Cited by 12Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsIndigenous and Place-Based EducationIndigenous Cultures and Socio-Education

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 63 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 56 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Beyond the “Indigenizing the Academy” Trend: Learning from Indigenous Higher Education Land-Based and Intercultural Pedagogies to Build Trans-Systemic Decolonial Education.

Open access
Drouin-Gagné, Marie-Eve·2021·Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning

Abstract

Given the UNDRIP’s assertion of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their education and knowledge systems, and in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action, many Canadian Universities are considering “Indigenizing the Academy.” Yet, the meaning of such undertaking remains to be clarified. This article explores trans-systemic approaches as a possible avenue for “Indigenizing the Academy,” and, more specifically, what Indigenous higher education programs and institutions can contribute to a trans-systemic approach to education. Considering two existing models I encountered in my doctoral research, namely the Intercultural approach as developed in the Andes (García et al., 2004; Mato, 2009; Sarango, 2009; Walsh, 2012), and land-based pedagogy as developed in North America (Coulthard, 2017; Coulthard & Simpson, 2016; Tuck et al., 2014; Wildcat et al., 2014), I argue they present trans-systemic elements that would allow us to re-think the frameworks in which to engage with Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge systems in the mainstream academy. What could be learned from the principles and practices of these two Indigenous higher education philosophies to articulate Indigenous knowledge into trans-systemic education in the mainstream academy in ways that foster solidarity and mutual understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people?

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The article argues that “Indigenizing the Academy” in Canada needs a trans-systemic framework rather than superficial inclusion, and that Indigenous higher education models offer such a framework. It examines Andean interculturality (Amawtay Wasi) and North American land-based pedagogy (Dechinta) to propose re-centering communities and land in mainstream higher education.

Key findings

  • Mainstream “Indigenizing” often remains within nation-state and institutional frameworks and risks treating Indigenous knowledges as content inside Western science; the article argues for trans-systemic education that questions colonial knowledge hierarchies.
  • The Amawtay Wasi model in Ecuador, established in 2004 by CONAIE to represent 14 Indigenous nations, uses critical interculturality: communities are knowledge holders and subjects, students engage through informative modules, practical projects, and conversations, and outcomes are returned via “harvesting feasts.”
  • Land-based pedagogy, exemplified by Dechinta in the Northwest Territories—credited by the University of Alberta in collaboration with UBC and the Dene First Nation of Yellowknife—centers land as curriculum, text, and professor, reframes Indigenous rights around relationships to land, and can unsettle settlers through place-based solidarity.
  • The article concludes that mainstream universities could shift from institution- and nation-state-centered frameworks to community- and land-centered trans-systemic frameworks, including territorial acknowledgements backed by concrete relationships and research.

Methods

  • Conceptual/theoretical article, not an empirical study; the author draws on her doctoral research on Indigenous higher education and her standpoint as a settler scholar.
  • Analyzes two existing Indigenous higher education models encountered in that research: the Andean intercultural approach (Amawtay Wasi, Ecuador) and North American land-based pedagogy (Dechinta Center, Northwest Territories).
  • Main analysis is comparative and argumentative, using secondary literature and examples to identify trans-systemic elements and lessons for the mainstream academy.

Limitations

  • Stated: the article cannot explore all Indigenous higher education models; Dechinta is “not necessarily exportable everywhere,” though its principles are; the author does not claim to bring Indigenous knowledges into the academy.
  • Stated: tensions are expected in negotiating incommensurable life projects and community engagement.
  • Evident: no empirical evaluation, sample, or outcome data; conclusions are normative and conceptual, relying on selected cases and literature.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.15402/esj.v7i1.69978

Cites

58 of 58 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

65 Own interpretation · 27 Sources not found · 10 Not checked yet · 9 No full text of the sources · 4 No basis given

Verify all 6 references — free account

Show all 36 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 35
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 69
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
79 of 79
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The two selected models—the Andean intercultural approach and North American land-based pedagogy—are sufficiently representative of Indigenous higher education to support general conclusions about IHE's trans-systemic contributions.

    “To give an idea of how IHE can contribute to the development of trans-systemic educational approaches, I consider here two models developed in two different contexts: the Andean intercultural approach as developed by the Indigenous, intercultural and communal university Amawtay Wasi in Ecuador, and the North American land-based pedagogy approach”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The trans-systemic approach developed in legal education can be extended to higher education and Indigenous knowledge systems generally.

    “I am interested in taking this argument for trans-systemic teaching in law schools, based on Indigenous Peoples' trans-systemic experiences and expertise, and apply it to higher education and Indigenous knowledge systems in general.”
2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 63 references

Research works printed but not linked: 10

  1. Compton, J. (2016). Contextualizing Indigenizing the academy. CAUT ACPPU Bulletin, 63(6), A3.
  2. Coulthard, G. (2017). Dechinta Bush University: Land-based education & Indigenous resurgence. In P. McFarlane & N. Schabus (Eds.), Whose land is it anyway? A manual for decolonization (pp. 57-61). Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC.
  3. Dahl Aldern, J., & Goode, R. W. (2014). The stories hold water: Learning and burning in North Fork Mono homelands. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), 26-51.
  4. Deloria, V. J. (2001). Power and place equal personality. In V. J. Deloria & D. R. Wildcat (Eds.), Power and place. Indian education in America (pp. 21-28). American Indian Graduate Center, FULCRUM.
  5. Friedland, H. (2019). Indigenous laws in law schools: Trans-systemia or transformation? In Y. Emerich & M.-A. Plante (Eds.), Repenser les paradigmes: Approches transsystémiques du droit (pp. 267-287).
  6. Metallic, F. (Gopit). (2008). Strengthening our relations in Gespe'gewa'gi, the Seventh District of Mi'gma'gi. In L. B. Simpson (Ed.), Lighting the eighth fire: The liberation, resurgence, and protection of Indigenous nations (pp. 59-71). Arbeiter Ring.
  7. Newhouse, D. (2016). The meaning of Indigenization of our universities. CAUT ACPPU Bulletin, 63(6), A2-A7.
  8. Sarango, L. F. (2009). Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Peublos Indígenas "Amawtay Wasi". Ecuador/Chinchaysuyu. In D. Mato (Ed.), Instituciones interculturales de educaciín superior eb América Latina. Procesos de construcción, logros, innovaciones y desafíos (pp. 191- 214). UNESCO-IESALC.
  9. Simpson, L. B. (2008). Our elder brothers: The lifeblood of resurgence. In L. B. Simpson (Ed.), Lighting the eighth fire: The liberation, resurgence, and protection of Indigenous nations (pp. 73- 87). Arbeiter Ring.
  10. Simpson, L. B. (2014). Land as pedagogy: Nisnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), 1-25.

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Metadata

Authors
Drouin-Gagné, M.-E.
Venue
Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning
Published
2021-06-02
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
45-65
ISSN
  • 2368-416X (ISSN-L)
  • 2369-1190
OpenAlex
W3171847670
Cited by
12
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 1
FWCI
0.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Engaged Scholar Journal Community-Engaged Research Teaching and Learning (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Érudit (Université de Montréal) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
  • Social Sciences › Education › Indigenous and Place-Based Education
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Indigenous Cultures and Socio-Education
Keywords
indigenous higher education, land-based pedagogy, intercultural pedagogy, decolonial pedagogy, indigenous knowledge, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations, Canada

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