Profiles of Aboriginal Educators: Footprints for the Future
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H O M E C O M M U N I T Y Peguis First Nation: Old Peguis Reserve that was known as St. Peter’s Reservation, geographacilly located in present day Selkirk, Manitoba C U LT U R A L I D E N T I T Y Anishinaabe C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N Recently retired We need positive role models. Why not you? Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 60 3/24/09 3:11:04 PM
to my experiences as a student I can’t recall learning positive things about myself as an Aboriginal person. What I did learn was that there were many negative stereotypes about Aboriginal people. This was very problematic to my development as a young person because these experiences were affecting how I was feeling about myself and took shape in how I thought I should live as an Aboriginal man. It was my Elders and my Traditional teachers who helped me see the problem in how I ended up this way. They helped me see that the stories I heard in school and about my people were not true, that we had many beautiful things to be proud of as Anishinaabe people. It was because of them that I was able to see myself in a dif- ferent light. It was because of their stories that I was able to see strength and a resource in my culture that could help me live a better life. It felt good to finally learn there was more to us than what I was told. There was this whole other side that I had not learnt yet of who I was and could be. This new learn- ing connected me to things that countered what I was taught in school. They also told me that I had an important decision to make now that I was well aware of who I really was as an Anishinaabe man. With this new knowledge, I could no longer go on living my life the way I was. I could not say my life was bad because of what I learned in school because they had now shown me something different. I could now choose between that old life, that lived up to the stereotypes I was fed or I could embrace what I had learned from my elders and continue living a good life. They told me to decide who I wanted to be. That story and those experiences I had with the elders have always stayed with me and I have tried to bring this type of learning into the work I have done as an Aboriginal educator throughout the years. I have tried to find ways to bring the knowledge, perspectives and teachings of our people to the education system so that all students could experience a true account of our history. Our truth is in our stories and it is through storytelling that I have tried to demystify the stereotypes about Aboriginal people and our experience here on Turtle Island. For Aboriginal students, I always hoped our students would learn about their histories, cultures and perspectives in a good way which would help them feel good about themselves. For non-Aboriginal students and teachers I hoped to help them understand the effects that edu- cation and assimilative practices have had on Aboriginal peo- ples. I hoped this new knowledge would create opportunities for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to improve our social conditions to create a better relationship between us all. Overall, I hoped that through my efforts I could affect learners’ attitudes towards themselves and between each other. I remember being told that Aboriginal people didn’t have an education system before the coming of the white man (Euro- peans). My Elders helped me see that we did have our ways of teaching our people. It is important to help teachers understand this because this type of thinking can lead to a low expectation for Aboriginal children: the misconception that Aboriginal parents and students don’t value education because they had none. It is important to see that as Aboriginal people we had a very sophisticated and practical education system that allowed us to thrive in our environments. Our education was constantly unfolding and changing and it was not restricted to learning in a classroom. Our people used everything around them to teach and to learn from. Finding a way to merge these two different world views and ways of teaching and learning into one teachable mo- ment has been both rewarding and a challenge in education.
Memorable moments in my career include spending time with students. I remember one time a child came forward to announce that he was Aboriginal. This was a heartwarming experience because I saw it as a new beginning for that child. He had heard something in what I said that gave him the cour- age to free him from that which kept him from being open about his identity. Like the stories that were told to me by my Elders I believe stories have the ability to empower our students. They plant seeds of self pride. Our schools should be places that help all students feel good about themselves. Our Anishi- naabe ways provide opportunities for all people to feel good about themselves as human beings. This is what we need our young people to share with others in the education system. Garry Robson E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G Bachelor of Education. Most of my education has come from traditional and cultural learning environments. 61 When I think back R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth. Currently Elder in Residence, Aboriginal Student Centre, University of Manitoba Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 61 3/24/09 3:11:04 PM
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