Office of Indigenous Education Fall Visiting Elder Series
Through generous support from the James McCaffrey Enhancement Fund gifted to the Office of Indigenous Education (OIE), the Faculty of Education is able to support a visiting Elder series each year. In the context of COVID-19 and our transition to online learning, the Visiting Elder Series has focused on our NITEP students and the Faculty’s foundational Indigenous education course, EDUC 440.
The connection to visiting Indigenous Elders has brought great conversation, guidance, and healing for our Indigenous students. Teacher candidates have engaged with Elders in various topics in Indigenous education. We would like to thank Elders: Larry Grant, Siyamtelot (Shirley Leon), Gerry Oleman, Maureen Ziprick, and Dorothy Visser for joining us! These conversations connect our students to our Indigenous knowledge keepers and traditional teachings centered in Indigeneity and contexts in education. Their contributions to teaching and learning is invaluable.
We would like to highlight ongoing connections with Elder Siyamtelot (Shirley Leon), a NITEP Alumni who remains dedicated to the Indigenous community by connecting to NITEP students and alumni, and through her work with the Aboriginal Genealogy Society. More on her role with the Aboriginal Genealogy Society can be found here. You may find Siyamtelot’s previous interview with NITEP here.
We would also like to highlight Elder Gerry Oleman’s ongoing podcast series, Teachings in the Air, which can be found here. As part of Elder Gerry’s visit to NITEP this fall, we recorded a session with NITEP students to be aired on his podcast series. We look forward to the release of this podcast and continuing to contribute to and to be a part of our Elders’ ongoing work for the wider members of our Faculty of Education and Indigenous communities.