Trickster Chases the Tale of Education
How Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies can turn teaching and learning upside down and inside out.
Description
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has sparked new discussions about reforming education to move beyond colonialist representations of history and to better reflect Indigenous worldviews in the classroom. Trickster Chases the Tale of Education considers the work of educators and Mi’kmaw community members, whose collaborative projects address the learning needs of Aboriginal people. Writing in the form of a trickster tale, Sylvia Moore contrasts Western logic and Indigenous wisdom by presenting dialogues between her own self-reflective voice and the voice of Crow, a central trickster character, in order to highlight the convergence of these two worldviews in teaching and learning. Exploring the challenges of incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being into education, this volume weaves together the voices of co-researchers, community members, and traditional Mi’kmaw story characters to creatively bring readers into the realm of Indigenous values. Through a detailed study of a community project to highlight the important connection between the Mi’kmaw and salmon, Moore reveals teachings of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility, and emphasizes the need for repairing and strengthening relationships with people and all other life. These dialogues demonstrate the need for educators to critically examine their assumptions about the world, decolonize their thinking, and embrace Indigenous knowledge as an essential part of curriculum. Using the power of storytelling, dreams, trickster figures and their teachings, humour, and contemplative silences, Trickster Chases the Tale of Education will resonate while providing insights into Indigenous learning and teaching.
Reviews
"While Moore's unique structure for the book is engaging, it does not sacrifice academic rigor. The text is peppered with references to scholars and traditional knowledge-keepers whose work influences Moore's thinking, and the narrative concludes with a traditional collection of endnotes and full bibliography. While her conclusion that knowledge is fundamentally a function of relationship may seem simple, its application is rich ground for exploration in diverse school communities. In her introduction, Moore says the book is intended "for all people (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) who struggle with colonized minds," a reminder that challenging colonized curriculum, while primarily for the preservation and reproduction of Native ways of knowing for Native students, is a necessary service for all students, Native and non-Native alike. Moore's unconventional work is worth taking the time to read slowly and return to again." Journal of American and Indigenous Studies
“This work is a valuable tool for the classroom as it illustrates the power of Indigenous storytelling as we are taken on a journey of decolonizing research though the story of a researcher, Crow, and the salmon that inspired two communities to come together.” Kahente Horn-Miller, Carleton University