Source: Foundational Classroom Content: 999 (Fraser, 2021)
In her courses, Dr. Fraser uses nine interwoven perspectives of the “R’s.” These nine perspectives are connected to the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL), and the Professional Standards of BC Educators. Their purpose is to represent the significance of learning, looking, listening, and language. These perspectives derive from the scholarly works of Kirkness and Barnhardt (1991) and are included in the first four “R’s”:
➊.Respect–open to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), shared space, voice and vision, old and new knowledge, and more importantly, cultural safety amongst peers/colleagues, and visitors. We recognize that there are differences within cultures.
❷.Relationships–the ability to build capacity, share information that is beneficial to the needs of all learners.
❸.Responsibilities–students are responsible for their own learning and teaching. It is your responsibility to take what you have learned and to role-model, mentor, and to provide positive leadership to all learners.
❹.Reciprocity–the exchanging and dissemination of knowledge(s) as a gift. In Dr. Fraser’s classes, “There is no right or wrong, only different”. Teaching and learning are reciprocal.
❺.Relevance–For protocols to be successful when entering the schools, visitors must have some understanding of the historical events that took place in that location, loss of identity, loss of language, disconnection from place and space, traditional and cultural practices, cultural laws, and structures. As researchers or visitors, we should be culturally aware of the “do and do not”and not assume that all communities have the same protocols or that the protocols are used for the same events or practices.
❻.Reverence–Indigenous people will share stories that personify lessons to be taught and learned. Their creation stories are usually connected to the animal world; mother earth, and everything that encompasses nature, the environment, eco-systems that allow Indigenous people to survive rather than destroy all things that is animate and imbued with spirit. As cultural beings, we require water to stay afloat, feel the energy and synergy provided by the creator. It is well noted by the Elders that, “we are the land, and the land is us.”
❼.Reclamation-As Indigenous people strive to reclaim their ways of knowing and being, there is a strong movement to reclaiming the essence of cultural practices, language revitalization, traditions, stories, songs, incantations, customs and protocols,treaties/land claims, preservation, and sustainability. Reclamation begins with the individual in search of their identity and including family, community, and nation. To reclaim traditional ways of knowing and being, it takes the collective.
❽.Reconciliation–According to the Truth and Reconciliation (2015), reconciliation is a process of healing of relationships that require public truth sharing, apology, and commemoration that acknowledge and redress past harms (p. 4). It also requires constructive action on addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism that have had destructive impact on Indigenous peoples’ education, cultures and languages, health, child welfare, the administration of justice, and economic opportunities and prosperity (p.4). What will it take to acknowledge the past injustices in contemporary times? We all share responsibilities therefore, reconciling accountability, trust, collectivity, leadership, and respectful relationships are all necessary.
❾.Reflexivity–We all have different beliefs and practices, but what is important to note is how we view our journey, the influences that helps people to become enlightened, and most importantly, what we do with the knowledge. Reflexivity allows us the ability and awareness of how our beliefs, values, experiences, and practices become positive.
I will endeavor to use the above nine “R’s” in my classroom to help create a safe and inclusive learning environment.