A MORNING CONVERSATION WITH VIU’S ELDERS

It’s about building a relationship. That was the idea behind the recent ‘Conversation with the Elders’ event, held on VIU’s Nanaimo campus.

“Almost all of VIU’s planning documents focus on how the university is going to engage with Aboriginal peoples and communities,” explains Sharon Hobenshield, Director of Aboriginal Education. “To do that we need to do more listening to understand the depth of Aboriginal views, philosophy and how to incorporate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and learning into western academic traditions. At the same time we need to support faculty and staff to find their place within that. For example people start to question, ‘Am l breaking protocol?’ The response to this question is to create space where people can have opportunities to listen and learn, to decrease fear, to develop relationships with Elders who carry the protocol and guide us.”

Hobenshield got in touch with John Swift, a sessional instructor in VIU’s First Nations Studies department, to talk about the best way to develop and deepen VIU’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples and communities.

“After some discussion we thought it would be good to start a dialogue to tease out how the relationship between the university and Indigenous communities has been built, how it’s maintained and how it might evolve,” says Swift. “So, we started asking questions like ‘How do we build a respectful relationship?’ ‘How do we support Indigenous people who want to work in the academy?’ and ‘How do we start to right the wrongs of colonization?’ When we started asking those questions we realized we needed to start a dialogue with the wider community.”

They started planning, and ideas about inviting keynote speakers and having break out rooms for discussions were at first considered. Then they realized the model they were proposing for the process was putting the western academy at the forefront. “What we wanted to do was have the Elders and Indigenous knowledge at the forefront,” says Swift, “which is why we began to shift our ideas around to a morning of conversation.”

The conversation was open to all members of VIU’s community. The Elders set the tone with Geraldine Manson, a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, welcoming everyone with a traditional prayer. All the participants then introduced themselves and VIU’s Elders spoke from their positions, sharing their stories and their ideas on what the relationship between VIU and their communities might look like in regards to education and learning.

“The energy was very relaxed,” says Swift, “and very positive.” Heather Burke, a Coordinator in VIU’s Office of Enrolment Management, participated in the conversation and described it as amazing.

“It was a welcome learning experience for all in attendance. It’s clear that First Nations, Inuit and Metis listen to their hearts when doing anything.” says Burke. “I am Metis and had a 'white' upbringing because my dad was afraid of me facing the same discrimination he faced. The Elders showed me today that it’s okay to be wrong and to accept guidance and also to want a genuine connection with others. It was a beautiful start to what I hope is a continued way of teaching, learning and connecting at VIU and everywhere.”

More conversations have been planned, but both Hobenshield and Swift are careful to point out that the process these events have started is not goal-oriented, but instead is being approached through Indigenous ways of being and interacting.

“Indigenous knowledge is an internal journey – you’re not necessarily given the answer,” explains Hobenshield. “Instead it’s reflected back to you through story-telling or examples and you’re encouraged to think about it yourself and come to an understanding of the situation. It’s a different approach to the western style of learning which tends to focus on the external.”

Swift agrees, saying that these meetings are about participants engaging in a continual discussion about how to build a relationship between the two communities.

“This is not something you can put on paper and file it away in a drawer once you feel you’ve met your goal. It’s a life-long commitment to building a lasting and positive relationship between these two different communities, a relationship that will change and evolve even as it grows.”

Hobenshield was encouraged by the number and diversity of the people who came to the first conversation. “There was lots of faculty, someone from the IT department, students and some of our community partners, too,” she says. “Also, faculty members have already contacted Steve [Lane] about bringing an Elder into the classroom.”

For more information about participating in upcoming conversations please contact John Swift at john.swift@viu.ca or Sharon Hobenshield at sharon.hobenshield@viu.ca.