Decolonizing the Classroom Curriculum: Indigenous Knowledges, Colonizing Logics, and Ethical Spaces Annette Furo A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Education Faculty of Education University of Ottawa © Annette Furo, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 ii Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures ................................................................................................................ v Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Where This Project has Come From, and Where it Goes ................................................................ 1 Challenge and Aims ...................................................................................................................................3 Why This Project, At This Time? ..............................................................................................................7 Reconciliation and Relationships .............................................................................................................10 Why this Researcher: A Personal Dimension ..........................................................................................11 Notes on Terminology ..............................................................................................................................13 Overview of Chapters ...............................................................................................................................14 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 17 Histories of Indigenous Education and Integrating Indigenous Worldviews ................................ 17 Indigenous Perspectives on Pedagogy and Education .............................................................................19 Indian Policy and Education .....................................................................................................................26 Current Perspectives on Integrating Indigenous Perspectives into the School Curriculum .....................37 Integrating Indigenous Perspectives into the School Curriculum ............................................................43 Classroom Pedagogy in Secondary Schools ............................................................................................43 Teachers, Teacher Candidates, and Their Perceptions of Integration ......................................................47 Learning Through Indigenous Perspectives at the Level of Teacher Education ......................................52 Pedagogical Approaches and Frameworks ...............................................................................................57 Gaps and Implications ..............................................................................................................................64 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 66 Curriculum, Colonizing Logics, and Ethical Spaces ...................................................................... 66 A Curriculum in Relation: The Bridge and the Abyss .............................................................................67 Colonial Logics ........................................................................................................................................71 A Relational Ethics for Curriculum: Reconciling and Decolonizing .......................................................78 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................................. 87 Critical Ethnography with Indigenous Communities: An Ethics to Live By ................................. 87 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................................88 Ethics of Research with Indigenous Peoples and Ways of Knowing .......................................................88 Research as Relationship ..........................................................................................................................90 Critical Ethnography and its Criticisms ...................................................................................................94 Critical Ethnography and Classroom Culture ........................................................................................100 Researcher Preparation and the Research Site .......................................................................................100 Local Context .........................................................................................................................................103 Two High Schools ..................................................................................................................................104 Teacher and Student Contributors ..........................................................................................................106 Gathering Stories and Experiences: Methods Used ..................................................................... 111 Consultation of Ministry Documents .....................................................................................................111 iii Gaining Access .......................................................................................................................................112 Initial On-Site Visits ...............................................................................................................................114 Classroom Observations .........................................................................................................................114 Teacher Interviews .................................................................................................................................116 Student Focus Groups ............................................................................................................................117 Researcher’s Journal ...............................................................................................................................118 Conversations with First Nation Community Members ........................................................................118 Transcribing ...........................................................................................................................................120 Interpretation and Analysis ....................................................................................................................121 Write Up .................................................................................................................................................125 Sharing Findings ....................................................................................................................................128 Chapter 5: Stories, Experiences and Perspectives Shared ............................................................ 129 Part 1: Worldviews in Parallel: Possibilities and Pitfalls ............................................................. 129 What is Worldview .................................................................................................................................129 Worldviews in Parallel: Dena’s Class ....................................................................................................131 Introducing a Postcolonial Lens .............................................................................................................136 Reading Parallel Stories in Three Day Road ..........................................................................................140 Kate’s Class ............................................................................................................................................144 Kim’s Class ............................................................................................................................................146 Cristine’s Class .......................................................................................................................................148 Julie’s Class ............................................................................................................................................149 Comparing Conversations: Stereotypes .................................................................................................150 Comparing conversations: Identity ........................................................................................................157 Comparing conversations: Responsibility ..............................................................................................161 Part 2: Interrupting a Eurocentric curriculum .............................................................................. 168 Pegamega… Pegamegamabo….Pegahmagabow! And Myths of Multiculturalism ..............................168 From Sanitized