflicting worldviews. Drawing from select Open Case Studies at UBC that highlight Indigenous student experiences in diverse classrooms, participants will work in breakout groups to unpack the scenarios and discuss how they resonate with our current classroom contexts and climates. Concepts and topics that may be raised include: tokenism, conflicting worldviews, burden of representation, course topics that impact students personally, and self-determination.

Facilitators: 
Sue Hampton, Educational Consultant, CTLT
Kyle Shaughnessy, Educational Consultant, Indigenous Initiatives, CTLT and UBC Human Resources
Janey Lew, Senior Educational Consultant, Indigenous Initiatives, CTLT

Do you have questions about how to thoughtfully integrate Indigenous content and representation into your course work? Curious about how to offer meaningful land acknowledgements in online meetings or events at UBC? Indigenous Initiatives’ Virtual Coffee Drop-ins are a great place to explore these topics, connect with others on the same learning path, or just get to know our team.

Please register for any of the drop-ins below. Looking forward to seeing you! 

e. Wednesday, November 25th from 10-11am - REGISTER 
f. Thursday, December 10th from 11am-12pm - REGISTER 

Last month, CTLT Indigenous Initiatives hosted Bronwen McKie, student librarian, of Xwi7xwa Library for a session on decolonizing citations and to explore the question, “are citation practices fair to Indigenous scholars?” Watch the recording to learn about citation politics, citation templates for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and the current initiatives at X̱wi7x̱wa Library. Bronwen shared a few recommendations and insights from her session: 

“It’s important to be critical of what is considered “authoritative” (and therefore valid), but we also need to remember that “authority” is very much a constructed phenomenon. Our personal and community-wide beliefs and values impact what knowledge we perceive as valid. Oral Tradition is considered authoritative knowledge by the community it belongs to, and we need to understand this on its own terms. We can’t judge the authority of Oral Tradition based on Western academic ways of knowing.

Remember that decolonization and Indigenization asks us to accept the legitimacy of different ways of knowing and integrate them into our work--one way we can do this is through citing!

The templates shown for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers are not officially part of any citation style guide. However, around 2 dozen institutions currently encourage their researchers to use the templates if applicable, and UBC is one of them. Your institution may or may not already encourage researchers to use these templates.

Please commit to respectful, ethical research and proper protocol if you would like to approach an  Elder or Knowledge Keeper for Oral Traditions. Exercise extreme caution if you have any plans to publicly publish Oral Traditions, as some traditions are sacred and not meant to be shared.”

MOA’s featured exhibition of more than 80 pieces takes visitors through the past 150 years of Canada. It is a story that is a (re)telling of Canadian history by reclaiming and reinserting Indigenous voices into historical moments. MOA is open for timed entry visits to explore the exhibition, but if you can’t make it to MOA, watch the online-curator tour of the exhibition.

View Resource 

Best wishes, 
CTLT Indigenous Initiatives