Writing inspired by Human Library Pedagogy

Reflections on Representations of Indigeneity

Authors

  • Tiara Anderson
  • Shylah Chartrand
  • Emmanuela Ejiogu
  • Jessica Hrymack
  • Juliana Thiessen
  • Jerohm Villanueva
  • Myrna Cook
  • Helen Friesen University of Winnipeg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/2818-2618.18

Keywords:

Human library, Indigeneity, Indigenous course requirement (ICR), representation

Abstract

In 2016, the University of Winnipeg implemented an Indigenous course requirement (ICR) that all students need to fulfill to be able to graduate. During their degree program, they can choose any approved ICR course to fulfill this requirement. Most departments offer at least one course that has the ICR designation. I developed a course called Representations of Indigeneity in the department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications and have facilitated this course since then using a human library method, where we learn from real live humans that are knowledgeable about the topic. We look at a variety of themes, such as Indigenous representations in politics, business, music, art, media, land based learning, food, and research methods. To address these various topics, we had speakers into the classroom or went on fieldtrips in the area to learn more about the topic.

One of the assignments in the class was for students to respond to the speakers and fieldtrips in their reflection journals where they were encouraged to be creative in their responses. This article is a collection of student responses about their interactions with the guest speakers, the fieldtrips we went on, and the class discussions we had.

References

Art Gallery, W. (2023). Qaumajuq: WAG. WAG. https://www.wag.ca/about/qaumajuq/

Cameron, M. (2022, October 5). Beacon of Hope: Indigenous Representation in Business [Class visit].

Compton, F. (2022, October 31). Long History of Family Journalism: Indigenous Representation in the Media Part 2 [Zoom call].

Cook, M. (2022, September 7). What it was like moving to the city from the north [Class visit].

Cook, S. (2022, November 9). A Day in the Life of a Hunter, Trapper, and Fisher [Class visit].

First Nation couple shares their musical journey to inspire people. (2021, August 9). Canadian Television and Radio Broadcaster. https://u-channel.ca/first-nation-couple-shares-their-musical-journey-to-inspire-people/

Human Library. (2022). Human Library Organization. https://humanlibrary.org/about/

Kinew, W. (2022, September 14). A Tour of the Legislative Building: Indigenous Representation in Politics [Legislative Visit and Tour].

Monkman, L. (2022, October 19). Indigenous Representation in the Media [Zoom call].

Official Emblems of Manitoba: The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Act Coat of Arms. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/visiting/docs/symbolsofmanitoba.pdf

Omeasoo, C., & Muswagon, L. (2022, September 21). A Musical Journey [Class visit].

Ouellette, R.-F. (2022, October 3). On the Indian Act [Class visit].

Thomas, D. (2022, October 24). Learning despite Education [Zoom call].

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Published

2024-01-26

How to Cite

Anderson, T., Chartrand, S., Ejiogu, E., Hrymack, J., Thiessen, J., Villanueva, J., … Friesen, H. (2024). Writing inspired by Human Library Pedagogy: Reflections on Representations of Indigeneity. SKRIB, (1), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.25071/2818-2618.18

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