Written by Lisa Kariuki (she/her) and Kat Cureton (she/her)
On November 9th, 2023, we organized a virtual session for members of the Community Engagement Network on the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing into community engagement work. This event provided a supportive space for learning, sharing experiences and building on discussions about culture change and settler responsibilities from the previous session in October.
Through presentations from staff from UBC Okanagan Library, Go Global, our office, and Mitacs, participants gained insights into how units are working with the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan.
Additionally, we identified how staff from across UBC are bringing Indigenous ways of knowing and doing into their programming and professional development, including:
- Hosting book clubs and public readings of the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada;
- Taking courses together, like Weaving Relations, and hosting monthly discussions to apply their learning;
- Reducing barriers for Indigenous organizations to partner with universities, like the Indigenous Pathways initiative from Mitacs which recently reduced the cost for Indigenous organizations to hire graduate student researchers.
- Ensuring Indigenous voices are on funding decision-making panels and honoraria payments are provided to community representatives that take part in these processes, like the Community University Engagement Support fund;
- Learning to embed Indigenous principles into storytelling and telling stories that emphasize the importance of centering relationship building and reciprocity in university-community collaborations, like this story captured in a new podcast: Breathing Life Back into Their Language: A Collaborative ʔayʔaǰuθəm E-dictionary Project.
After presentations and a lively group discussion, the group shared their reflections via the chat on three questions:
- What did you observe or take away from today’s presentation and discussion?
- Why does all this matter?
- Now what?
Three overarching themes emerged, reflecting the collective sentiments and aspirations of the Community Engagement Network community:
Takeaway #1: We need compassion and patience in this learning journey.
We recognized the need for compassion and patience as many of us learn to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating in our work. Participants expressed a sense of compassion for themselves and others and emphasized the importance of a collective approach through inviting others into doing this work.
The acknowledgment that cultural change starts with individuals underscores a collective commitment to self-reflection and personal growth. Participants noted a ripple effect from individual efforts and encouraged one another to keep going in this lifelong learning journey. As we learned through Weaving Relations: “small steps often.”
Takeaway #2: Learn from your mistakes.
Participants emphasized the need to move away from an expert-based approach and create an environment that encourages learning and growth, even if it means making mistakes along the way. Too many times we skip the debrief step in our projects and partnerships. Perfectionism, sense of urgency, and individualism are characteristics of white supremacy culture which many academic institutions uphold. So is a belief there is only one right way of doing things.
Indigenous world views teach us to consider the notion of collectivism and two-eyed seeing, which refers to learning to see from Indigenous ways of knowing and Western ways of knowing and using both lenses together. A cautionary note from Weaving Relations, “Without identifying and understanding the lenses we view the world through, that guide our decisions and priorities, it is impossible to Indigenize our ways of being and knowing, and impossible to begin to work on decolonization.”
Takeaway #3: Keep the conversation going.
Participants expressed a determination to keep the conversation going and to speak up about the significance of implementing Indigenous ways of knowing into community-engaged work to leadership. We are encouraged to take those small steps and recognize the potential for incremental change within the institution and overall to ensure that community engagement efforts align with the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan. As one person shared this learning matters because we want to “leave things in a better place for the next generation of students/staff/faculty [and community partners].”
The discussion in this session lays the groundwork for better community-university engagement at UBC. Keep an eye on upcoming CEN sessions. Let’s keep the conversation going into 2024 and beyond.