Lori Huston (she/her)

To build theory and research connected to Indigenous
curriculum and pedagogy.

Asking others and myself the question, under what conditions can we develop the pedagogies that work to equalize opportunities to improve early childhood while drawing on the Indigenous teachings of being, learning, and knowing. 

In my observations, Indigenous educators often follow the colonialism assumptions to approach their practices, mainly because their post-secondary ECE diplomas are developed from western perspectives. Naturally, Indigenous culture and ways of knowing do occur within the educator's practices connected to place. Further review of research speaks to the need to be inclusive of Indigenous scholars, Indigenous educators, and families' stories and voices to decolonize and co-constructing contexts that welcome Indigenous practices and knowledges in early childhood education (Callaghan et al., 2018). Shared stories from Indigenous educators and families highlight awareness of the cultural teaching that supports Indigenous children’s learning and overall well-being by fostering identity, language and land-based teachings. ​

In 2018, I was invited alongside an Indigenous ECE supervisor of a licensed child care center in a First Nation community to write a chapter in a NOW Play Collection, U of T Press, connected to place-based learning. Our chapter title is Placing the Child’s Hands on the Land: Conceptualizing, Creating, and Using a Land-based Play Space, still in press. The chapter submission inspired me to connect to my course assignments. It led me to review the literature with suggested implications for practice: Indigenous Knowledges and Pedagogies in Environmental Education in Early Childhood Education. I also drew from my EDUC500 Installment 3.3: The Research Proposal, which I implemented in my professional career as an Associate researcher in 2019. The manuscript included in my artifacts Becoming to Know: Place, Time and Knowledge an Indigenous Lens on Outdoor Playgrounds from a Diffractive Practitioner is the final assignment I wrote in my MEd. I was able to speak to the findings in the EDUC 500 research proposal.
 
This process of my professional experiences inspiring my coursework and coursework supporting my professional expertise is the circle of educator and student interconnections. This aligns with my metaphor; my spirit is lifted with strength, ideas, power and courage as the full moon builds. It's said that during a new moon that you can meditate on your decisions, on your experiences, and rejuvenate yourselves so you can have clarity. As I build on my educator and student interconnections, I naturally become more transparent and energized to move on with my ideas. 

My artifacts are from an Indigenous perspective, as it "acknowledges the interconnectedness of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of individuals with all living things and with the earth, the star world, and the universe" (Lavallée, 2009, p. 26). We have all received many teachings from the land—teachings of interconnection where human beings are not seen as separate from the environment in which we live.