The environment, the food, the strong sense of cultural connection and the deep collective respect of the participants made this even an honour to chair. The participants worked very hard, challenged each other s thinking and learned valuable lessons from each other. These are some of the key lessons I learned during the workshop. One of the distinguishing characteristics of effective Indigenous education is the underlying objectives of building and reinforcing connections. Learners are carried through processes which develop a better understanding of the connections between the pieces and the whole which leads to a deeper sense of grounding and place.
Indigenous education is grounded in some form of respectful relationship.
To be effective, the educational experience must begin with, and contain, activities that create a sense of connection between all participants. Not much different than what happens when speaking with elders, or in most community meetings. Effective Indigenous education uses a variety of experiential learning methods such as touching, tasting, listening, seeing, smelling, stories, activities and soul searching. The use of stories was demonstrated many times in the workshop. These stories carried the participants on journeys that fostered many deep questions and new ways of seeing and perceiving.