Add to favoritesWritten by Gail Brant-Terry, retired system Principal of Indigenous Education, UCDSB, Principal Consultant & Co-Founder, Ridge Road Training & Consulting
Figure 1. Circles of Support © Bill Montgomery.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International License.
My name is Gail Brant-Terry, and I recently retired after thirty-three years in education. As I patiently await our forsythia blooms opening up, I am writing to you from my home in Eastern Ontario. I want to share with you my journey in Indigenous Education, not just as a colleague, but as a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a friend, and most importantly as a mom. This is my personal journey shared from my heart.
My journey officially began when I was in teacher’s college in Thunder Bay in 1987. My first day of student teaching was in a Grade 1 classroom in an urban school in Thunder Bay. I noticed a young Cree boy, “Daniel” who I would soon learn lots about. As I got to know him, I learned he loved to be outside, and fishing was his favourite thing to do in the whole world. When “Daniel” spoke about fishing and all the knowledge he had acquired in his six short years, his face lit up. His passion for fishing and being outside reminded me so very much of my husband who was Mohawk from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and my father who grew up in Point Anne, fifteen minutes away from Tyendinaga. After my father and grandfather passed when I was 17, we learned my grandfather had grown up on Tyendinaga and his mother was Mohawk, something that had never been talked about. Mohawk identity, culture, and pride were silenced in our homes and in our lives. In this little boy, I saw my husband, my dad, and my grandfather. It was then that I made a promise to myself that I would always help children to be proud of who they are, explore what was important to them and honour their stories.
A few years later when I became a mom, I renewed this promise to myself by adding that I would treat every child exactly how I wanted my own children to be treated throughout their journey in school. I wanted my children to be proud of their identity, culture, language, traditions, and history and for this to be nurtured throughout all aspects of their education as they moved from attending elementary school in our community of Tyendinaga to secondary school in the provincial system, and onto post-secondary. This promise grounded me and guided me throughout my thirty-three years in education as a classroom teacher, system teacher, administrator, student achievement officer with the Ministry of Education, and in my final role as system principal of Indigenous Education in the Upper Canada District School Board. This was and will always be my "why". For each of us, our individual stories are different but our reasons for why we do this work connects to the stories in our hearts. I invite you to reflect on what is your "why"?
As I moved into my role as system principal of Indigenous Education in the Fall of 2018, I realized I had so much to learn and do in order to best support the needs of Indigenous students, non-Indigenous students, educators, and families. I knew I could not do this by myself. Indigenous Education “is a personal journey you are on – it cannot be achieved alone but done in relationship with others. It requires time, trust, caring, and intentionality” (Brant-Birioukov & Brant-Terry, forthcoming). As I worked with our team throughout my three years in the role, so very many of my questions were answered. These questions and the lessons we learned are what I am sharing with you. They reflect our journey, and what seemed to work for us. It is my hope that as you engage with our story you will find something that might support you in your own journey.
There were and continue to be so many relationships that supported me in keeping my promises to myself and my own journey. To help us document our journey and communicate the weave of these relationships and connections, we created a visual graphic we called our ‘Circles of Support’. Bill Montgomery, Indigenous Learning Partner created the visual graphic of the work we did together, shared in Figure 1., that anchored our work with the student at the centre. And it is important to note that sometimes the student is the student in front of us and sometimes the student is ourselves. It is through this graphic that we will get our answers to the questions: Where do I begin? Who can help me? What do I need to learn and how do I learn it? How do I engage in a reciprocal relationship with those in my Circles of Support to respond to my students’ learning needs? How can I continue to move forward in my own journey in Indigenous Education? and most importantly Who is in my Circles of Support?
The Student
Let us explore our graphic beginning in the middle with the student and think about our own learning needs which flow from the needs of our students and our own need to relearn a history that we did not learn in school. We had to begin by knowing who the students are in our class/school. So often in our work, we would hear these words, “I have no Indigenous students in my class/school”. I would assure each educator that while they may not have self-identified, we most certainly had many Indigenous students in every school in our board. When students and families feel safe and valued, only then will they choose to self-identify as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit. What educators and administrators quickly discovered was that when Indigenous voices were honoured and reflected in a school and/or classroom, families will often choose to self-identify.
For students who had self-identified, we encouraged educators to learn what nation affiliation the student identified with and what they might be interested in learning about or may want to share. It was important that this was done in a one-on-one conversation for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the student may not be interested or want to share knowledge openly with their peers, some are, and some are not. It is important to also note that some knowledge is sacred and is not to be shared. Secondly, some students who have self-identified they may be just beginning their journey about their culture, traditions, language, and knowledge so will be learning alongside you and their peers. For all students, we needed to embrace an inquiry approach that supported “gaining intercultural understanding, knowledge, empathy, and mutual respect” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 2015, p. 11) while honouring what the students were interested in learning about and what their learning needs were.
Once we had this knowledge, it guided us in our planning and identifying what we needed to learn. Here is when the student in front of us in the Circles of Support moves to being ourselves as students. For our own relearning of history, we engaged in reading Indigenous-authored materials (if your board subscribes to platforms such as SORA you will have access to any materials your board has access to), holding system-wide book clubs that ended with a zoom visit with the author, taking free courses offered through universities such as UBC’s Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education, participating in professional development to build cultural sensitivity and understanding, following and learning with Cultural Advisors. We also needed to commit to learning alongside our students while relying upon our Circles of Support. Consider where you might begin at this time.
Family & Friends
Surrounding ‘the student’ in our Circles of Support are family and friends. For us, this quickly became some people we worked alongside. These individuals might have started in other areas of our Circles of Support but, because of the reciprocal nature of the relationships, moved and became our “go-to people” to bounce ideas off, plan with, and unpack hard questions and topics with complete trust. For me, the support grew to include not only Bill Montgomery (Haida), an Indigenous learning partner, but also Patricia Sutherland, our Learning/Library Commons Manager along with a number of key members of her team, and some integral Cultural Advisors we worked so closely with. In this circle as well are my greatest gifts, my children, Jordan, who is an Adult Mohawk Language Instructor and Kiera who is an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Curriculum theory. You will find that when you reach out for support, not only will support find you but you will quickly discover that you also become the supporter…. reciprocity in action.
Bill Montgomery, Indigenous Learning Partner, Gail Brant-Terry (retired) System Principal Indigenous Education, Patricia Sutherland, Learning Commons Manager
Accomplices
Next, let us explore the role accomplices play in our Circles of Support. The term accomplice is best defined by Ojibwe/Odawa scholar, Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse shared in personal correspondence, February 2022, the difference between being an ally and an accomplice:
Being an ally is considered one of the first steps in race and social justice work. The term accomplice encompasses allyship but goes beyond, to advocacy. An accomplice (also called a co-conspirator) uses their privilege to challenge existing conditions at the risk of their own comfort and well-being.
For me, an accomplice challenges, questions, decolonizes and deconstructs colonial structures, policies, programs and systems to make 'space' for equity deserving groups. And it goes beyond this - it means that 'centring Indigenous ways of doing/being/thinking/knowing' is at the heart of this always’.
You will note that an accomplice in your Circles of Support can include many people who occupy the surrounding circles. For us, it was the educators, administrators, and school support staff who had already begun to invest in their own learning, embraced the challenge, and provided unwavering support with a common goal of ‘centring Indigenous ways of doing/being/thinking/knowing at the heart of their work’. They sought out learning opportunities, shared resources, nurtured relationships with the community and most importantly held each other up. I invite you to reflect upon the following:
- Are you an accomplice?
- Do you know accomplices?
- If not, how might you become one and how might you find out who the accomplices are in your school/board?
Teammates, Community, Classmates & Educators
Next in our Circles of Support are our teammates (think clubs, organizations etc., outside of family and school), school community, classmates, and educators. Knowing and including your school community starts with knowing “whose land you are on”. Here I will share an example of how community plays an integral role in your Circles of Support. I already had many connections in our community of Tyendinaga. I recognized I needed to learn about and make connections with Akwesasne Mohawk Community, and the Algonquin Nation in the unceded territory that our board is situated on. We attended events like powwows, and sought out opportunities to meet, make connections, plan, and learned together with members of the community. It was through this that our team was able to nurture and sustain relationships that further supported me and the students and educators we were working with. I encourage you to think about the land you are situated on, both your home and your school, and what actions you are taking or have taken to learn about the Indigenous community(ies) on this land.
School Staff, Ministry & Board Staff, Municipalities, Cultural Advisors & Organizations
As we move to our next circle in our Circles of Support, I want to share with you how we worked with school/board staff, Cultural Advisors, and organizations to build capacity and confidence in not only our own journey, but the journey of educators in our system. We knew that many teachers were nervous, unsure, and overwhelmed and wanted to make sure they did things “right”. They told us this. We committed to digging into authentic Indigenous-authored resources, carefully vetted by our board, and building relationships with Cultural Advisors who supported us in our work.
Some intentional moves we took included:
- building ongoing support to access professional learning that supported inquiry learning.
- Cultural Advisors who were ready and willing to support us along the way at the system (professional learning and system in your class visits) and school level (planning with teachers, classroom visits).
- access to vetted authentic digital and print resources.
- modelling possible ways to use the vetted resources during professional learning.
- providing Cultural Sensitivity and Cultural Safety training across the system.
- system staff invested in bringing Indigenous perspectives into literacy and math initiatives.
Cultural Advisors were/are affiliated with a range of Indigenous communities and organizations. Some examples of organizations include Plenty Canada, the Metis Nation of Ontario, Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families, Indigenous, Akwesasne Television, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Aboriginal Post-Secondary Information Program, and Indspire. Not only did they join us at professional learning sessions, but they also helped us to plan and deliver the professional learning. During a conversation in March 2022, reflecting on her experiences, Candace Lloyd (Métis Traditional Knowledge Holder and Queen’s University Master’s Candidate in Education) shared,
Candace Lloyd, Métis Traditional Knowledge Holder and Queen’s University Master’s Candidate in Education
“The UCDSB Indigenous Education team leadership had the ability to lead and build bridges. We worked together to find solutions. The team would often reach out and share…’this is what we are wondering about, what do you think, are you able to help’? This approach empowered me as a Knowledge Keeper, it made me feel valued, relied upon and that trust is there”.
Members of our Learning Commons team and system Learning Partners also joined us in professional learning planning and delivery. This incredible team committed mind, body, and spirit to the work. With this intentional approach of providing cyclical professional learning that supported building capacity and confidence, participating educators shared they felt “enlightened, awakened, energized and hopeful”. In every school our Learning Commons Informationists have relationships already established with teachers and can offer supports to help them access resources, book Cultural Advisors and support students in their research. It is a natural fit, and they are well-positioned to readily support teachers. As you reflect on this, consider who can support you with your planning and accessing resources?
I want to share a story about one of our professional learning days for teachers who taught Native Studies courses. A Haudenosaunee Knowledge Keeper opened our day and supported us in building a shared understanding of the importance of Cultural Safety.
This was followed by a variety of schools sharing their journeys of rich, deep learning through Indigenous perspectives. Kathryn Goodwyn, a UCDSB secondary teacher at the TR Leger Foundations program in Akwesasne, shared her story about The Bundle Project, a dream she had where the young Haudenosaunee students in her class would walk across the stage that year on graduation day with their own bundle. In this bundle would be a kustowa (men’s headdress), ribbon shirt, and a water drum, all made by each student. For this dream to come true, she had to call upon her circles of support, which began with the Indigenous Education system team members and elders from the Akwesasne Mohawk community who were willing to provide the guidance and support to the students. Kathryn shares, “It was because of the Indigenous Education system team’s understanding of the significance of this project and what we were looking for, it was so easy for me to say ok this is what we need. For the students the experience was amazing”. On graduation night each young man walked across the stage with their bundle. At graduation, valedictorian Tehanerahtatenies John shared that when making his kustowa, ribbon shirt, and water drum, “It was through these extensions of the curriculum that I flourished spiritually, emotionally, holistically, and as an Onkwehón:we* man, something that was missing when I first attended high school”.
*Onkwehón:we - Mohawk word for Original Peoples
On this day sixteen Cultural Advisors who supported us, teachers, and students across our system joined us in the learning. Blocks of time to meet with the Cultural Advisors and discuss support back in their school was also provided. A final portion of this day included all teachers having the opportunity to select books for their school from Goodminds, a First Nations family-owned business that sells First Nations, Métis, and Inuit books. Here we witnessed relationships beginning to be established and nurtured. These relationships take time and patience to develop and sustain, and protocols must be followed. Take some time and think about how you can/will build relationships with Cultural Advisors that are relationships built on reciprocity and not one-off events?
Planning for Professional Learning
Mother Earth (Environment)
As we move further out in our Circles of Support we consider how Mother Earth (Environment) gifts us with unwavering support. Think about the concept of the land as our first teacher (Styres, S., 2011). In her book: Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous scholar (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013), shares:
"In the settler mind, land was property, real estate, capital, or natural resources. But to our people, it was everything: identity, the connection to our ancestors, the home of our nonhuman kinfolk, our pharmacy, our library, the source of all that sustained us. Our lands were where our responsibility to the world was enacted, sacred ground. It belonged to itself; it was a gift, not a commodity, so it could never be bought or sold" (2013, p. 17).
"The land is the real teacher. All we need as students, is mindfulness" (p. 320).
Consider how will/do you engage in mindfulness and learn from the land? What supports are available to you to do this? How will you engage in learning alongside your students in a way that honours and values Indigenous perspectives?
Ways of Knowing and Being
In our last circle in our Circles of Support, we find Ways of Knowing and Being. This is what we believe, what we value and what guides us. This is ever-evolving as we are challenged in our thinking and assumptions. This happens when we commit to truly listening to stories being shared in order to make meaning, and to our individual stories.
Late Ojibwe author Richard Wagamese shared,
“We are story. All of us. What comes to matter then is the creation of the best possible story we can while we’re here; you, me, us, together. When we can do that and we take the time to share those stories with each other, we get bigger inside, we see each other, we recognize our kinship – we change the world, one story at a time…”.
Reflecting on her own journey (personal correspondence, April 2022), Nancy Clow, Learning Commons Informationist, UCDSB shares:
“My journey began with Prime Minister Stephen Harper rising in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008, to apologize to former students of the residential school system. I had never heard of them, and I was 35 years old that day. I started reading and talking with a trusted colleague. We encouraged each other to keep learning and we read books, researched on the internet, and signed up for the University of British Columbia’s online course. This learning and unlearning relationship continues today, and we’ve encouraged others from our department, education staff at our schools, friends, and families to join in our quest for truth to help this country move forward on a path towards reconciliation”.
I challenge you to reflect on what story will you create. What will be the promise(s) you make to yourself about the teacher you want to be? What role do you strive to play in the stories of your students?
I have shared with our story of what we learned and what we did, but most importantly how we were and continue to be supported by our Circles of Support and are also important members of others’ Circles of Support. Our personal journeys continue as does yours. How will you enact your journey, through relationships that commit the time, trust, caring and intentionality that tell your “best possible story”?
Nyawen’kó:wa (thank you very much)
About the Author:
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Gail Brant-Terry has over 33 years of experience in education as a teacher, school and system administrator and Student Achievement Officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education. She is the Principal Consultant and Co-Founder of Ridge Road Training & Consulting.
Gail has a wide range of experiences in leading, designing, and delivering in-person and virtual professional development workshops at the district and provincial levels to build educator capacity in delivering programs reflective of Indigenous perspectives and pedagogy. With experience in system planning, implementation and monitoring, that begins and ends with relationships.
Gail is Indspire’s 2020 Guiding the Journey award recipient for Leadership in Indigenous Education.
References
Lewis, J. C. (2015). "Listen with your three ears”: A pedagogy of the heart: Aboriginal stories as pedagogies of the heart. (p. 90). Open Collections. https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0166406 .
Sandra D. Styres (2011): Land as first teacher: a philosophical journeying, Reflective Practice, (p.722) 12:6, 717-731.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: Calls to action. (p. 11) https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf
Wall Kimmerer, R. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass, Indigenous wisdom: Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. (p. 17, 320). Milkweed Editions.
