EDI Scholars-in-Residence with Corrina Sparrow: Land as Teacher: Decolonial Practices in EDI
November 7 @ 11:30 am - 4:00 pm
FreeAt this opening event of this year’s EDI Scholars-in-Residence program, we will explore opportunities and wise-practice models for EDI and university library departments, to engage Land-based decolonial community programming and professional development activities, which are aligned with the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan.
Policies regarding decolonial EDI initiatives, and distinct implementation experiences of Indigenous strategic planning within diverse departments at the university remain under-developed. Decolonial, Land-based EDI initiatives for university library departments are also extremely rare. Local Indigenous knowledge systems, relationship building, and Land-based pedagogical frameworks can strengthen EDI initiatives, scholarship, curriculum development and teaching practices.
We know that the process of decolonizing academic policy and procedures benefits greatly from local Indigenous worldviews, relationality to the Land and Water, as well as ancestral knowledge, protocols, and teachings. The principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are already intrinsically woven throughout local Indigenous epistemologies, ontologies, and methodologies. This wisdom is drawn from Indigenous relationality to the Land and Water in our ancestral territories. Gathering and synthesizing knowledge about traditional Indigenous approaches within EDI will contribute to informing and advancing initiatives which are supportive of Indigenous students, scholars, and university practice alike.