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Our first zoom meeting with the From the Heart Inquiry circle was much better attended than I expected since it took place during such a busy week. There were nine of us, all logging in from the Kootenays this time, but with others who had expressed interest from further afield who will hopefully be able to join us next time.

This is the first of monthly follow-up posts that will allow us to have an archive of our process and catch others up if they want to join later. Here is a 12-minute video summary I made after the meeting, which felt like a better answer than recording it. The image above was the plan I had, that we didn’t end up completing (this is often the case for me, I’m an over-planner). We got as far in the spiral as acknowledging the truth and beginning to think about areas of focus. I am not sure if we will pick up the same spiral at the end of July, or if new priorities will come to the forefront. Below are the discussion questions that we took turns responding to, in case anyone who attended wants to revisit them, or others want to join or follow along.

~ What is your name and an aspect of your identity that feels important to share today? We intend to get to know one another more deeply over time.

~ What initial how/what/who inquiry question can you form to introduce us to your interests in decolonization? Miniipoka (Peter Weasel Moccasin) shares that an overemphasis on “why” questions is one problem with European thought.

~ What are activities you undertake to promote balance between internal/self and active/outward states in your life? We are looking to enact balance in our lives every day or week as an expression of the balance we hope to contribute to in the world.

~ Considering the necessity to include a focus on difficult truths as we build better worlds, what is an issue or colonial impact you feel you can contribute to? The truths I offered as I presented this question included a focus on genocide, which is well served by this new NWAC resource called “Teach the Genocide.”

Through my capstone project for the Poo’miikapii: Niitsitapii Approaches to Wellness program, I worked with a few amazing teachers at Calgary Girls Charter School in the mode of artistic inquiry. We made a culture and worldview inquiry resource that will likely be shared on this site eventually. I have also worked in artistic inquiry for the last four years through the recurring youth and community project I support, called From the Heart. I realized that I wanted to take up this method in my own learning, not just hold space for others. The above invitation was shared with various individuals I know who are also focused on decolonization. Below is the starting point I offered to see if anyone would come forward to join in this collective pursuit.

This invitation is being sent to a varied group who I have had conversations with over the last couple months about the possibility of embarking upon deeper learning relative to place, land, culture and personal history. I am thinking of it as an open-ended forum for individual and collective strength-building that will help us navigate decolonization and address complexity as thinkers, leaders or decision-makers. 

For the moment, this is what I am picturing: over the coming year, I will offer monthly reflection prompts, an online space for resources and connection, and one monthly zoom. All of this will be optional, and which will hopefully integrate with in-person or side-channel partner collaborations to deepen the witnessing that is possible.

It’s about discovering and speaking the stories that bring forward our “precolonized consciousness” from our “jagged worldviews” as articulated by Dr. Leroy Little Bear in his well-known chapter in the book Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision (Ed. M. Battiste, 2000). It is also an extension of collaborative work with Christy Anderson since 2021 building the lifelong learning model most of you will have seen – which can be viewed and downloaded from this link. 

In Blackfoot territory, this process could look like developing your own winter count, which I am happy to support from my own experiences last fall. As other examples, one member of the group will likely compile and catalogue recordings of her grandmother’s storytelling, and I am planning to begin working in the medium of embroidery, as my ancestors from Jämtland might have. Several people in the group are deeply invested in Indigenous language learning, so I wonder if that will be their focus. The concrete approach is up to each of you, whatever connections you want to work through, and the medium that resonates for making your exploration tangible in some way if you are called to.

Almost two years has passed since my last post, time that has held constant and crucial learning for me, as someone who is committed to decolonization as a primary purpose in my life and work. I am grateful to now have had the opportunity to also learn through Poo’miikapii: Niitsitapii Approaches to Wellness at the University of Calgary Werklund School of Education, building upon my first year in the Indigenous Education: A Call to Action program. I am forever grateful to respected Elder Ninna Piiksii (Mike Bruised Head), Ahstanskiaki (Sandra Manyfeathers) and their communities, for the teachings, wisdom and support they have offered since last summer. I hope to sustain the relationships with them, classmates and community in Blackfoot territory, in reciprocity for the transformative learning I experienced.

I have now started the culminating third year for the completion of a Masters of Education building upon these focus areas, and looking toward the hopeful prospect of future studies, along with continued learning and teaching in many directions. This website has been a holding space with very little traffic, but I am about to start using it in earnest to bring a coherent online presence to my many roles and responsibilities. The structure and content will undergo transformation that reflects my own. Whenever we grow, we must also find space and time for synthesis. This is the phase I am entering.

For info about the photo below, here is my social media post from April, as I returned home and stopped to greet and thank Omahkai’stoo. See this link for context and stories from Ninna Piiksii.

Tired but hopefully wiser – nine months, a million miles, listening, reading, dreaming and a couple hundred pages of writing, so much love. Now finished my incredible learning sabbatical visiting the beautiful Niitsitapii lands and people. I’m so grateful to the professors, Ninna Piiksii and Sandra Manyfeathers, the amazing classmates and community, and to Marco and Alexia for their support and patience.

I have greeted and thanked Omahkai’stoo so many times as I passed. It won’t be quite so often now, but always joyful.

“Niitaissatsii’p Miistakiists Niitaksimkatoop Nahkai’sts (when I look at the mountains, I think about going home)” posted years ago by Cuts Wood School is true today, and has been all year. But now I also know more. Yes, I feel at home in the mountains, but now I know that the mountains have names, medicines, cultural and vision quests sites to be returned to the Niitsitapii people. Their home. Land back. Life back. Niitsii (truth). Poo’miikapii (unity, harmony and balance). Thank you for your stories and teachings. I will think of you and visit often, and happily connect and collaborate in between!

As we look ahead to the first annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation next week, it is apparent, in our community at least, that there has been a leap in interest toward getting involved in reconciliation efforts. The prototype pictured in this image, and available for download with references at this link, represents the collaborative starting point for what will hopefully become a deep local commitment to the learning and work of systemic and interpersonal growth in our region. I am grateful to the collaborative partners in many circles who are looking for productive paths forward together. So far we are working in informal ways, and are always motivated to share, so feel free to reach out with feedback, questions and connections!

The completion of the Learning Leap site today is the final learning task in completion of my first two courses in the Indigenous Education: A Call to Action program, but its intention is looking ahead. In September I will begin a course titled Critical Service Learning and Engaged Scholarship in Indigenous Education, which will involve seeking a community partner and arriving at a shared vision for a capstone project I will complete during winter term. I have some ideas and initial contacts out, but a plan will emerge through dialogue, and further learning and reflection.

It will be exciting to see what projects each of my classmates will put together as well. From what we have heard, previous program graduates have initiated amazing work in their communities. It will be an honour to contribute to the legacy of this impactful program.

In the meantime, I am also looking forward to a few weeks of rest and renewal so that I am ready for the challenges ahead. It has been a transformative and rewarding summer despite the fires and smoke, despite the pandemic. I am so grateful.

Below is the description that was posted for this site in October 2020, which I’m about to re-work entirely. There were definitely some leaps in learning at Mount Sentinel during the school year, but not as much time to document it all as I thought there might be. Life has brought many new opportunities for learning since then. I’m excited to be re-thinking and re-imagining possibilities for the work and creativity of taking leaps toward better futures in the the West Kootenay region and beyond!

Learning Leap is a web-based initiative to support dialogue and learning, through intersectional and anti-racist lenses. To begin, the staff at Mount Sentinel Secondary School, a small community school in South Slocan, BC, are taking this leap by reading and sharing 13 books during the 2020-21 school year, and invite others to learn along with us. We are taking an appreciative inquiry approach, and are inspired by the leadership of #DisruptTexts on Twitter. We are grateful to the writers for sharing their stories and perspectives and will honour their work not only by learning from them, but also by being influenced in our teaching practice, since this leap is also for and with the youth.

There is an assumption that systemic injustice is generally hidden; however as Canadians, we can begin by examining the injustice that is plainly written into our country’s laws. Many citizens do not even know about this fundamental piece of legislation, since schools have not uniformly taught about its complex histories and structures until more recent generations. The book 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph does not linger on this failure, and instead starts at the beginning and chooses the key facts that illuminate the experiences of Indigenous people since the Indian Act was brought in shortly after Canada was founded. The book also supports the reader to unequivocally condemn the Act’s continued intention to assimilate Indigenous people, and equips us to begin understanding the complexity of possible paths forward.

So many attempt to comfort themselves with the idea that racism in Canada is “not as bad” as in other places; however once we see the continued intentions and mechanisms of the Indian Act, denial must be set aside. One group member who read and presented about this book was struck immediately with anger at the deliberate nature of subjugation: “whenever there was some growth and success, the Canadian state would always find a way to interrupt and impede positive developments.” They were disturbed by Canada’s founding leaders’ intention to control and change First Nations cultures rather than learn about cultural practices, names, hunting and harvest protocols and many other things that they didn’t understand. They saw this book as an important way to not only to have a more complete view of history, but also better appreciate the perspectives at play in current events.

Another speaker observed that it is now so obvious to see that young people who do not identify with their ancestors’ First Nations culture have been affected by the direct and deliberate design of the Indian Act to have this impact. They appreciated the opportunity to review their prior knowledge about the Indian Act, and recognized that many people do not yet have this knowledge, and can easily obtain it by reading this short and accessible book. However, they also noted that it is just an entry point, as it leaves many unanswered questions about what reconciliation can possibly look like in context with the Indian Act’s continuing legislative power.

Our recommendation in Learning Leap will always be that others who are interested in this dialogue join the conversation by reading the book themselves. In this case, when readers pick up the book, we suggest a continuing focus on the incredible resilience Indigenous people have demonstrated throughout the history of subjugation they have endured. We owe not only our continued attention and support of Indigenous Rights in Canada, but also our appreciation and admiration for those among us who carry the cultural knowledge and resilience that allows them to survive and thrive in the face of the devastation intended by the Indian Act.

Lastly, here are some questions to invite further conversation…

• When in your life do you feel it would have best served you to learn the content of this book, and what parameters prevented that from taking place?
• Can you think of moments in your life when this knowledge would have changed your understanding of a situation or person?
• What change in perception does this knowledge invite for you in the present – whether small or dramatic?

… and a couple additional resources:

The Indian Act in full text, and an accessible online resource about the Indian Act from UBC that makes valuable additional connections.

A key difference between the Learning Leap initiative and more mainstream book clubs is the commitment to avoid a stance of judgment. Whereas many collective reading experiences begin with forming opinions, “I enjoyed this book because…” or “I didn’t connect with this book because…” Learning Leap intends to listen to the writers as valued guest teachers, viewing the books as offerings, and respectfully receiving the writer’s intended messages with an open mind and heart. Instead, we ask: “What can I learn from the life and perspective of this guest teacher?” The teachings of appreciative inquiry have informed this shift in mindset. This approach, coupled with the unprecedented access we now have through social media and online resources, mean that there has never been a better time to engage in this style of learning.

As we move through the series of guest teachers, the books also become conversation starters and inspiration to action. In this intention, we are inspired by the work of #DisruptTexts, and have developed three simple prompts to use to guide the first readers of each book as they prepare to present their thinking to others.

1. What it says – something that you learned or found remarkable

2.  What it means – what it means to you, to education, or to society

3.  What I’ll do – turning learning into an action – some change to your teaching practice or to your life, however small

Through dialogue, we are also encouraging each other to further our understanding beyond the books, and engage in any unlearning that is necessary to continue moving forward in a good way.

As you begin to read with this shifted intention, here are some questions to guide further reflection. Feel free to share what you notice here, or on social media.

• What do you notice about your prior thought processes while reading?
• How does this way of thought feel familiar or strange?
• How will it affect your experience of the books to read with these particular intentions at heart?

Do you have any additional suggestions for others about how to make the most of this learning experience?

Happy listening, connecting and taking action! We value your ideas and collaboration!

Entering into the 2020 school year, we decided as a group to commit to the ongoing staff learning focus of intersectional and anti-racist reading and dialogue. We have made a good start and are ready to share this focus with anyone who would like to join the conversation. See our books in the poster below, and comment on our posts here, or find us on Instagram @learning.leap.dialogue and Twitter @DialogueLeap. Better futures begin with learning!