Wāhkōhtowin: Accepting Educational Responsibility Through Relationality and Reciprocity

• In Event: Research for Survivance: Indigenous Educational Praxis

Abstract

This paper stories the creation of the Wāhkōhtowin teacher preparation model that came about through an educational partnership that responded to the teachings of Nēhiyaw (Cree) Elders on Treaty 6 territory in Saskatchewan, Canada. We describe the Indigenous theoretical framework of a Professional Development School (PDS) designed to decolonize teacher preparation to foster student learning and engagement; develop Nēhiyaw teacher identity and proficiency, and; support reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. This presentation describes the Nēhiyaw conceptualization and first-year outcomes of a four-year study of the Wāhkōhtowin teacher preparation model. To align with the Indigenous relational framework of the model, the study employs qualitative mixed methods of interpretive description that utilizes Indigenous, qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Authors

• Dawn Wallin, Univerity of Saskatchewan

• Chris Scribe, University of Saskatchewan