Building relationships is the foundation to all that I do. wahkohtowin is a Cree worldview and belief that everything is connected and that we have relational accountability to one another. 

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As an Educational Developer, I seek to create relationships with those that I support to not only Indigenize and decolonize their courses, but also, those that seek support with course development, activities, and assessment. 

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A faculty member I supported shared:

 

"Jen is incredibly helpful. As an Indigenous scholar, it was meaningful for me to be able to connect with Jen."

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As Len Findlay says in Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit: 

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...non-Indigenous scholars can…develop a connective critical stand from their location to the Indigenous agenda, noting, promoting, defusing, infusing, complicating, and in general putting the Indigenous agenda firmly in the present and not only in the hands of the politicians and the activists. -in Dr. Marie Battiste’s Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit. 2013, p.74

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Finding ways to weave Indigenous pedagogy into curriculum is an excellent way to engage students. I like to lead by example and through mentorship. I often work with faculty and showcase a lesson (in their classroom) so that in the future they can use the lesson and content in their own teaching practice. 

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After mentoring a faculty member over a semester and guest lecturing in their class, he shared this with me: 

 

Thank YOU! I consider myself very lucky that you had the time to come talk. I'm pretty sure that I'll never reach the end of what you can teach me, be it about Indigenous experience or about teaching itself. 

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