Cree Elders' Perspectives on Land-Based
Hansen Cree Elders’ Perspectives on Land-Based Education Cree Elders’ Perspectives on Land-Based Education: A Case Study John Hansen University of Saskatchewan Abstract This study deals with the notion that Indigenous peoples are concerned with preserving their communities, nations, cultural values, and educational traditions. Indigenous peoples have a land- based education system that emerges out of their own worldviews and perspectives, which need to be applied to research concerning Indigenous cultures. This work explores Indigenous land-based education through the perspectives of Cree Elders of Northern, Manitoba. Six Cree Elders were interviewed to explore the ideas and practices of land-based education. The article engages discussion of Indigenous land-based education stemming from Elders’ teachings of Indigenous knowledge, cultural values, identity, and vision. Informed by Cree Elders, this qualitative study articulates an Indigenous interpretation of land-based education. Research findings demonstrate that Indigenous land-based education can be used to promote well-being among Indigenous peoples in Canada. While the study is based on the Cree experience in Northern Manitoba, its message is significant to many other Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Drawing on the Elders’ teachings, policy recommendations are generated for advancing Indigenous land- based education Keywords: Land-Based Education, Indigenous Knowledge, Culture, Healing, Decolonization John G Hansen PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Saskatchewan. His research and teaching focus are in the fields of Indigenous Justice; Crime and Society, and Indigenous knowledge. He is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and now lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and writes research on Indigenous topics.
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