KAMLOOPS – Dr. Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Distinguished Chair in Indigenous Education and Universitas 21 Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Professor of Education at The University of Auckland and International Ambassador for the indigenous university Te Wanangao Awanuiarangi, will speak about ‘Transforming Education: Re-claiming, Re-imagining, Re-creating the Education of First Nations’ at UCC this month.
“There is both a need to transform existing education, practice, and institutional structures because for the most part, the status quo is not working and yet there is also a need to make education count in terms of developing change of the crisis circumstances that envelop disproportionate numbers of aboriginal learners,” said Dr. Smith, adding that “The importance of developing educational transformation is that the socio-economic redevelopment of First Nations will require a prior
educational `revolution’ to occur.
His talk, which will also examine the New Zealand education and schooling context with respect to the current learning revolution in which Maori are engaged, will detail innovative approaches being undertaken in the New Zealand context, and the transformative potential contained in these institutions and the strategies employed. A further issue, he contends, is
the extent to which these strategies may be used to interrupt a wider educational and schooling crisis that disproportionately accrues to indigenous communities internationally. Perhaps most importantly, the approach now undertaken in New Zealand is theoretically informed and has moved beyond the simplistic ‘bag of tricks’ approach to responding to indigenous needs.
“While my talk is not intended to suggest that Canadian First Nations should do what Maori are doing,” Smith explained, “there are some important points for consideration. In particular, there is a need to focus on and to adequately understand transformation, there is a need to critically understand the new formations of colonization, and there is a need for a
positive and proactive reclaiming of our imaginations to enable and create the new future.”
Dr. Smith’s presentation will take place April 29th at 3:00 pm in Room 1611 of UCC’s Old Main building. It is sponsored by CIHR and organized by the UCC Social Work, Education and Nursing Collaborative Research Group.
For more information, please contact Vicki Holmes at 371-5537.
Photo available on request to Bronwen Scott, 371-5739 or email:
bboulton@tru.ca
