Indigenous Knowledges and Sustainability in Post-Secondary Education
| dc.contributor.advisor | McKenzie, Marcia | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Garcea, Joseph | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Reed, Maureen | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Wilson, Alexandria | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Garcea, Joseph | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Strickert, Graham | |
| dc.creator | Vizina, Yvonne Nadine 1964- | |
| dc.creator.orcid | 0000-0002-2999-4008 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-09-21T14:17:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-09-21T14:17:53Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2018-10 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018-09-21 | |
| dc.date.submitted | October 2018 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2018-09-21T14:17:53Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The overall purpose of this study is to begin identifying relationships between sustainability and Indigenous knowledges in post-secondary education. Sustainability discourse indicates a need to reconsider our approaches to social, economic, and environmental issues because without deep transformation, global human survival is in jeopardy. At the same time, post-secondary education institutions in Canada are Indigenizing their settings but lack discussion on sustainability and Indigenization as related concepts. For this study, interviews and surveys were conducted with faculty and administrators working in Indigenous PSE programs in ten post-secondary education institutions across Canada to gain insight into: Indigenous philosophical principles concerning the environment and sustainability; how sustainability is linked to curriculum, research, facility operations, institutional governance, and community outreach; how sustainability is practiced, and what policies drive those practices. The five key findings that emerged from the study are: 1) Indigenous worldviews are based in a belief of the sacred, which orients Indigenous knowledges and responsibilities for sustaining life on Earth; 2) Sustainability is expressed as a function of tradition linking Indigenous identity with culture, language, and environmental health; 3) Entrenching Indigenous knowledges throughout institutions is to sustain cultural identity; 4) National and international standards supporting Indigenous self-determination are primary drivers for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges and advance the underlying principle of sustainability; and 5) Indigenous holistic learning includes social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability. These findings indicate that supporting Indigenous cultural identity through integration of Indigenous knowledges can expand the basis of sustainability practices and programs in post-secondary education, but there is a need to increase dialogue about the interconnectedness of sustainability and Indigenous knowledges based on a rights-based approach to Indigenous education consistent with national and international standards. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10388/10813 | |
| dc.subject | Indigenous knowledge | |
| dc.subject | sustainability | |
| dc.subject | education | |
| dc.subject | post-secondary | |
| dc.subject | higher education | |
| dc.subject | First Nation | |
| dc.subject | Métis | |
| dc.subject | Inuit | |
| dc.title | Indigenous Knowledges and Sustainability in Post-Secondary Education | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | School of Environment and Sustainability | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Environment and Sustainability | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) |