Professional learning, collaboration, land, and the integration of Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into the British Columbia K-12 Curriculum : what can be learned from Stó:lō educators?

The recent provision of a framework by the BC Ministry of Education that supports the integration of Indigenous perspectives and knowledge within curriculum has created both opportunities and challenges for educators. In reviewing literature related to decolonizing processes in education and the recent history of Indigenous education locally and nationally, and by using document analysis to analyze the unpublished academic writings of three Stó:lō scholars and educators, themes of professional learning through collaboration with Indigenous communities that involves Indigenous narrative/story, Indigenous and settler colonial history, and connectedness to Land have emerged. It is apparent that engaging in ongoing professional learning and direct collaborative communication with local Indigenous communities is the best way to ensure that the redesigned curriculum will be implemented in a respectful, appropriate, and authentic way. To facilitate this, educators must look back to the historical, pedagogical, and cultural context of Indigenous education in BC so that they may move forward toward authentic integration of Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in the curriculum.