3 Respect
Guiding Questions
- How can the online learning environment recognize and respect Indigenous cultural values and norms?
What Respect Means
Respect is the need to recognize and apply Indigenous cultural norms and values into online learning appropriately. You need to tailor this to your local environment and community, as it is important to use locally appropriate resources relevant to the area you are occupying. For example, if you live in BC and work in SD61, you would use your local district’s Indigenous Education Department [website] as a resource for your learning. Most of these departments have their own website dedicated to cultural resources.
How to Integrate Respect into Online Learning
Although there are many ways to weave respect into online teaching and learning, we have chosen to focus on how to respect the land. In this section, we explore how to conduct a traditional territory acknowledgement. The following resource is an audio discussion of how we, as settler-educators, view territory acknowledgements and includes examples of how we both give these acknowledgements in different ways.
The audio recording below is a conversation between the authors, Joanna and Hayley, about integrating the R of Respect into our teaching practices. Video is available with closed captioning. [Video] Integrating Respect into Online Learning video transcript [website]
What is a Territory Acknowledgement?
A land or territory acknowledgement is conducted by settlers to show respect and acknowledgement that they are visitors to Indigenous lands. It is a statement of respect, that should lead to further reflection. Territory acknowledgements should be given at any public gathering, meeting, or event (online or in-person). It is important to note that territory acknowledgements are becoming controversial, as some Indigenous people feel like these acknowledgements are tokenized or used as a brief political statement as a segue into regular conversation. Hayden King speaks to this in their interview [website] with CBC’s Unreserved [website] podcast which was hosted by Rosanna Deerchild. Falen Johnson is the current host of Unreserved.
Why is It Important to Do a Territory Acknowledgement?
When we do a land acknowledgement, we recognize our colonial past and take responsibility for our promise of reconciliation. We create a safer space for Indigenous peoples. We may create discomfort for non-Indigenous peoples which may give way to reflection and further learning. As you listen to or deliver a land acknowledgement, you are allowing space to reflect about the people who once solely inhabited this land and how these lives have changed as a response to colonization. Embracing this time of acknowledgement may bring up discomfort with the difficult past and present of the Indigenous groups of Canada and how you have contributed to these issues. It may also be uncomfortable to be the person to be delivering the acknowledgement if you identify as a settler yo