The Sweetgr The Sweetgrassroots Mo oots Movement: An Indigenous W ement: An Indigenous Way of Leading, y of Leading, Doing, and Changing for Indigenous Education

The Sweetgr The Sweetgrassroots Mo oots Movement: An Indigenous W ement: An Indigenous Way of Leading, y of Leading, Doing, and Changing for Indigenous Education

Indigenous peoples--Education

Kristen Walker

Jean-Paul Gauthier

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

2024

Western University

Dissertation

English

Open Access

This paper explores and provides context for resolving a problem of practice which identifies Rivertown District School Board’s (pseudonym) oppression of the Indigenous learning communities it serves. This paper identifies the gaps between the current state of Indigenous Education at Rivertown District School Board against the minimum global standards for Indigenous Education defined in the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples and draws further comparison to traditional Indigenous Education through Indigenous scholarship. The writer’s personal journey with Indigenous Knowledge constructs such as land-based knowledge, Seven Generations Teachings, Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings, Mino-Bimaadiziwin, and Blood Memory are discussed to help Indigenous readers resolve their own inquiries. The writer reveals his individual and familial experiences with colonialism and racialization in order to shed light on the importance of self-advocacy and leveraging international Indigenous human rights policies. A unique Indigenous leadership approach described as a “Sweetgrassroots” leadership approach, which draws inspiration from the calming and balancing effects of the sacred circumboreal plant sweet grass, combined with the democratic, natural, critical, and feminist aspects of Indigenous leadership, is created to explore the problem of practice. Four solutions to address the problem of practice are proposed. As a result, a holistic plan is identified as the best solution which empowers Rivertown First Nation (pseudonym) students and the surrounding community to lead the reform of Indigenous Education in RDSB utilizing a “Sweetgrassroots” change framework, implementation plan, and knowledge mobilization plan.