These resources support personal learning towards decolonizing teaching. Decolonization is the process of "restoration of Indigenous practices, languages and connection to ways of being. It can be giving voice to what happened and is still happening that reinforce colonial power," (Office of Indigenos Initiatives). It involves addressing the implicit or explicit adoption of Western European ways of thinking where other perspectives are considered less worthy. It is an ongoing and personal journey of learning and un-learning.
Each section flags key readings if you are taking your first steps along this path. These materials were compiled by two Indigenous educators, Lindsay Brant (Mohawk) and Ian Fanning (Algonquin), and librarian Cory Laverty working in the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Detail of First Peoples Leading to the 8th Fire. The image shows a section (1/15) from a public mural in Roncesvalles Village in Toronto. The work was led by artist Philip Cote and local artist Jim Thierry Bravo.
Watch CBC's 8th fire documentary series and download the 8th Fire Guide for Educators. "Out of the Anishinabe's Seven Fires comes the idea of the eighth: the settler community and Aboriginal peoples must come together for harmony and justice."
