Project

Responding to Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action regarding Indigenous education, the First Peoples’ Post-secondary Storytelling Exchange (FPPSE) was created to improve Indigenous students’ access to post-secondary learning and contribute to decolonization and Indigenization of educational institutions in Quebec.

We used a participatory approach, building capacity among emerging Indigenous scholars and collaborating with filmmakers, schools and educational organizations in Kahnawake, Nunavik and Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal).

What We Learned · Results

Over 100 people from more than 20 Indigenous communities shared stories of their educational journey. We learned about students’ resiliency and capacity for facing challenges, and the transformative possibilities they recognized from their educational experiences. We also learned about the enormous hurdles Indigenous students face in post-secondary education in Quebec.

The unique experience of each student is expressed in their own story. Yet common themes throughout the stories address the great need for faculty training, policy change, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis involvement in transforming education systems that have long caused harm.

These themes are expressed in slides, infographics, and a project report as well as participants’ recommendations to inform the process of decolonizing higher education.
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How We Learned · Methodology

The First Peoples Post-secondary Storytelling Exchange has been a transformative process for all of us that worked on the project. In many ways, our approach has been a reflection of who we are as primarily Indigenous researchers committed to social justice, equity and decolonized education.

More than ever, we see the desire to depart from institutional norms and values that we know have caused harm to generations of Indigenous learners.

Our approach to this project is both an expression of who we are and an intentional, deliberate effort to do research in such a way that centres our cultures and identities, and acknowledges individual gifts and capacities as we learn and work for social change. This is an Indigenous approach, and it informs our ethical protocols and methodologies such as storytelling and talking circles. Participatory methods also provide a framework for research that is collaborative, community driven and relevant.
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Our Community