Looking at the past, in order to move on to the future

Northwest Community College will be hosting a conference this week designed to examine the issue of colonization of Aboriginal people and the role that the post secondary education system should play in redressing the ongoing effects of it.

The conference which will include speakers and workshops will get underway at the Terrace campus on Thursday October 11, as organizers challenge participants to find new ways of teaching and learning that support all members of the population.

The Daily News featured a comprehensive look at the background of the conference and what organizers hope to achieve over the course of the three days that it takes place.

College grapples with colonization
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Pages one and three

Educators and First Nations will gather in Terrace this week at a landmark conference that aims to deal directly and honestly with the issue of colonization of Aboriginal people and the role the post-secondary education system should play in addressing that.

"NWCC serves a region of B.C. that has the highest percentage of Aboriginal people than any other area of the province," said Stephanie Forsyth, NWCC president.

"Over 44 per cent of our student population is of Aboriginal descent and we see first-hand the effects colonization has had on them, both individually and within their communities.

"As a public post-secondary educational institution with a mandate to serve the communities and people in our service area it is incumbent on us to find ways to redress the ongoing effects of colonization through our educational system."

The event will take place Thurs. Oct 11 in Terrace and is being jointly hosted by NWCC, in partnership with the Gitksan Wet’suwet’en Education Society, Kitimat Valley Institute Corporation, and the Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute.

The college’s Challenging the Paradigm: Decolonizing Post-Secondary Education conference promises to take a hard look at the role of post-secondary education in the history of Aboriginal people and will challenge participants to find new ways of teaching and learning that support all members of the population.

“The workshops will put a focus on education programs that are integrating, Aboriginal cultural values and working in meaningful ways with Aboriginal communities to change the traditional approaches to post secondary education,” said Jim McDonald, executive director of NWCC’s House of Learning.

“Themes will include integrating Aboriginal paradigms in education, enhancing aboriginal access, redressing colonization in education, and best practices in designing cultural relevant curriculum.”

The two keynote speakers are Dr. Leroy Littlebear, professor in the Native American Studies Program at the University of Lethbridge and Dr. E. Richard Atleo, research liaison at the University of Manitoba and associate adjunct professor at the University of Victoria. Both bring many years of experience studying and teaching ways of integrating aboriginal perspectives into post-secondary institutions.

“This conference is a very important meeting to discuss the challenges and successes that post-secondary institutes face in being more receptive to aboriginal cultural values and needs. We are very excited by the high caliber of the featured speakers and the workshops that will be presented,” said McDonald.

The conference is open to teachers, faculty and Aboriginal Support Workers and runs from Oct. 11 to 12, with a First Northern Collaborative Learning Forum on the 13th.

“Challenging the Paradigm provides an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the issues surrounding Aboriginal education, to learn about best practices being discovered in various projects and programs, and to provide attendees an opportunity to discuss issues arising from the conference proceedings,” said Forsyth.