Following the University’s Tricultural mandate, Laurentian University is proud to introduce a groundbreaking new Indigenous curriculum with the first course launching this fall. The new courses offer Anishnaabe earth-based courses that correspond with the four directions and center hub teaching model. The courses offered will focus on oral, participatory, and immersive language learning.
The first course offered will be the Anishnaabemowin Land-Based Immersion: Bngishmok: The Western Direction course taking place from September 17 – 24, 2022. The course will provide students with an opportunity to participate in an 8-day camp environment where they will learn to speak Anishnaabemowin through listening to, and participating in, Anishnaabe teachings and stories. It will be open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners.
The development and launch of this innovative curriculum closely follows the recommendations developed by the Laurentian Truth and Reconciliation Task Force summary report. This was developed to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Report which issued the 94 Calls to Action for Canadians from all walks of life. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls on institutions of higher learning to provide programs and curriculum that integrate Indigenous knowledge for Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners. Laurentian is committed to collaborating with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and local community partners to develop the Indigenous courses and content.
This unique immersive 8-day course will offer a deep learning experience that has the potential to open students to new ways of knowing and being. Participants can expect to have a greater and deeper understanding of their relationship to the earth and to each other, as expressed within Anishnaabe four directional teachings and embedded within Anishnaabemowin language.
To learn more about this course and register, please contact Kevin Fitzmaurice at kfitzmaurice@laurentian.ca.