JOURNEYS: Camosun Stories
of Indigenization

ABOUT K AK ASO’LAS
(ELLEN NEEL), THE
FIRST WOMAN CARVER:
Kakaso’las (Ellen Neel), The First Woman Carver, 1990
David A. Neel (Tlat’lala’wis’)
Alder wood, abalone shell, paint
Camsoun College Art Collection, CCART.1991.31
Researched and Written by Robbyn Lanning, Librarian
The Kakaso’las (Ellen Neel) mask is a carved wood block portrait
of Ellen Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw), paternal grandmother of David
A. Neel. A trailblazing artist known as the “first woman totem pole
carver,” Ellen Neel (1916-1966), learned to carve from her grandfather,
Yakuglas/Charlie James during the 1920s, a time when Indigenous
carving was banned under the Indian Act. In 1947, several years
before the “potlatch law” would be lifted in 1951, she opened her
own carving business, and in 1948, after acquiring studio space in
Stanley Park, carved and sold her work.
From the mid-1940s until her death in 1966, Neel created a prolific
and wide-ranging body of work, including masks, regalia, puppets,
and publicly commissioned monumental totem poles to decorative
domestic and tourist items such as jewelry, textiles, and ceramics.
Neel’s artistic legacy is far-reaching. She influenced and was a mentor
to celebrated Northwest Coast artists such as Freda Diesing (Haida),
Robert Davidson (Haida) and Art Thompson (Nuu-chah-nulth), and
continues to inspire new generations of artists including her own
great-grandchildren. Neel’s Kwakwaka’wakw name, Kakaso’las,
reflects this ongoing influence: Kakaso’las means “people come from
far away to seek her advice.
The Kakaso’las (Ellen Neel) mask features symmetrical hair and
eyebrows painted black, red lips, and eyes made of abalone shell,
outlined in black and red. Smoothly finished raw alder wood
represents the majority of the mask’s skin, while a striking sea-foam
green paint embellishes the cheeks, eyes, and bridge of the nose.
The mask has pierced ears, which are adorned with large flat and
diamond-shaped abalone earrings. The mask is an honoured part of
the Camosun College Art Collection. Information about the mask
can be viewed on Camosun’s institutional repository, CCspace.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
David A. Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw), born in 1960, is an
artist and author who traces his family’s artistic history
back 5 generations. Neel works in a variety of media
including wood carving, photography, printmaking,
hand engraving, and painting. He specializes in using
traditional artistic techniques, materials, and imagery to
explore contemporary social and political issues.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Neel draws on his Kwagiutl heritage for his artistic
direction. He inherits his name, Tlat’lala’wis’, and a rich
artistic legacy from his father, David (Dave) Neel Senior.
Neel Sr. was taught to carve by his mother, Kakaso’las/
Ellen Neel, who was taught by her maternal grandfather,
Yakuglas/Charlie James and her uncle, Nakapankam/
Mungo Martin. Neel uses the work of his ancestors as
the starting point for his own interpretation of carving
and design.

Lanning, Robbyn. “Kakasolas (Ellen Neel)”. CCspace
institutional repository, Camosun College. 2017. https://
cc.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/cc%3A187

Born in Vancouver, BC, Neel studied photography in
both Calgary and Kansas, and later moved to Dallas,
Texas, where he had the opportunity to work with
some of the country’s top photographers. He returned
to Vancouver in 1986, apprenticing as a carver with
artists Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw), Wayne Alfred
(Kwakwaka’wakw), and Lyle Wilson (Haisla). Neel’s
work has been featured at events, museums and
galleries internationally, including the Venice Biennale,
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian,
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, and
National Library of Canada.

Amos, Robert. “A Lifetime of Visionary Totem-pole Art.” Times
Colonist, February 5, 2017. https://www.timescolonist.
com/islanderrobert-amos-a-lifetime-of-visionary-totempole-art-1.9714269
David Neel Photography. “About.” Accessed July 29, 2020.
https://www.davidneelphotography.com/about.php

Lederman, Marsha. “Our Women have Always Carved.”
The Globe and Mail, February 17, 2017. https://www.
theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/femalefirst-nations-artists-carve-their-way-into-thespotlight/
article34070291/
Neel, David. The Way Home. Vancouver: On Point Press, a
UBC Press imprint, 2019.
Sharpe, Tara. “Our Women have Always Carved.”
The Ring, March 1, 2017 https://www.
uvic.ca/communicationsmarketing/web/
news/2017+first-woman-carver-ellen-neel+ring
University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology.
“Neel, Ellen (1916-1966).” Accessed July 29, 2020.
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/
person?person=2164&tab=biography

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TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Camosun College campuses are located on the traditional territories
of the Lkwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ peoples. We acknowledge their welcome
and graciousness to the students who seek knowledge here.

TAB LE OF CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM
Sherri Bell ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 6
LEARNING SERVICES
Sybil Harrison �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
MESSAGE FROM
Dawn Smith, Nuu-chah-nutlh ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 9
COLLEGE EXECUTIVE
Geoff Wilmshurst ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 10
LEARNING SERVICES
Robbyn Lanning ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCE
Dan Reeve ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12
SCHOOL OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Early Learning and Care ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Carl Everitt ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16
CENTRE FOR SPORT & EXERCISE EDUCATION
John Telford ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 17
CENTRE FOR SPORT & EXERCISE EDUCATION
Michael Pardy ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 18
CO-OP & CAREER SERVICES
Kathryn Anderson ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19
CENTRE FOR ACCESSIBLE LEARNING
Shane Baker (Student) Gitxsan ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20
CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING & LEARNING
Judith Perron ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 22
CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING & LEARNING
Martha McAlister ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23
SCHOOL OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Paula Littlejohn and Mary Willbond �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCE
Sandy Bannikoff ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 26
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCE
The Camosun English Department Indigenization Working Group ��������������������������������������������� 27
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCE
Peter Ove ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28

M ESSAGE FROM

Sherri Bell
Camosun College has embraced and valued our relationship with Indigenous community and learners
for many years. The Indigenous Education Department continues its work to fully indigenize the college;
work which has been underway for the over 10 years.
Over the past three years, Camosun has focused on developing an action plan to respond to the Call
to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Report; the support of this initiative within the college has
been truly remarkable and, I believe, a reflection of the depth of our commitment and passion to learn
and to educate. I am delighted to see a growing awareness of indigenous ways of knowing and being
throughout our college community – it is enriching our lives and our daily work.
I believe that all Canadians need to deepen their understanding of our history in order to reconcile
our past and move forward as a country. Part of that understanding comes from the sharing of stories;
personal reflections can be so very impactful. I am grateful to all the contributors to this anthology –
your willingness to share is such a gift to us all!

Sherri Bell
President

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L EARNI NG SERV ICES

Sybil Harrison
Director
Kakaso’las graces the cover of this publication and holds an
important place in the Library at the Lansdowne campus.
Kakaso’las, also known as Ellen Neel, was Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw
artist David Neel’s grandmother. The mask is more than
a magnificent object, she represents the stories of many
grandmothers. Grandmothers are storytellers and knowledge
keepers connecting young generations to the past and
helping them see their way towards the future. This mask
connects students who spend time in the library to the people
before us, who lived, worked and learned on this land. In this
manifestation, Kakaso’las is everyone’s grandmother.
The mask was purchased by the college in 1992 as part of the
College Art Collection. This collection was the vision of retired
Visual Arts Instructor Ralph Stanbridge. Pieces by contemporary
artists were purchased, including works by the Indigenous
artists Art Thompson, David Neel, Bill Reid and Jane Ash Poitras.
The library has been home to many pieces of this collection.

BIOGRAPHY
I was born on the traditional territories of Sinixt and
Ktunaxa peoples, in Nelson and grew up on Semiahmoo
territory in White Rock. I graduated with my BA from
UVic in 1983 and completed my Masters in Library
and Information Studies at UBC in 1988. I’ve worked
in libraries for 30 years – in two provinces, two U.S.
states and in the United Arab Emirates. In 2008 I joined
the Camosun community as the College Librarian. In
October 2012 I was appointed Director of Learning
Services. In that role I lead the work of the Library, the
Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning and the
Writing Centre.

The intention of the collection was always educational. Art can
inspire dialogue, it opens our imagination and prompts us to
ask to question, to be curious. Kakaso’las, and other pieces in
the college’s art collection have certainly provided me another
lens to explore and further expand my journey of indigenizing
my professional practice, and deepen my knowledge of the
impacts of colonial systems.
Kakaso’las looks across to another David Neel work, The Eyes of
the World. This piece is a photoscreen, presented as a diptych.
On one side is the infamous Canadian Press photograph which
captures the moment on the last brutal day of the 78-day Oka
standoff when 14 year old Waneek Horn Miller, holding her
4 year old sister Kaniehtiio Horn, was seriously injured by a
Canadian soldier with his rifle bayonet. Beside it are the words
of Indigenous leaders, contrasting with quotes from Canadian
politicians. Two of the featured quotes are: “They forced the
barricades up because they weren’t listening to our voices. We
were forced to defend ourselves and to defend our territory.
We have every right to do what we did” (Ellen Gabriel, Mohawk
spokesperson). “In the end, firmness, patience and concern for
human life have won the day” (Prime Minister Brian Mulroney).
David Neel’s carving and photo silkscreen are connected
by sight in the library to At the Front of the Line a stunning
mixed-media piece by Cree artist Jane Ash Poitras. At the
Front of the Line features an image of what is assumed to be

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7

Chief Poundmaker, but is more likely a commercial image of a
stereotypical Chief.
It was through Jane Ash Poitras work I learned about Chief
Poundmaker. Her art invites us to dig deeper, to discover
the stories that inspired her work. After learning about Chief
Poundmaker and I went on to read more about Treaty 6 territory
and the Cree and Blackfeet peoples. For me, reconciliation can
only occur when we engage in truth telling. It’s through the
work of Indigenous artists and writers that I have been exposed
to that truth-telling.
In 1885 the Canadian government incarcerated
PīTIKWAHANAPIWīYIN, known as Chief Poundmaker.
PīTIKWAHANAPIWīYIN was in fact a peacemaker during the
Battle of Cut Knife, during a time when Cree people were
starving because of the lack of buffalo. PīTIKWAHANAPIWīYIN
tried to dissuade others from engaging in confrontation with
the Indian Agent and the Canadian military troops present to
“protect” settlers. He also ensured the safe passage of a number
of Canadian troops away from the battlefield, saving their lives.
But his acts were ignored and he was instead convicted of
treason. He contracted tuberculosis in prison, and died shortly
after his release. For decades the Poundmaker Cree nation
advocated for his exoneration. In June 2019, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau finally cleared his name and provided a long
overdue apology stating:
In 1885, Chief Poundmaker was treated as a criminal and a
traitor. In 2019, we recognize the truth in his words that he –
as a leader, statesman and peacemaker – did everything he
could to ensure that lives were not needlessly lost.
It has taken us 134 years to reach today’s milestone –
the exoneration of Chief Poundmaker. I know that the
exoneration and apology I have offered today cannot make
up for what has been lost.
Visit the library and spend some time with Kakaso’las or explore
the college’s art collection online through CSpace, Camosun’s
Digital Repository cc.arcabc.ca
To learn more about David Neel and Jane Ash Poitras:
McCallum, P. (2011). Cultural memories and imagined futures :
the art of Jane Ash Poitras. University of Calgary Press.
Neel, D. (2019). The way home. On Point Press, a UBC Press
imprint.

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M E SSAG E FR O M

Dawn Smith, Nuu-chah-nulth
I am so grateful for the opportunity to work at Camosun College, as an Education Strategist for
Indigenization and Sustainability, in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Over the last 3 years, I have come to learn about Indigenization and Sustainability, particularly what it all
means to the College (leadership to students). I continue to be excited about curriculum development,
and the new and existing strategies to do such work in areas related to Indigenization and Sustainability!
What I have come to learn about Indigenization has been with the help and support of the broader
college, especially the leadership as well as local Indigenous communities. I continue to learn, bring
back and share strategies for Indigenization. Indigenization is growing with curiosity and commitment to
understand Indigenous peoples and experiences of colonialism.
I have also learned that Indigenization takes time, understanding and patience, but more importantly
the willingness to be vulnerable, to learn and to share, as the many participant here have done so
wonderfully, and courageously.
I raise my hands in gratitude to Camosun College’s senior leadership, faculty, staff and STUDENTS for the
amazing good work to Indigenize space, curriculum, hearts and minds!
Cuu (ok, bye),

Dawn Smith, Nuu-chah-nulth, Education Strategist

Professional, Scholarly & Creative Activity

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CO LLEG E EXECUTIV E

Geoff Wilmhurst
Vice President Partnerships
BIOGRAPHY
Geoff Wilmshurst is the Vice President Partnerships at Camosun College, a
role he has held for five years. Prior to that he was the Director of Camosun
International since 2011. Geoff has held a variety of international education
roles from working on the resettlement of refugees in the 1990s to the
development to international exchange programs. He has lived and
worked in China, Japan, India and the United States and came to the British
Columbia post-secondary world in 2003 at Thompson Rivers University
(TRU) where he developed the first indigenous student exchange
programs between TRU and the University of Western Sydney.
Geoff holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Saint Mary’s University
in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a certificate in Mandarin Chinese language
studies from Shandong Normal University in Jinan, China. He is a member
of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Bureau for International Education
and has recently been awarded the 2020 International Education
Distinguished Leadership Award from the British Columbia Council for
International Education.

Growing up in Nova Scotia in the 1960s and 70s there were very
few opportunities to learn about the indigenous history. The
Mi’kmaq people of Nova Scotia were remote in our lives and
I had no opportunity to meet our indigenous neighbours and
only a limited understanding of the many thousands year history
beyond viewing the petroglyphs in Kejimukjik National Park.
For me, as a child, indigenous history seemed to be on the long
past with little understanding of the 20th century reality faced
by our indigenous nations.
In the 1980s I began to travel the world and, as happens to many
young people who are privileged to have those opportunities, I
began to understand the history and culture of my own country
much more clearly. I also lived in countries and among cultures
that were very different than the white European Canadian
experience I had grown up with. Having those experiences
began to sensitize me to the fact that there are other ways of
being, understanding the world around you and expressing
oneself through art, language and culture. It also taught me
the value of being still and taking the time to listen in order to
understand others.
When I arrived in Kamloops, British Columbia from New York
City in 2003 I had my first real exposure to First Nations people
and culture. The T’Kemlups peoples were welcoming and

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willing to share their history and culture. Through those first
contacts it became clear to me that there was an opportunity
to work with local indigenous university students in developing
international indigenous student exchanges. The first of those
was with the University of Western Sydney in Australia and the
first BC indigenous students who went on that exchange had life
changing experiences.
Since coming to Camosun I have continued to learn and develop my understanding indigenizing my work practices. This
has included using a territorial acknowledgement when opening meetings and events and spending time with Songhees nation leaders and elders as we developed the Camosun Coastal
Centre on Songhees land. The Coastal Centre programming in
particular has played an important role in my understanding of
the education and training needs of our local indigenous youth
and it continues to be a focus of my work.
In 2019 Camosun presented the Songhees Nation with the
Award for Innovation and Community Partnership. For me it was
an honour and privilege to work with the Nation on the ceremonial aspects of the event, all of which were new to me. The
Songhees – Camosun partnership for me symbolizes hope for
the future of reconciliation and a continued opportunity for me
to learn from our indigenous colleagues and friends.

L I BRARY

Robbyn Lanning
Librarian
I feel very fortunate to be the lead librarian for Indigenization
and Reconciliation at the Camosun Library. In this role I work
to Indigenize library and information structures and spaces,
and to educate students and faculty colleagues about the
power imbalances embedded in Western academic research
methods. I have the honour of working with many colleagues
throughout the library and greater campus community,
including Indigenous mentors, to challenge the dominance of
colonial and white supremacist practices existing in libraries and
information science.1
Libraries are political spaces. Western libraries and the
information systems they use – from metadata creation to
resource citation – have been built on and perpetuate colonial
structures of power. These deeply entrenched processes have
obscured and erased Indigenous voices from collections,
limiting the discoverability of and access to Indigenous
knowledge content in libraries.

BIOGRAPHY
Robbyn Lanning is a settler-Canadian of Irish heritage,
born and presently living and working in, Lkwungen
and W̱ SÁNEĆ territories. She completed Bachelor of
Fine Arts and Masters of Arts degrees at the University
of Victoria before earning her Masters of Library and
Information Science at the University of Washington.
Robbyn has worked with information and collections
throughout her career – not only as a librarian, but as a
photographer, curator, and research administrator. Her
research interests include interdisciplinary approaches
to collecting and curatorial practice, information ethics,
photography and identity, and libraries as spaces of
social justice. Robbyn has been a librarian at Camosun
College since 2016.

1

Many thanks to the Indigenizing Citations Working Group, including Kelly
Aguirre, Diane Biin, Paul Cox, Julian Gunn, Sybil Harrison, Kari Jones, Patsy Scott,
Janice Simcoe, Michael Stewart, and Roz Stooke for helping me think about and
understand my Indigenization work in increasingly nuanced ways.

Through organization, categorization, and simplification,
libraries have served to reduce, make knowable, and remove
the ambiguity associated with resources and the complex
knowledge they represent. Traditional colonial approaches
to library metadata creation make use of settler vocabulary
and terminology. Subject heading vocabularies, such as the
Library of Congress, use dated and often derogatory language
to describe Indigenous Peoples, places, and ideas. This use of
language impacts how we think about ideas and people, and
significantly influences how research is perceived.
Ambiguity, complexity of interpretation, and multi-valiant
perspectives have traditionally been seen as the antithesis of
order and accessibility in libraries. Thankfully, this is changing.
The holdings of libraries possess valuable knowledge that
should be discoverable, accessible, and shared when culturally
appropriate, with the terms of this knowledge exchange being
established by the creators and communities they represent.
As a librarian I have the freedom to cultivate my approach to
most aspects of my work, including instruction, collections
development, metadata creation, and digital access and
preservation. I challenge myself to be deliberate and
considerate in learning and performing equity. I see my work as
a daily affirmation of my ongoing commitment to reconciliation.
I am thankful for the generosity and knowledge-sharing of those
I work with – I am always learning.

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S C H OOL OF A RTS & SCIEN C E

Dan Reeve
Instructor
BIOGRAPHY
I have lived and worked on the traditional territories
of the Lekwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ peoples since 1997.
I graduated from the University of Victoria (UVic) with
an M.A. in Political Science. I was enrolled in UVic’s
Cultural. Social, and Political Thought program. Here at
Camosun, I studied Indigenous history, political theory,
and epistemology. My master’s thesis examined the
complex web of politics, law, and activism that helped
re-establish treaties between settler and Indigenous
societies based on competing notions of land title in
British Columbia from 1969 – 1990.
In 2007, I taught my first Political Science class at
Camosun. Immediately, I loved it.
Since then, I’ve taught in Continuing Education, worked
as Co-op Field Instructor, and served as a Department
Chair (Social Sciences). The wonderful folks at
Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning have
guided and encouraged me for years. I have chaired
the Digital Pedagogy Community of Practice, sat on
Class Technology Advisory Board, and worked with
my friends and colleagues Julia Grave and Peter Ove
to create a report to recognize and advance faculty
collaboration. I am so very fortunate to work with
and befriend so many inspiring and dedicated
Camosun folks.

My Turn Towards A More Indigenized Pedagogy.
As I teach politics, indigenous decolonization struggles have
been on my mind and, to a lesser extent, in my classrooms, since
I began at Camosun.
At first, I followed what others in my discipline do, I added
more indigenous content into my courses. Too often, these
classes became me recalling the path of woe that indigenous
people have faced for generations - colonization, residential
schools, the Indian Act, the White Paper and so on. While
this content was essential, my delivery and the context it was
received felt amiss.
My good friend, and former Camosun Fine Arts instructor,
Peter Morin and I discuss teaching often. Peter is a Tahltan
artist, activist, and educator. Peter’s generosity, humour, and
wisdom helps me reflect on my place of privilege. We started to
collaborate. I would give a talk in his class; he would speak
with mine.
His classes felt subtly different from mine. His classroom
community was real. He took to time to build relationships; to
check in with each of his students. He was vulnerable.

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His classes felt safe. His students took chances, tried new
things, and sometimes failed. When they faltered, the class
gave them space to try again. This wasn’t merely a matter
of different disciplines teaching differently, but of tangible
manifestation of many of the goals I’d - almost unconsciously –
aspired to create in my own classrooms.
From this experience, I took an Indigenizing Pedagogy
workshop hosted by Corrine Michel. Our shared pedagogy
nerdiness became our bond. Corrine invited me to work with
her on an Applied Learning project she leads. Corrine grounds
her understanding of experiential learning in indigenous ways
of knowing and learning. She came to create Camosun’s model
for applied learning that situates itself in indigenous pedagogy –
particularly Martin Brokenleg’s Circle of Courage.
Thanks to Corrine, Peter, and many others (especially students),
I understand learning and teaching differently. I make time in
my classes to check-in and check-out with my students (Face-toface and online). When possible, we sit in a horseshoe or circle.
Students are asked to bring their name tag to class for as often
as it takes for folks to get to know each other. The first class of
each semester is less about me or even the course syllabus, and
more about helping them connect with each other. While pair
and share learning tasks have been a staple of my classes for
years, today I pay as much attention to the human connection
these activities promote.
It’s too simple to say I try to focus more on the people in my
class than the students, but that might be my starting point.
Indigenous approaches to teaching and learning encourage a
sense of belonging, a more comprehensive understanding of
competencies, personal responsibility for one’s agency, and an
invitation to share in the struggle and joys of learning. This approach facilitates deep, meaningful learning. It serves as an ideal
approach to address not only the sometimes heart wrenching
and difficult history of indigenous struggle, but also for any field
of investigation.

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S C H OOL OF HEALTH & HUM A N SE RV IC E S

Early Learning and Care
The faculty of Early Learning and Care has been engaged in
deepening our understanding of what it means to teach and
learn in our program with an awareness of Indigenous histories,
knowledges and narratives. We began to articulate our
commitment to this journey when we did our program review in
2015. As a faculty we did TELŦIN TŦE WILNEW or TTW program
together so we could continue to discuss what it might mean
to re-orient ourselves and our program. Having faculty join us
from Northern BC and Indigenous led organizations, allowed
us to enrich our dialogues with their experiences with the
Indigenous students and communities in the North. We have
had faculty join with us from community and that adds energy
and knowledge.
Each of us has undertaken a learning journey with reading,
listening to Old Ones and sharing with each other. We have
taken the first steps. It is a challenging journey which begins
with self-awareness, humility and open hearts. Below are some
of the thoughts from our team when I asked them to share
some of their journey. I am so grateful to work with this group
of educators. We have all been guided and supported with
love and care by Faye Martin who is Giskaast from the House
of Dawa Muux in Gitxsan territory. Her wisdom, caring and
generosity have been an inspiration to us. Faye Martin is the
Indigenous Support Coordinator for the School of Health and
Human Services at Camosun.
Jessica Fee is a white settler living on the ancestral lands of the
Lkwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ people. Although she doesn’t feel
settled, she also struggles with being identified as visitor that
has not been invited. As she navigates this she is grateful to the
communities for all their teachings. She has spent many years
and shares some time around the Lheidli T’enneh, Tsimshian and
Gitxsan territories. Her ancestry is of European descent and the
ancestors she has a connection with are of Scottish heritage.
Through both marriage and adoption she has Ukrainian and Irish
names and connections.
Taking time to be in community, build relationships and listen,
is a gift. When I am present and open to receive teachings
or offerings, I feel responsible to hold these in high regard
with respect. I am honoured to receive and am committed
to reciprocate. Paying attention to reciprocity offers an
opportunity to deepen learning and build community. It is our
community that helps us think, grow and learn.

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Anastasia Butcher roots are in the northwestern part of Russia,
the territory known as Arkhangelskaya Oblastj (Region), also
referred to as Pomorye (which means “on the sea”). She has
been a visitor on the traditional territories of Lekwungen and
W̱ SÁNEĆ peoples since late ‘90s.
Sitting in Circle with Faye Martin and the ELC students was
powerful. Learning about respectful presence in Circle, situating
ourselves and sharing stories helped us develop trust and a
sense of belonging to deepen our learning about the history,
the pain and resilience, and to acknowledge the importance of
cultural humility in our work with children, families and
one another.
Lindsay Lichty was born and raised on the unceded territories
of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She has German and
English ancestry on her father’s side and Salvadorian ancestry
on her mother’s side. She has been a grateful visitor on the
unceded territories of the Lekwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ peoples
of Songhees and Esquimalt nations for the past five years. She
respectfully acknowledges the ancestral relations connecting
the lands, the other-than-human, and human forms of life
on these territories. She acknowledges her responsibility to
continually seek ways to walk with a good heart and a good
mind as a visitor here.

“Acknowledging the territory at the beginning of each class is a
way of bringing our collective attention to our responsibilities
here as humans. To recognize a territory, all of the living beings,
all of their histories, is to humble ourselves as learners”.
Annette Annicchiarico was born and raised on treaty 6
territory in Edmonton, Alberta for most of her life. She is grateful
for being a visitor for the past 8 years on the unceded territory of
the Lkwungen peoples. Annette acknowledges her ancestors
as settlers on her paternal side as English and Welsh and on
her maternal side Ukrainian and Polish. She is grateful to be
spending her time exploring this vast land and learn about the
importance of native plants, as they are healers and caregivers.
It reminds Annette that she too must take care of this land and
be respectful of what she takes. Through her actions she learns
how reciprocity supports the relationship between human and
non-human beings.
In the last year working alongside the Early Learning and
Care students we have taken many pathways to build in the
histories of this land. We participated in exploring. PKOLS
(Mount Douglas) with the students as a way of connecting to
this place and to deepen our connection to our values in early
learning. We take opportunities to learn outside the walls of
the classroom and learn about the connections that guide and
nurture us as diverse learners.
Danielle Davis has been a grateful visitor on the lands of
Lkungen peoples for the last 16 years. Her ancestry is Welsh,
Sri-Lankan and Scandinavian. She is appreciative of the privilege
it is to get to know this land alongside students, community
members and colleagues.
Creating space and time in our days with students for being
on the land, has allowed for connections to place, the morethan-human world, and new ways of being with each other. It
has helped shape an appreciation for the gifts of the land that
we learn with: the luminous seafoam green lichen in a winter
rainstorm, the tiny ecosystems of moss growing on the rocks
edge and the emergence of new life in the spring.
Mary Burgaretta is Anishinaabe-kwe, a member of Rama
First Nation. She has been a visitor on the beautiful Coast Salish
lands since childhood, now residing on Cowichan territory and
working on Lekwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ territory. Mary has been
part of the Early Learning and Care sector for many years and is
grateful to have visited Indigenous communities all around the
province of BC.

Indigenous teachings and values have a place in our daily
connections. By taking the opportunity to weave stories and
ceremonies throughout course materials I encourage students
to take a glimpse of another worldview that they may seek to
learn more about in the future. I try to find a balance between
acknowledging the traumatic past and gratitude for the gifts our
ancestors have passed on to us- respect for one another and
the Earth, caring for the children who are our future, sharing
foods and medicines, and humour that lightens our spirits. It
is powerful and timely that the ELC faculty include respectful
dialogue between the First Peoples, Settlers and Newcomers as
a way to strengthen our relationships.
Jacquie Burden has been a settler on the W̱ SÁNEĆ territory all
of her life, grateful for summer memories as a young, resourceful
girl of harvesting shrimp and picking blackberries in the Tswaout
territory. Later, with a brave heart, I was welcomed by the
Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations as an inspired educator
at Songhees First Nation Preschool, supported by an incredibly
involved and caring community of families. Capacity building
funding allowed for the development of a Language and Culture
program, and the adoption of HeadStart’s Child Observation
Record, guiding detailed observation, documentation and
reflection which strengthened relationships with parents and
relations.. The CFCS team has rekindled an awareness of
connection of local First Nation peoples to this land and water
and with it, my growing humility as a “settler”.
The strong interest of all ELC students to experience practicum
placements at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and other
local Indigenous led practicum placements indicate the passion
of our instructors, and commitment of the students to a
healing future.
Enid Elliot is named for her two grandmothers, Enid for
my Scottish grandmother and Frances for my American
grandmother with more or less Irish-English ancestors. A visitor
on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen and W̱ SÁNEĆ
peoples for over forty years she is grateful for their love, care
and generosity to the land, the children and the ancestors for
time immemorial.
All of us thank you for an opportunity to share some of our
learnings in this journey. We have been held up by the
community within Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen who keeps us pointed in a
good direction. We hold up our hands to all in our community
who are taking on this journey.
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S C H OOL OF BUSINESS

Carl Everitt
Chair, Hospitality, Tourism and Golf Management
Indigenization and reconciliation are continuously integrated
into my journey of learning — a way of thinking that has helped
to inform my teaching and educational leadership practices. I
consider Indigenization to have provided me with an increased
awareness of the importance of connections to relationships,
land, culture and heritage.
Viewing the world through an indigenous lens has inspired me
to make parallels to the tourism industry. Indigenous tourism
in Canada is an industry that is demonstrating leadership
towards reconciliation by creating pragmatic strategies that
empower Indigenous communities to be self-determining and
build capacity. As a result, sustainable, authentic Indigenous
Tourism experiences are being established throughout
communities across Canada. I envision the tourism industry as
taking on a significant role in bridging a positive relationship
between the Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples
of Canada.

Biography
Carl Everitt is the Chair of the Hospitality, Tourism
and Golf Management Programs. In addition he also
holds the responsibility of facilitating and ensuring
student’s success in two mandatory co-op internships
within the department. Carl has over twenty years of
hospitality industry experience. Carl is a fully qualified
Journeyperson Chef, and attended University College
Birmingham, UK to achieve these credentials. During
the early stages of his career Carl was employed
by Hilton International Hotels in his native country,
England. Carl holds the Provincial Instructors
Diploma and also the Diploma in Adult Education
through Vancouver Community College. Carl recently
completed an MBA in Hospitality and Tourism
Management at Southern Cross University in Australia.

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In my leadership role, I have had the privilege to be able
to work with the Songhees Nation on a pilot project.
The Aboriginal Culinary Arts and Hospitality and Tourism
Management (ACATHM) provided our program with the
opportunity for our faculty to delivery two applied learning
courses at the Songhees Nation, for each of the ACATHAM
cohorts. The project provided not only learning opportunities
for students and faculty but nurtured a stronger relationship
between Camosun and the Songhees Nation.
The Hospitality and Tourism Management program at
Camosun has a deep history of using applied learning
pedagogies. A logical approach toward reconciliation has
been the evolution of the Food Reconciliation Event. This tridiscipline approach (Anthropology, Culinary Arts, Hospitality
Management) has created a partnership with the Songhees
Nation to delivery an annual event that discusses the negative
impacts of colonization on Indigenous food systems. This
sell-out event continues to help espouse the values of
reconciliation and relationship building in communities.
Moving forward on a voyage of learning with an open heart
and open mind, I continue to seek an understanding of
indigenous ways of knowing.

CENTR E FOR SPORT & EX E RC ISE E DU CAT IO N

John Telford
Program Leader, Adventure Education
BIOGRAPHY
I grew up and spent most of my working life in the UK.
In 2017 I moved with my family to take up a post at
Camosun College and have since been a visitor on the
traditional territories of the W̱ SÁNEĆ and Lkwungen
people. I am very thankful to be living, working, and
learning in such a beautiful place and am gradually
learning more about my new home. I have worked in the
field of outdoor/environmental/adventure education
for over 20 years now and have had the privilege to
work in a variety of sectors from non-profit community
organizations to post-secondary institutions. Here at
Camosun College I am Program Leader of the postdegree diploma in Adventure Education in the Centre
for Sport and Exercise Education. It has been an exciting
and invigorating three years since the launch of the
program and I owe many people a debt of gratitude
for the support and kindness they have shown me. I
have benefited greatly – professionally and personally
– from the teaching and mentorship I have received
from Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen as I have sought to understand my
relationships in this new place I call home and the ways
that decolonization, indigenization, and reconciliation
are expressed in my work.

My way in to thinking about decolonization, indigenization,
and reconciliation started primarily through my work
in environmental education before living in Canada. In
environmental education there is the concept of a crisis of
perception laying at the heart of the dominant global sociopolitical ways of thinking and acting. In short, it is highly unlikely
that attempting to influence behaviours towards living more
lightly on the planet will ever be successful as long as we
continue to think within the current dominant worldview. The
solution, therefore, is argued to exist in somehow effecting
a change in the way that we perceive the human/other-thanhuman relationship. Indigenous ways of being and knowing are
often looked to as exemplars of a philosophical basis on which
a more ecologically balanced and just way of living might be
(re)-constructed. The challenge in a country like the UK is to
find ways back, and forward, to an indigenously informed way
of thinking that is meaningful, relevant, and grounded in the

people and places of that particular place. When I moved to
Canada it became clear that indigenous ways of knowing and
being, that previously I had understood primarily through a lens
of environmental justice, was also very significantly one of social
justice. In some ways working in outdoor/adventure education
provides a context and a medium that makes it very easy to
explore with my students who we are and how we should be
in this place, as we try to find ways to unthread the destructive
parts of the past and present that bind us, and weave in new
threads of justice and collective flourishing. The depth of the
complexity of the challenge still remains, however. I am very
grateful to all those who, with such grace and generosity
of spirit, have mentored me in my learning journey and my
attempts to facilitate the learning of my students in this sphere.
I am also very grateful to those who have provided institutional
support and flexibility to the initiatives I have attempted to bring
and will continue to try to bring to my work.
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CE NTR E FOR SPORT & EX E RC ISE E D U CAT IO N

Michael Pardy
Instructor, Adventure Education
The calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission’s findings have encouraged me to critically reflect
on my relationship with outdoor education, this place some of
us call Canada, and its first peoples. I am a settler. My ancestors
arrived on this continent in the late 1600s. They came to stay,
and as part of their rooting, sought to assert their ownership of
these lands, despite the pre-existing sovereignty of indigenous
peoples. So, for the last few years I’m trying to make sense of
the implications and consequences of reconciling my identities
as a settler and as an outdoor educator.
One of the implications is that my freedom to work with and
explore this land is reflective of a deep structural privilege –
the privilege of the settler to deny indigenous sovereignty,
to assert narratives of belonging that begin with the arrival of
Europeans, to define wild-ness as a space free from human
interventions, and therefore available for settling. I have traveled
across the country, visiting territories as I wished, and telling
the stories I wanted to tell. This is the privilege of the settler.
But it’s not in the spirit of truth telling, or reconciling. It’s not
accepting my responsibility in perpetuating the legacies of my
settler ancestors.

BIOGRAPHY
Michael Pardy is an instructor in the Adventure Education
Certificate Program. Michael lives in the traditional
territory of the Lekwungen. He can be found in and
around the forests, islands, and waterways of Vancouver
Island. With over 35 years of experience guiding and
educating across the northern half of Turtle Island, he is
still attracted to a life lived in, on, and around the water.
Recently, Michael has taken up open water swimming; in
the middle of winter, he often wonders if this was a step
forward in his passion for water.

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So I continue to wrestle with some big questions. Do I have
permission to visit the places I work in? What knowledge
can I share? How can I help my students reconstruct their
understanding of nature to include indigenous people and
knowledge? How can I find and learn from indigenous voices
and perspectives? For me, these questions are daily relevant
because I work “in place” on Vancouver Island. This place,
its histories, the people, and its messy realities are the stuff of
my daily life. How can I continue to live in and visit disputed
territories, talk about these places, and draw on the wisdom of
all people without addressing my identity as a settler? These are
the questions that guide me in my work as an outdoor educator.

CO- OP AN D CA REER SERV IC E S

Kathryn Anderson
Employment Facilitator
Growing up in Northern Ontario I did not know who I was surrounded by in my
community or at school, yet I had no awareness of Indigenous families at the time. Nor
did I understand the implications of my lack of awareness and how that came to be. The
existence of Indigenous Peoples was remarkably imperceptible where I lived (unless
pointing to negative stereotypes).
My journey begins with a grateful acknowledgement of Robinson-Huron Treaty territory
and the lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnaabeg where I grew up. Today I am a
grateful visitor to the traditional territories of the Lkwungen (Esquimalt and Songhees)
and W̱ SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples. I am fortunate to work
on these lands and it’s important to acknowledge that I’m a visitor who was uninvited
yet I have been received with welcome and graciousness by local Indigenous hosts.

BIOGRAPHY
Kathryn is an Employment
Facilitator with the Co-op and
Career Services Department.
She started at Camosun in
April of 2019. She grew up on
Robinson-Huron Treaty lands in
Northern Ontario on traditional
territory of the Atikameksheng
Anishnaabeg. She is a settler of
Scottish, German, American and
French ancestry and has spent
20 years living on the beautiful
West Coast. Kathryn brings more
than a decade of experience in
both public and private sector
employment services to Camosun
students. She very much enjoys
providing support, coaching and
obstacles management related to
career. Kathryn blends personal
experience with professional
training and instructional
saavy. She is committed to
Reconciliation with Canada’s First
Peoples and is delighted to assist
students to obtain meaningful
work using their Camosun
education while imparting
practical job search skills that will
serve students for their lifetime.

Like many Canadians, I had watched multiple news stories over the past 30 years
regarding the advancement of Indigenous rights. None of that made a personal impact
until I joined Camosun College and had the opportunity to participate in TELŦIN TŦE
WILNEW; the practice of Indigenization. It was a life-altering experience where I
learned to do a territorial acknowledgement and more.
This priceless course offered me perspective I’d never had previously and invited me
to walk my talk by identifying possibilities for and enacting Indigenization. Both in my
work and in my personal life. As an Employment Facilitator in the Business portfolio
of the Co-op and Career Services department, I am responsible to deliver Co-op
WEP (Workplace Employment Preparation) classes. Immediately after completing the
course, I sat down with colleague to discuss ways to expand our efforts to indigenize
Co-op classes.
Territorial acknowledgement at the beginning of a new class are now practiced; this
is important for the networking and mock interview classes that employers external
to Camosun attend. Currently, a search for additional information on Indigenous
employers and entrepreneurs is underway. We are interested in connecting with
students who identify as Indigenous and have completed co-op placement and who
may be willing to offer a Success Profile to help provide inspiration, as role models.
I’ve now taken part in my first Orange Shirt Day on campus, along with a Soup and
Fry Bread event and attended National Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations. I will
continue to support cultural events on and off campus. I’m committed to speaking up to
counter negative stereotypes or common expressions when they arise. From this I have
had several valuable discussions that have brought new understanding. I am always
learning and reading and I openly invite my friends and family to engage in discussion
around Indigenous rights so that we are aware of Indigenous peoples and experiences.
There is much to be done, much to learn and to unlearn. For that reason, I have signed
and posted Hereditary Chief Bob Joseph’s Pledge of generating positive and lasting
change in my professional and personal life. In honour of that, I will do my utmost to
fulfill that Pledge. Please, join me!
HÍSW̱ ḴE SIÁM
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CE NTR E FOR ACCESSIBLE L E A RN IN G

Shane Baker (Student) Gitxsan
Gitwangak First Nation

BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer has been working with students with
disabilities for the last 25 years in both the postsecondary system and the K-12 system. Jennifer
has a keen interest in connecting students with
the resources they need for their studies. Prior to
working at Camosun College Jennifer worked in the
K-12 system for School District #61, Greater Victoria,
as a resource teacher and ran a business providing
educational and technological resources to schools.
She has been a faculty member with Camosun
College for the past 16 years working with the
Centre for Accessible Learning and the Learning
Skills departments.

Jennifer LeVecque, (Faculty), Centre for Accessible Learning,
Student Affairs graciously coordinated the wonderful story of
student Shane Baker, along with the support of (right to left)
Robbyn Lanning, Christine Lavallee, and Lorri Leonard with Shane
Baker in the middle, Jennifer LeVeque and Sue Doner.
In reflection of my three years at Camosun College, and the
completion of the Indigenous Studies (IST) Diploma Program,
I must acknowledge the role of meaningful relationships that
were built along the way. The contributions of my cohort, Eyēʔ
Sqȃ’lewen: the Centre for Indigenous Education & Community
Connections (IECC), and that of the College Faculty and Staff
have all enriched my journey, and ultimately, my success.
In 2003, an accident left me with life-changing circumstances:
traumatic brain injury and legally blind; years of deep healing
and rehabilitation followed. Then, in 2017, I enrolled in the IST
program. At first, I felt apprehension and uncertainty of what
the future held, but determination commanded. Early student
experience, visually lost behind Na’tsa’maht, and near-panic
attacks informed me that post-secondary education was going
to be my biggest challenge yet.
In those first few weeks, I felt my IST cohort to be a warm and
inclusive community. Friendliness greeted me at every turn.
Classmates walked with me, showed me the buildings of our
classes, and when I felt overwhelmed with sensory overload,
IECC members, and Secretary, Christine La Vallee, always

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greeted me with an open ear, and a hug if needed.
Over the course of the first year, the trueness of my academic
challenges would become fully realized. I was unable to
access course content in the same manner as students with
sight. Course pack material and PowerPoint presentations were
inaccessible to me, and being a new student, I was unaware
of who could help me with my dilemma. This soon began to
affect all aspects of my health. Fortunately, a team began to rally.
Indigenous Advisor, Lorri Leonard, advocated on my behalf,
and I was connected with Jennifer LeVecque in the Centre for
Accessible Learning (CAL). A momentum of change began to
build, and we soon met with department Chairs, Instructors,
and other helpful staff, and we found creative solutions for me
to fully engage with course material while meeting academic
requirements.
Some challenges remained but were amazingly met with the
assistance of E-learning Instructional Designer, Sue Doner, from
the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). Her
effort to help was invaluable. To add, my visual impairment

restricted me in the various formatting styles required for
academic papers, and I was further challenged in the use of
my screen reading software (JAWS) while navigating the online
databases in the Alan Batey Library. Here, I met and learned
from Librarian Robbyn Lanning. We worked together to create
an accessible APA citation guide, and she introduced me to
Boolean codes—this provided a means to research relevant
articles to complete my assignments. She even took interest in
how my software worked, and I feel that it informed her of the
challenges of the visually impaired. A real friendship was formed
that summer.
My success is a direct result of the meaningful relationships
that have been forged in my three years here at Camosun
College. From the cultural understanding of Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen, the
willingness to hear and act on my need for academic resources,
to the detailing of templates and knowledge sharing, the
circle of my support was fully realized. Looking back, and with
gratitude, I am now empowered with skills and capabilities that
will continue to serve me in my future learning at the University
of Victoria. Thank you, everyone.

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21

CE NTR E FOR EXCELLENC E IN T E AC H IN G & L E A RN IN G

Judith Perron
Former Faculty, Education Strategist
For as long as I can remember I have known that I am of
Mi’gmaw ancestry on my paternal side. In our family, I am the
one who can still recite the “story” my father liked to tell in the
Mi’qmaq language he invented. I have always been envious of
my brothers’ and sister’s straight hair, high cheekbones, and
dark eyes and complexion, but this sort of pride and awareness
is superficial compared to the knowledge and insight I have
gained, and am still gaining, since working here at Camosun.
For me now, in my own personal journey, Indigenization means
decolonization.
To be sure, colonization permitted my French-Acadian and
Scottish ancestors to cross the ocean and hope for a better life.
It allowed my great-grand-father Perron to receive 100 acres
of “crown” land for free in what is known as New Brunswick,
it allowed my siblings and me to have access to both a good
European-based education and work opportunities in our first
language, even as a French speaking family with modest means.
Colonization, however, did not do much for my ancestor who
was baptised as “Sauvagesse Illégitime” and died as “Charlotte
Sauvagesse”. Whatever she was able to teach her six children
about the Mi’gmaw way is impossible to know; it is lost.

BIOGRAPHY
I have had the privilege to work in various postsecondary environments for more than 20 years,
and I am grateful for the recent offer to be part
of the Camosun team as the interculturalization
strategist. After completing my post-doctoral
research project on Acadian Literature, I taught
and researched culture and language, and
then joined the academic leadership team at
CEGEP de Sherbrooke where I oversaw program
management, internationalization, and academic
mobility. More recently, I worked with colleges
across Canada on parts of their internationalization
strategies, and developed a task-based /
integrated-skills / indigenized English for Academic
Purposes program for Ontario Tech University.

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There is a lot of knowledge and experience for me to acquire in
order to decolonize my professional practice as an intercultural
educator. I feel a pressing need to offer learning experiences
that are different from the usual (and often competing) theories,
frameworks, taxonomies, models, indexes and so on. I feel a
responsibility to engage in honest discussions and meaningful
actions regarding racism. I feel compelled to model and
promote respect and kindness, and I want to learn more about
what we all lost in the making of this country. I have many fears to
overcome, but I have great resources in the TELŦIN TŦE WILNEW
team of instructors, a well-stocked library, and colleagues and
friends who constantly and generously listen and share. I am
ready for the journey ahead.
Because of COVID-19 there’s been delays in publication, and
since then Judith has sadly left the College to retire.

CENTR E FOR EXCELLENC E IN T E AC H IN G & L E A RN IN G

Martha McAlister
Faculty & Chair
I remember taking the TELŦIN TŦE WILNEW course when it was
first developed, and then recently thought I should take it again,
just to see how much the course had changed (ha-ha). Well,
what a wonderful surprise to discover how much I had changed
in a decade! Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and
relating have been seeping into my way gradually over time, and
it is meaningful to reflect back on the journey so far.
Working in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
gives me an opportunity to engage with a wide range of
people within our college community and to co-create learning
opportunities with a focus on Indigenization. Here are just a
few examples:
• We established the Indigenous Education Community of
Practice that has been running for five years. Every month
colleagues come together as peers to explore what
Indigenization means and looks like within their work.
• We have been supporting the roll out of the Indigenization
Study Guides, by holding study groups where colleagues
sit in circle and work through
the material together.
• We help to bring in guest speakers to share their wisdom
and insights about Indigenization within higher education.
• We coordinate “Day On the Land” outings guided by a
community elder.

BIOGRAPHY
My name is Martha McAlister and I have felt privileged
to work, learn and teach at Camosun College since
2006. Originally from Ontario, I have lived in various
locations within Coast Salish territory since 1986, and
raised two sons here. Currently, I am the Chair for CETL.

But it is the smaller things I have really noticed within my
own practice. For example, whenever I do a territorial
acknowledgement now, I find that I really take it as a reflective
moment of deeper presence, gratitude, and respect. Also, I
have resonated very much with Martin Brokenleg’s Circle of
Courage model, and the foundational importance of creating a
sense of belonging, upon which mastery, independence, and
generosity can be built. I have come to see how belonging,
through a focus on building relationship and community, helps
to create a place we can all learn and grow more effectively.

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S C H OOL OF HEA LTH & HU M A N SE RV IC E S

Paula Littlejohn & Mary Willbond
Instructors
BIOGRAPHY
Paula Little john, CBE, ID, RN, BSN, MA
Paula is a practicing registered nurse, who has been
teaching with the School of Health & Human Services
since 1997. She has taught a variety of health related
programs and courses for Camosun College including
the following: Health Care Assistant (HCA), HCA - ESL,
Practical Nursing (PN), LPN upgrade, communication,
pharmacology, basics of medications, nursing skills,
anatomy and physiology, lifestyle choices, and Prenatal
& Parenting Education. Paula currently works as a
full-time faculty member with Camosun College in the
Baccalaureate Nursing Program. In 2010 Paula received
a Camosun Celebrates, Award of Excellence, for the
“Student’s Choice of Best Teacher”.
Mary Willbond, RN, BSN, MSN
Mary graduated from the Camosun College RN diploma
nursing program in 1992. She then went on to receive
a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (BSN) from the
University of Victoria in 1995 and a Master of Science in
Nursing (MSN) from the University of British Columbia
in 1999. Mary has been a nurse educator at Camosun
since January 2000. Prior to coming to Camosun in
2000, Mary worked in many areas of nursing practice
including acute general medicine, acute GI medicine
and complex care. Mary’s population of interest has
always been the care of the frail older adult with a focus
on dementia care.

Paula Littlejohn and Mary Willbond, Twin sisters and
Nurse Educators. A Knowledge Seeking Journey to
Understand Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being
We would like to begin by honouring the peoples that have
come before us, that have lived and thrived and learned on
this beautiful land of the traditional territory of the Lkwungen
speaking peoples, those from the Songhees, Esquimalt and the
W̱ SÁNEĆ territories.
We have both been on this land for forty-five years and consider
ourselves privileged to call this beautiful land our home.
We both graduated as registered nurses in 1992. We have
worked as nurse educators, within Health and Human Services,
at Camosun College for over 20 years. Camosun College
is a community that provides opportunities and supports
employees to explore and seek Indigenous ways of knowing
and being.
Indigenous way of being looks at learning as a journey, which
takes courage, patience and humility. We are knowledge
seekers on this journey to understand Indigenous ways of
knowing and being.
Our journey started as young children; we were taught by our
Celtic ancestors to honour those who have gone before us.
Our grandfather told us stories about how a group of Nitinat

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Showcase Anthology: Stories of Indigenization

peoples, rescued our third-great grandfather, William Thomson,
off the coast of Barclay Sound. The ship he was on ventured
off course and smashed onto the rocks at Pachena Point at the
entrance to Barkley Sound on January 1, 1854. Barkley Sound
is part of the traditional territory of the Nuu-chah-nulth First
Nations. Fortunately for Grandpa Thomson and the other
survivors who managed to get to shore, the Nitinats came upon
them and provided them shelter for the winter. In the spring,
Grandpa Thomson and the other sailors were taken down the
coast in a large war canoe. They arrived in the Sooke Harbour
and were received by James Douglas himself. During the time
with the Nitinats, Grandpa Thomson learned how to survive and
thrive on these coastal lands. These learnings and connections
with Indigenous peoples were lifelong for Grandpa Thomson
and his descendants.
Once settled on the Saanich Peninsula, Grandpa Thomson
and his family members lived among the W’Sanec peoples.
According to the family stories, for many years there were no
other white settlers in the area, and his wife Margaret would
have visits with local W̱ SÁNEĆ people. Margaret was also
said to be supported by an Indigenous midwife during many
of her 16 childbirths. The W̱ SÁNEĆ peoples were also hired
to work on the farm and helped survey and build the roads
on the Peninsula. We have many similar stories about how
other descendants lived in harmony and had friendships with
Indigenous peoples in the early settler years. These family
stories made us feel proud to be known as descendants of
pioneer settlers. As we learned through Indigenization courses,
we discovered that the Indigenous peoples of these lands were
egregiously treated. This left us with great sadness, shame and
anger that our ancestors, who were early settlers, did not do
anything to stop colonization; indeed, we discovered they were
part of it.
One thing that we have learned through our journey is that we
must accept the truth and reality that Indigenous peoples, both
past and present, were and are poorly treated. This has lead
to great historical and intergenerational trauma. We learned it
took seven generations to get to where we are, and it may take
as many generations for reconciliation and healing to occur. We
must learn from the past and be focused on having respect for
one another.

As nurse educators, we are sharing Indigenous knowledge to
our students and include it as a perspective for providing care.
We need to step outside of only using the Western mindset.
We must enact an ability to have “Two Eyed Seeing” in nursing
and health care where the strengths of both Western and
Indigenous ways of knowing are valued (Marshall, Marshall &
Bartlett, 2015).
As educators,
...our responsibility is making a commitment to both
unlearn and learn - to unlearn racism and superiority in
all its manifestations, while examining our own social
constructions in our judgements and learn new ways of
knowing, valuing others, accepting diversity and making
equity and inclusion foundations for all learners. (Battiste,
2013, p. 166)
We are settler allies in the journey towards reconciliation and
Indigenization. “We need to work together and support each
other to make a place where all people are valued and included.
Reconciliation is a very personal journey and one in which all
Canadians must play a part” (Wilson, 2018, pp. 63-64).
We are committed to continue to be more competent and
confident in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This
journey is ongoing.
References
Battiste, M. (2013). Decolonizing education: Nourishing the
learning spirit. Saskatchewan, SK: Purich.
Marshall, M., Marshall, A., & Bartlett, C. (2015). Chapter 2. Twoeyed seeing in medicine. In M. Greenwood, S. deLeeuw, N.
M. Lindsay, & C. Reading (Eds.) (pp. 16-23). Determinants of
Indigenous peoples’ health in Canada. Beyond the social.
Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Wilson, K. (2018). The Foundations Guide. Pulling together:
A Guide for Indigenization of post secondary institutions.
Professional learning series. BCcampus, Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
License. Retrieved from https://bccampus.ca/projects/
indigenization/

Showcase Anthology: Stories of Indigenization

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S C H OOL OF ARTS & SCIE N C E

Sandy Bannikoff
Instructor
BIOGRAPHY
I was born on the Haldimand Tract land that
was promised to the Haudenosaunee of the Six
Nations of the Grand River, within the territory of
the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee
peoples1. I was immediately given up for adoption,
and have thus always been visiting among people.
I have lived here on the traditional territory of the
Lək̓ ʷəŋən people for nearly 30 years.

I want to participate in and contribute to the project of Canada’s
reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. I am grateful to have
twice experienced the award wining Camosun course TELŦIN
TŦE WILNEW, with Corrine Michel, Dawn Smith and Ruth
Lyall. These are the teachers from whom I learned how I could
indigenize my course Philosophy Through Film, Phil 116.
The easy part was to include indigenous content. This was made
easy by the fact there currently seems to be a renaissance in
indigenous filmmaking. For example, through 2008-2013 there
were only three films by indigenous filmmakers showcased at
the Toronto International Film Festival, whereas in 2019 there
were thirteen2. There is no shortage of excellent and insightful
indigenous films, and more and more people have begun
to notice. To achieve the inclusion of indigenous content
within the course itself, through Camosun’s Education Council
process, I gained permission to change one learning outcome
to this: Describe fundamental philosophical themes arising
within films, including themes with an indigenous focus such
as indigenization, colonization, decolonization, reconciliation,
resistance, and equality.
The more challenging part arose because, although the study of
indigenous content is an important beginning, it did not seem to
me to be enough. The reason is that the study, how education
is typically practised, is itself part of colonization. I think the
project of reconciliation requires making room for indigenous
ways of life within broader society; in education this means
incorporating indigenous ways of knowing into the curriculum.

Philosophy resides in the Humanities department, where
typically courses divide class time as follows: two thirds
lecture, one third seminar. How seminars are conducted is not
completely uniform, but the design is intended to allow room
for discussion. I gained permission for the lecture/discussion
format of Phil 116 to be changed to half lecture, half discussion.
This way the oral traditions of indigenous people are honoured
and practised within the design of the course.
The Lək̓ ʷəŋən people in particular, on whose traditional
territory Camosun sits, practise circle discussions. It is a crucial
part of the Lək̓ ʷəŋən way of life: a method to solve problems;
to educate one another; to celebrate; to mourn. So, for the
instances of Phil 116 that I teach, the discussion portion is
conducted as a circle, and the indigenization of my Philosophy
Through Film class has changed both the content and methods
of the course.
Kleco (thank you)
1

Adapted from the University of Waterloo Territorial acknowledgement
https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/about/territorial-acknowledgement.

2 “TIFF tracking number of films made by Indigenous filmmakers for the 1st time”
CBC News, September 19, 2019. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/
tiff-indigenous-films-1.5272650

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Showcase Anthology: Stories of Indigenization

CENTR E FOR EXCELLENC E IN T E AC H IN G & L E A RN IN G

English Department
Indigenization Working Group
BIOGRAPHY
We are a group of instructors in the English
Department who are working to Indigenize our
curricula and our ways of teaching. We are studying
the Circle of Courage and finding ways to bring the
core ideas of belonging, mastery, independence and
generosity into the classroom. We read and discuss
books by Indigenous authors, and share secondary
resources by Indigenous writers and scholars that
help us to better understand the texts. We are
committed to learning what we don’t know, and
trying to help each other with generosity and humour.
We eat snacks and drink lots of tea together.

Julian Gunn: In 2017, after finishing TELŦIN TŦE WILNEW,
Kari Jones and I organized the Indigenization working group.
I suggested “working” to emphasize that we are doing
something: actively, collaboratively seeking transformation in
our own practices and in the world. Gathered here are some
group members’ accounts of the many approaches they have
taken to Indigenizing their work.
Kari Jones: Like Julian, I have organized my Academic English
course around Dr. Martin Brokenleg’s Circle of Courage,
recommended by Sandee Mitchell of Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen. I first
encourage students to feel they belong in the classroom,
then help them master skills, then step back to allow for their
growing independence, and finally witness and (I hope)
model the generosity that makes learning joyful. I work to
design assignments that recognize and support students’
own knowledge and their relations to community.
Janet Doherty: I would offer three threads. First, the shift from
being drawn to Indigenization by social justice to being drawn
to Indigenization by the beauty of its holistic, integrative models.
Second, the desire as English instructors to allow the history of
linguicide on these lands to inform our practise. Third, exploring
what a collective engagement of spirit, body, heart, and mind
might look like in the classroom.

Heidi Darroch: Assisted by Camosun’s Indigenizing the
Curriculum course and supportive colleagues, I am exploring
how teaching the works of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit authors
must be tied to principles of respect, autonomy, and reciprocity.
This term, students could decide to write about a segment on
“Why Stories Matter Now More Than Ever” from Unreserved.
We also used this segment to practice paraphrasing and
quotation, an opportunity to discuss citing oral and recorded
sources and attributing credit beyond conventionally published,
peer-reviewed work.
Michael Stewart: I wanted to explore introducing the
Indigenous practice of land-based teaching into the study of
English. I collaborated with W̱ SÁNEĆ Knowledge Keeper J.B.
Williams, who graciously invited my classes to the Tsawout
Village site at the end of Island View Beach. Standing in the sun,
the wind and the rain, J.B. told us stories of the land. Not only
did this experience teach the students more about the W̱ SÁNEĆ
people, it demonstrated how stories are strongly connected to
place: that the land itself is a teacher.

Showcase Anthology: Stories of Indigenization

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S C H OOL OF ARTS & SCIE N C E

Peter Ove
Instructor
Last year, I was part of a small group that organized a faculty workshop on
decolonization. We hosted thirty or so faculty for a half-day discussion of the newly
published book Whose Land Is It Anyway? A Manual for Decolonization. It was a
wonderful experience to hear faculty speak about their work engaging with this issue,
and it reinforced for me the value of exploring the connections between Indigenizing
our practice at the College and decolonizing our mindsets.
I never feel like I sufficiently Indigenize my work at the College. I am surely not the
first person to think this as I strive to add Indigenous pedagogy and content to my
courses. On the other hand, I have been learning and teaching about the discourse of
colonialism for much of my professional career. The focus on colonial ideologies and
practices encourages us all to be aware of how inequalities are perpetuated through
particular ways of seeing the world and how the struggle for justice requires us to
view our relationship with others, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, differently.
Consequently, I have also tried to view my Indigenization journey through this lens.

BIOGRAPHY
Peter Ove has been teaching
sociology since 2009. Apart from
teaching at UVic and Camosun,
Peter has also worked as a UN
human settlements officer in
Brazil, a high-school teacher
in Denmark, a researcher on
community development, a
consultant for international nonprofits, a social coordinator for
international students, a youth
worker in the United Church, a
municipal recreation planner
in Ucluelet, and a laboratory
technician in a Cuban cement
factory. Peter has a BA in
Psychology and Anthropology
(UVic), an MA in International
Development Studies (Dalhousie),
and a PhD in Sociology (UBC).
His graduate research focused
on issues of global poverty,
non-profit fundraising, and child
sponsorship programs.

28

A few years ago, I worked with a group of faculty to bring together roughly 200
students from across the College for an interdisciplinary day of learning on the subject
of reconciliation. Students heard from Indigenous activists and allies about their
experiences of reclaiming lost (or stolen) heritage. Events like this are valuable in getting
students to directly confront the historical and contemporary realties of racism in
Canada. That said, there are other ways to help create a community that is willing and
able to acknowledge wrongs and respect diversity. For example, a while ago I brought
up the question of our College becoming a certified Fair Trade Campus. Among
other things, this would have required us to provide only fair trade coffee, which was
not possible given our contract with Aramark. While this kind of work is not directly
related to Indigenization, ensuring that the College’s supply chain does not oppress
poor agricultural workers half a world away is definitely part of moving toward a system
not built on the historical and ideological realities of Euro-American supremacy.
Consequently, I see it as a clear part of decolonizing the College.
From this perspective, all the ways in which we challenge present systems of inequality,
and all the ways in which we strive to live ethically with others, help move us toward a
place where settlers are better able to see the harm done to Indigenous communities
and truly support Indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere in navigating their
path towards a more just future. What this helps us to appreciate, I think, is the valuable
work toward Indigenization that we can all do everyday by challenging the social and
economic relationships that perpetuate our unequal world. The Lək̓ ʷəŋən people in
particular, on whose traditional territory Camosun sits, practise circle discussions. It
is a crucial part of the Lək̓ ʷəŋən way of life: a method to solve problems; to educate
one another; to celebrate; to mourn. So, for the instances of Phil 116 that I teach, the
discussion portion is conducted as a circle, and the indigenization of my Philosophy
Through Film class has changed both the content and methods of the course.

Showcase Anthology: Stories of Indigenization

ACKN OW L E D G E M E N TS :
Dawn Smith: Project Coordinator
Sybil Harrison and Ian Humphries: Sponsors
Jaime Clanachan: Graphic Design
David Neel: for permission to share the
image of Kakaso’las
February 2021