My Connection

to Indigenous
Land-Based
Education

By Jennifer Tugle
EDUC 530 – S10
October 13, 2017
Land-based pedagogy provides us an
opportunity to see “land as a text and
as a teacher for education” (Spillett,
2016, as cited in Deerchild, 2016, para.
3).
“The Earth provides the land on
which people build communities—
land and community dictate a
way of life (Alberta Education, 2005,
p. 29).
who they are…

“Building strong relationships of

reciprocity with
howthe land
they are[...]
in
fundamentally relation
shifts thetorelationships
and with
people experience andland…what they
believe about…

and what they believe to be true”

(Ballentyne, 2014, as cited in Wildcat et
al, 2014, p. 6).
 This fundamental shift is what I
hope to bring to my students by
providing them with opportunities
to use land-based pedagogy to…

learn about Indigenous culture

from credible sources…

gain a deeper understanding of

how we can draw knowledge
from the land…
and perhaps more
importantly…
 why we need to preserve and take care of
the land for the many generations to come.
 References

Alberta Education. (2005). Our words, our ways: Teaching first nations, metis,
inuit learners. Retrieved from
https://education.alberta.ca/media/3615876/our-words-our-ways.pdf

Deerchild, R. (2016, August 14). Indigenous educator uses land as text in

outdoor university course. Unreserved. Retrieved from
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/learning-from-the-land-while-
preserving-culture-1.3717351/indigenous-educator-uses-land-as-text-in-
outdoor-university-course-1.3717353

McCartney, P., Beddingfield, N., Gad, T. & Shanks, J. (2015). Love song for
the earth [Recorded by Paul McCartney, Natasha Beddingfield, Jon Bon Jovi,
Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, Colbie Caillat, Johnny Rzeznik,
Krewella, Angelique Kidjo, Kelsea Ballerini, Nicole Scherzinger, Christina
Grimmie, Victoria Justice, and Q’orianka Kilcher]. On Love song for the earth
[mp3]. Los Angeles.

Panknin, J. [JonnyOhneH Music]. (2015, September 28). Love Song to the earth-
Cover (piano + digital productions) [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KXT6EYhfEQ

Wildcat, M., McDonald, M., Irlbacher-Fox, S., & Coulthard, G. (2014)

Learning from the land: Indigenous land based pedagogy and
decolonization. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3). Retrieved
from http://decolonization.org/index.php/des/article/view/22248/18062