Weaving Indigenous identity in post-secondary "situations" : supporting students with complex indigenous identities in a university context
department or school: Arts and Social Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Community, Culture and Global Studies, Department of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Fox, Sandra
issued: 2020-10-16T13:36:34Z
issued: 2020
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: For Indigenous students, post-secondary institutions are places that offer both opportunities for growth and knowledge, and challenges that cause many of us to struggle on our journey towards a degree. As places of learning they not only afford us the chance to learn new skills, they also give us space to learn about ourselves in ways we may not have had while at home. For many Indigenous students the journey through post-secondary also becomes a journey of identity where we gain new understandings of who we are. However, as they are built on colonial foundations where the education is based in a western worldview, historically these institutions have pressured Indigenous peoples to give up their beliefs and even identities in order to graduate. As a result of the efforts of many Indigenous scholars and community members, this is beginning to change. The university where I both work and attend school has grown and changed much in the past five years. Truth and Reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization have become much more recognized, and this shift has created more space for Indigenous students to be/become themselves while on campus. Although these efforts are important steps, Indigenous students still must often leave their home communities to attend, and come to learn in ways they do not relate to. They still face racism, both systemic and interpersonal, and walk in a world they may have little familiarity with. Using the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm spindle whorl as my framework, and the process of gathering, spinning, and weaving as my methodology, I asked four students to share their stories of their identity journey. I have woven their stories together with my own, as well as with the relevant secondary research in order to help show how post-secondary contributes to identity shifts and positive growth, and to highlight what more needs to be done in order to better respect Indigenous peoples.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/76310
note: Weaving Indigenous Identity in Post-Secondary “Situations”: Supporting students with complex Indigenous identities in a University context by Sandra Fox B.A., Okanagan University College, 2003 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) October 2020 © Sandra Fox, 2020 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Weaving Indigenous Identity in Post-Secondary “Situations”: Supporting students with complex Indigenous identities in a University context submitted by Sandra Fox in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts . Dr. Michael Evans, Community, Culture, and Global Studies Supervisor Dr. David Geary, Community, Culture, and Global Studies Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Leyton Schnellert, Curriculum and Pedagogy Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Rachelle Hole, School of Social Work Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Judy Gillespie, School of Social Work University Examiner iii Abstract For Indigenous students, post-secondary institutions are places that offer both opportunities for growth and knowledge, and challenges that cause many of us to struggle on our journey towards a degree. As places of learning they not only afford us the chance to learn new skills, they also give us space to learn about ourselves in ways we may not have had while at home. For many Indigenous students the journey through post-secondary also becomes a journey of identity where we gain new understandings of who we are. However, as they are built on colonial foundations where the education is based in a western worldview, historically these institutions have pressured Indigenous peoples to give up their beliefs and even identities in order to graduate. As a result of the efforts of many Indigenous…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2020-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0394764
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/76310