Renewal: Indigenous Perspectives on Land-Based Education in and Beyond the Classroom

Renewal, the second book in the Footbridge series, guides K-12 educators in bringing Indigenous voices and the philosophy, principles, and practices of Indigenous land-based education into their teaching. This text encourages educators to:

• respectfully renew their own relationships with land
• directly engage students with the land, no matter where they are located
• guide students in learning through observation, listening, and discussion and to take action in response
• honour diverse ways of knowing and being
• understand historic injustices and engage with the contemporary Land Back movement

Through critical engagement with diverse written and visual works created by Indigenous leaders, land defenders, scholars, and Knowledge Keepers, experienced educators Christine M'Lot and Katya Adamov Ferguson support readers in connecting with Indigenous perspectives on land and water. They offer guidance on bringing Indigenous works into the classroom, including concrete ways to facilitate discussions around land-based topics, advice for land-based activities, and suggestions for how students can engage with these topics through inquiry learning.

In this resource, you will find:

• prompts for individual reflection and group discussion
• valuable concepts and methods that can be applied in the classroom and beyond
• practical action steps and resources for educators, parents, librarians, and administrators

Use this book as a springboard for your own learning journey or as a lively prompt for dialogue within your professional learning community.

Dr. Brian Rice, an enrolled member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawá ke, Quebec, is a full professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. Over the past 30 years, Brian has been a teacher, an interim principal in an Indigenous-operated school, and an educator in various university faculties. He is the author of three books, including The Rotinonshonni: A Traditional Iroquoian History Through the Eyes of Teharonhia: wako and Sawiskera, a Choice Pick of the American Library Association.

Nicki Ferland is a Two-Spirit Red River Métis mother, wife, aunty, and helper. She is an educator, writer, and researcher whose work focuses on Métis women and Two-Spirit people and their relationships with land in Winnipeg. Her parents are both descended from scrip-bearing Métis families with ancestral roots in St. Vital and St. Boniface (Winnipeg) and Lorette, Manitoba. Nicki is the Director of Land-Based Education and Indigenous Curriculum at the University of Manitoba and is currently working toward completing her PhD in Education.

Reanna McKay (Merasty) (she/her/hers) is Ininew from Barren Lands First Nation, completed her Master of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, and is an Architectural Intern at Number TEN Architectural Group. She also works with One House Many Nations as a Research Assistant on First Nations housing development, where her research focuses on reciprocity, Indigenous knowledge systems, and land-based pedagogy.