The Voices of First Nations and Métis Educators: nahtōhta (listen), kiskēyita (learn) and nistōhta (understand)

Abstract

This thesis begins by considering some of the learning practices of First Nations people prior to colonization. It discusses the influences that the colonial education system has had on disproportionate numbers of First Nations and Métis students over time, both through policy and practices. It considers both their ongoing expectations of and resistance to a system that is perpetuating ongoing disadvantage. It proposes both an Indigenous lens and a critical lens through which to critique the historical discourses, policies and pedagogies that have continued to emerge. A collaborative story then exemplifies the experiences of two Métis and two First Nations educators in Saskatchewan as they move from their homes and families into formal education and then strive through the tertiary system to become teachers and school leaders themselves. As these educators position and reposition themselves within their own experiences in education, a more transformative path forward is revealed. Intertwined throughout is a critical story of the importance of social justice if we are to ensure that more Métis and First Nations children can achieve at school and take their rightful place as citizens of their own country and the wider world. Advice from the late Simon Kytwayhat, a respected Cree Elder, "nahtōhta (listen), kiskēyita (learn) and nistōhta (understand)” is a central learning for Indigenous people themselves and for non-Indigenous people.