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Dr. Peggy Wilson and Dr. Stan Wilson: Land-based Education
October 15th, 2010By Lindsey Koepke
With their entire professional lives in the field of education, Drs. Stan Wilson and Dr. Peggy Wilson, recognizing the need for the participation of more Aboriginal people in postgraduate education, sought to introduce a Graduate Program in First Nations Education at the University of Alberta. Ten Aboriginal PhD students and 22 Aboriginal Masters students graduated in the ten years the Wilsons taught the program, all of their work stemming from an Indigenist Paradigm. Despite mandatory retirement, the two continued to work to deliver a unique Land-Based Education program which would offer Aboriginal educators the chance to acquire a Master’s degree without giving up their teaching positions. The program effectively seeks to teach an alternate way of learning, one that places a high value on Indigenous knowledge. Not only is its relevancy as an educational tool highlighted, but also its ability to create exciting exploratory opportunities using a fresh, in-depth and accessible system of support and sharing, drawing in part from the strength of our natural areas, namely, the boreal forest.
Peggy and Stan, both from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, grew up on the landscape. Peggy grew up on a ranch, while Stan hunted and trapped with his father and uncles. The two met forty eight years ago while teaching in Moose Lake, Manitoba. Both later acquired their PhDs at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and since, have been working together as educators and counselors in multicultural and mainstream settings. Their most recent endeavour has been the establishment of a Land-Based Education Masters degree program in Education at the University of Saskatchewan. The first cohort of eight Masters students graduated in October, 2010.
This program, having sprung from the perceived need for Aboriginal students to receive a more “relevant form of education,” encourages teachers to get out of the classroom and use the land and resources around them. Most important, is to teach the students by using an Indigenist Paradigm. Inherent in this paradigm is the understanding that we are all teachers and all students. “Teaching, questioning, answering… everyone is on the same level rather than on a hierarchy. It’s about interaction,” Stan explains. The connection between people is one that ties us to each other and to nature. It is reflected in the way we act and interact with it,
“…going about gently and thus knowing you belong in nature, you are a part of it (all of creation) …we are an integral part of the environment, and must maintain an harmonious relationship with the land around us. Part of understanding the paradigm is coming to understand and read the land around us so that we can fully understand what our responsibilities are. An Indigenist paradigm recognizes that we are all related; people, plants, animals, fishes, rocks, the air we breathe, the constellations we see, the water that sustains our life and the soil on which we tread. If we misstep or otherwise disrespect any one of these components, natural justice will be served. The Cree word that encompasses this concept is pastahowun. The Land-Based initiative emphasizes this relational accountability” (Peggy).
Stan: “There is no standard definition of the term ‘yet’ as one would find in a dictionary. Rather it is a concept that is derived from an Indigenist world view and in our case from the Cree words ‘pastahowin‘ and ‘otcinawin’. These concepts mean that people are accountable for their actions to all their relations (all living things/beings). Being accountable means that there are consequences for the one lives their life. That provides the framework for all living including teaching and learning. It means that in order to be a good human being and contribute to the betterment of life then one must consider the impact of their actions. If one does live a destructive and dysfunctional life then natural justice will surely be served. If one is compassionate to all their relations then there is balance in the relationships. So, it is one of building relationships that are harmonious and reciprocal.
“In that scenario one does not deliberately destroy their environment for the sake of progress or profit but rather lives in harmony with the environment. One also acknowledges and celebrates the ‘gifts’ that nature and the ‘great Mystery’ provides.
“Because the sacred is in all creation one can also acknowledge and honour those relationships. There are numerous ways that can happen.
“All this is ancient Indigenous Peoples knowledge learned from living and observing the ways of nature over many centuries. Central to this is the land (Mother Earth as some folks call it). It is thus like a textbook that once one learns to read; the knowledge is there.
“This way of teaching and learning I have called ‘Indigegogy’.”
This circle of learning is perpetuated on many planes within the lives of the Wilsons themselves – through their children who all hold graduate degrees, through the family of Aboriginal scholars that is rapidly developing, and in the soon to be established (at the University of Saskatchewan) International Indigenous Doctoral Program that they have developed along with a working group of International Scholars. These varying levels of discussion enrich the circle of knowledge that exists within the Indigenist paradigm and leads to a diversification of interpretation and understanding.
This method of education does not simply mean taking university level courses off campus, but rather, embodies a much fuller concept. Students are provided with experiences and their subsequent interpretations are their own, not dictated to them or inferred from assigned text. Stan points out that though it is difficult for professors and students alike to make the shift away from learning through book text (all of the Wilsons’ past Masters and PhD students hold undergraduate degrees from the Western Paradigm’s education tradition), “…learning from the land is just as credible as learning from books.” Students must be able to analyze their experience from the Indigenist perspective (for some, a life-changing experience), develop a theory, and discuss their experience in writing in order to be able to articulate it. It teaches students to “…learn how to learn from the land.” This results in a rich combination of experience, interpretation, and balance between different forms of discourse, traditional and otherwise, “…there has to be a moving back and forth between oral tradition and written text” (Peggy).
An holistic lifestyle approach is taken in the Land-Based Education Program; all four quadrants (physical, spiritual, cognitive, and emotional) are drawn from in order to acquire knowledge. By addressing a variety of needs from these realms, students are engaged at a deeper level of participation in which they live fully and consciously. From paddling, running and the gathering of medicinal herbs, to meal preparation, students are given the experiences needed in order to fuel their ensuing thesis pursuits. However, as Peggy clarifies, “…it is not just having the experience, but being able to understand and analyze it,” which separates this program from western methods of education. It uses the ‘land as text’ as a means to develop experiential education, as opposed to a regurgitation of taught knowledge.
“For example, how do trees, like other living forms, live in families (deciduous trees are usually to be found close together so that they too will be able to regenerate their species. Likewise for evergreens, the different families live close together. Even rocks are in families, sand is usually found gathered together, so is gravel, boulders, sedimentary rock, granite, etc. Water of course finds its way to gather in pools, lakes, and eventually the ocean.”
Students develop a direct relationship with the boreal forest through this program. This is done in many ways, including “…harvesting traditional medicines in order to learn about their uses from local knowledge holders who understand and can explain why certain medicines are found in specific areas. Intellectual property rights are important and are observed here. Students come to respect these rights, taking responsibility for carrying knowledge that can be shared only with those who respect and observe required protocols” (Stan).
The Indigenist paradigm takes root in ancient Indigenous knowledge, and from it, stems a need to engage students in cooperative learning, something this form of education, at all levels, seeks to utilize. The program takes a positive approach to study, as will the International Program. Though it will include a sharing of knowledge between different people who hold recent histories of oppression, the focus of the program is on ancient histories as seen through an Indigenist perspective. “We want to situate ourselves to come from a positive, proactive state,” Stan asserts.
A new platform for accessing Indigenous knowledge will come with the International PhD Program, set to commence in 2012. Its proposal, which will be made available through the University of Saskatchewan, presents yet another venue of discussion – that which has already been, and will continue to be, occurring between its diverse team members. This group includes scholars from Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada, who sets its focus and direction. The Wilsons expect that the University of Saskatchewan will see more Aboriginal students graduate from this program than have ever graduated from that university before. Awareness is spreading quickly. What university educators such as the Wilsons would like to see happen now is an increase in funding so that scholarships can be provided for students.
Along with their grandchildren, Stan and Peggy Wilson have a daughter at the University of Saskatchewan who has taken on the leadership of the Land-Based Education Program as head professor, a son who has authored a book on the Indigenist Paradigm, and another son who has recently filled the position of Treaty Commissioner for Manitoba. “The discussions that come with our getting together are tremendous indeed…” (Stan) and have become their own sharing circle, one which transcends teacher-student, parent-child, and scholar-scholar relationships and is a powerful circle of knowledge and experience.
November 13th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
I have recently graduated with my master’s from the university of manitoba and am grateful that the professors encouraged me to make meaning of what learning i encountered in that form of acadamia by finding and articulating “life equivalents” from my experiences at the trapline and engaging in traditional life. This program is very intriguing to me…where may i find information or anything available for those of us interested in pursuing our doctorates?
November 15th, 2010 at 11:38 am
The Land-Based Education Masters degree program in Education is offered at the University of Saskatchewan.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
We are expecting our next cohort intake for the Land-Based Indigenous Education delivery for the M.Ed. to be in the Summer of 2012. If you are interested in this opportunity, you can e-mail the UofS at:
Please check out our website at: http://www.usask.ca/education/efdt/integrated-med/index.html
April 4th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
When I completed the Masters of Social Work in Kitchener, ON in 2009 I was told that an Indigenous PhD program was being designed and it will take place over the waters. When I heard about this new program I shivered because this vision is becoming a reality! I have been sharing this information with others because we need to help get this PhD program started. Thank you Peggy and Stan
April 19th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Is this PhD program through the University of Saskatchewan? When is the intake?
April 19th, 2011 at 10:03 am
How can I help get it started?