Abstract
The presenters have been participating in research to determine, and critically consider, the work being done in the place now called Canada, to make space for Indigenous Peoples and their ways of being, knowing, doing and relating in engineering education, motivated by the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action (2015). The presenters engaged in Participatory Action Research (PAR) to dialogue with engineering educators in accredited engineering programs across the country. They then used Gaudry and Lorenz’s (2018) spectrum of Indigenization to evaluate these self-reported contributions from 25 engineering programs and four engineering organizations. This presentation will take participants on a circular journey through our methodological processes. We will begin with land acknowledgements, as an explicit recognition of the traditional lands belonging to Indigenous peoples, the treaties that govern Canada, and “our presence on the land as visitors and as a part of colonial history” (Indigenous Advisory Committee, Engineers Canada 2021). We will position ourselves in this space, acknowledging our own histories. We will provide definitions to help navigate the space, and give our research context by providing a brief history and present socio-political landscape. We will frame the research with Etuaptmumk, “Two-Eyed Seeing”, and describe our methodological approaches, ending with researcher reflections. We will leave time for discussion and questions. We offer ourselves as colleagues who appreciate the opportunity to present our work in your community and look forward to the dialogues that ensue.
Author Biographies
Jillian Seniuk Cicek is a white settler woman who grew up as a visitor on Treaty One Territory and in the Homeland of the Métis Nation. She is a daughter, sister, wife, mother and aunt. Jill is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Engineering Professional Practice and Engineering Education in the Price Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba, in the place now called Canada. Her areas of investigation include Indigenous initiatives in engineering education. She is dedicated to learning about and using decolonizing research methods and making ethical space for Indigenous Peoples and their ways of being, knowing, doing and relating in engineering education and engineering education research.
Alan Steele is a white settler (born in the North-West of England) who now lives and works on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin nation. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics at Carleton University, Ottawa and a licensed engineer in Ontario. His degrees are in physics from the University of Salford, and he has worked in the telecommunications industry and universities in the UK and Canada. He is a 3M National Teaching Fellow and undertakes engineering education research as well as teaching/learning development.
Afua Adobea Mante is an African woman, a Post-Doctoral Fellow and Engineer-in-training living on Treaty one Territory. She is traditionally connected with the Kwahu Peoples of Ghana. She is in this space because she has learned that a deeper relationship occurs when we learn about others’ journey, view the world through their lenses and find a common place to thrive together.
Pam Wolf is a white settler living and working on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Musqueam people and on the Salish Sea. She is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of British Columbia. She is bringing her experience working in decolonizing in industry to her work in the University.
Mary Robinson is a white, settler woman residing on the Haldimand tract, the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Chonnonton Peoples. She is a daughter, mother, wife, sister, and aunt. Mary’s education is in chemical engineering; she is a continuing lecturer and the associate dean of outreach, equity and diversity in the faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Mary’s experience in supporting students from under-represented communities has led her to this work to build new and strengthen existing relationships to make engineering education a more inclusive space.