This proposal represents a strategic action plan focused on meeting the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015), along with the Alberta Government’s recent commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This proposal exemplifies a multi-pronged approach to building stronger connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, schools, and communities through meaningful conversations, targeted learning activities, and praxis-based learning opportunities. Working with local First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) communities, and responding to learner and community-identified needs, the researchers plan to intentionally seek out and integrate FNMI community perspectives within their present and planned academic work. Importantly, this program represents an important step towards supporting, sharing, and collaboratively improving the overall success of fellow faculty members in their various Indigenous initiatives through an education-led initiative of distributed leadership gatherings across campus.

Our Teaching Scholars program represented a deliberate and targeted response to meeting the Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Through a multi-faceted approach to building connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, schools, and communities, the researchers were able to design and develop a suite of praxis-based learning opportunities for students, faculty, and other interested learners.

Our commitment to the provision of praxis-based learning opportunities has resulted in 55 completed service-learning projects across Canada with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners. A total of 36 undergraduate students experienced on-reserve schooling through their Indigenous service-learning commitments with four Indigenous schools. We have witnessed a multitude of impacts, both expected and unexpected, through the ways in which we have shared lessons learned in 28 presentations, 8 publications, and 5 workshops/events. Our work has garnered attention with invitations to present at national and international gatherings of undergraduate students, teachers, school boards, school leaders, community colleges, faculty, church groups, and Indigenous community members.

Most importantly, we see evidence of the work of reconciliation being continued through the ongoing efforts of our graduate students who provide the momentum to keep the work going beyond the Teaching Scholars program. Several of our students were inspired to extend the work of reconciliation into their professional roles and have co-authored publications with us and on their own. A number of our students have also created digital stories of lessons learned through their own reconciliatory efforts. Our work has also impacted scholars across the campus through our Brain Architecture and Poverty Simulation activities where our project activities transcend disciplinary boundaries, and professional roles. Some of our work has naturally evolved with the introduction of the ii’taa’poh’to’p Indigenous Strategy and team implemented in the fall of 2018.

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