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A teaching practice that considers the potential not simply of imparting new learning

to students but truly helps them internalize their learning in a holistic manner, that is,

considers the wider community and also the natural environment, is a hallmark of Indigenous

Knowledge (IK) systems. These IK influenced ideas in education can be seen in knowing

why we do things the way we do and not simply ​how​: for example, the idea of planting seeds

as described in Brayboy and Maughn (2009, pp.8-9) according to factors beyond simply

agricultural and scientific parameters is a good illustration of this concept. From a

self-reflective perspective, this idea of not simply possessing knowledge but rather

internalizing and disseminating the learning to students is reinforced and extended in light of

storytelling through, and by, new mediums and literacies as explored in both the Jenkins’s

interview (2017) and the Rowsell and Walsh article (2011).

Jenkins’ spoke to ideas of deepening storytelling through multimedia and transmedia;

to a much lesser extent he notes crossmedia as having a (smaller) role to play in the process

(p. 1062). It is important to keep in mind that by “process”, ideas of what Jenkins calls a

“Participatory Culture” and the ongoing evolution of a need for inclusion of marginalized

groups continues (Voices for New Vernacular, 2017, p.1063) and are key. New media

literacies blended with IK foster this idea of shared knowledge creation.

Rowsell and Walsh bring to bear concepts of digital literacies affecting learning

modalities and the impact of the new digital literacies on education in the classroom. IK
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brings to the fore an axiology that shifts learning away from the individual isolated from the

whole, and (re)blends learning back into the community. This holistic view of learning

wherein spirituality, notions of nature and a certain ‘life’ spirit are intertwined and made

central to the project of education and are summed up by Burkhart being quoted as restating

Descarte in Brayboy and Maughn and provides a roadmap for how digital literacies can be

approached and used by a group to share and grow learning rather than simply using

technology in isolation; that is, Burkhart posits ‘We’ as central to the learning project as

opposed to ‘I’ (p.15). When it comes to technology in the classroom, this is made manifest by

the nature of digital devices and working with the technology beyond simply gaining mastery

of the tool whatever the digital tool is on a functional level as noted by Rowsell and Walsh

(p.60).

Land Acknowledgment embedded into York activities with supporting video presentation:

Image source:

https://teachingcommons.yorku.ca/indigenous-teaching-and-learning/
Land Acknowledgement

York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto has been care
taken by the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron-Wendat, and the Métis Nation. It is now home to many
Indigenous Peoples. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the
Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region.
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In sum, ideas of blending specific learning within a broader perspective of

community, and remixing this with new technologies lies at the heart of a teaching practice

framed by an axiology of education that is more holistic in the broader sense and takes into

account the natural world and lived experience, and the impact this may have on specific

learning.

‘Taught’ ideas that were hitherto simply downloaded by the teacher in a non-IK

model that transferred knowledge via modalities that were heard, read and memorized by the

student (as can sometimes happen when emphasis is placed on gaining mastery of a new

technological tool), without a wider context considered, results in loss of value which limits

the potential that new learning technologies have to deepen the learning experience as

opposed to teaching wherein IK is a central pillar. The goal with an IK-centric teaching

practice is to impact learning as being something that is internalized by students and lived

and this something I can definitely see as being key to my own teaching practice whose goal

is aimed at student success.u

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Reference

Brayboy & Maughan (2009). Indigenous Knowledge and the Story of the Bean, ​Harvard
Educational Review, 7​ 9(1)

Rowsell, J. & Walsh, M. (2011). Rethinking literacy education in new times. ​Brock
education, 2​ 1(1).

Voices for a New Vernacular: A Forum on Digital Storytelling – Interview with Henry
Jenkins ​from International Journal of Communication,​ 11(2017).