Pîkiskwêtân, the Indigenous Directions Learning Series, is a continuous series of decolonizing and anti-racist Indigenous awareness training and professional development workshops. The series is open to Concordia staff, faculty and students.
This workshop is designed to provide participants with an overview of the history of Indigenous education in Canada. It discusses contemporary issues in education and examines the continuing impact of government education policies.
Topics include: First Nations and Inuit education prior to contact; residential schools; education as an assimilation tool; culture and language loss; Indian Control of Indian Education; systemic racism in the K-12 school system; and land-based education. The goal of the workshop is to help participants gain a better understanding of the barriers to recruitment, retention and graduation of Indigenous students.