Finding Qwamqwəmt: Re-Storying Education for Aboriginal People

Aboriginal people face numerous challenges in post-secondary education. In this research, I identify the shortcomings evidenced in the educational system in relation to Indigenous identity and epistemology, external Aboriginal policy, Indigenous control of education, and Indigenous community. Additionally, I examine the realities of Aboriginal people who have paused-out and then return to school, and explore what factors influence their successful educational experiences.
I use an Indigenous systems-based pedagogy embedded in a traditional story as my primary theoretical framework. The Four Chiefs story is a syilx Okanagan construct that serves as the model with four oppositional concepts to address community-based questions. This is the basis of enowkinwixw, a syilx-based governance decision-making process. The realm of this research relates to a student’s experience in the K-12 system, the transition to post-secondary, and actualities while attending post-secondary school. This “story” is a holistic approach to illuminate the many educational challenges faced by Indigenous students as part of their Indigenous community.
This introductory theory will lay a foundation for the symposium as the presentations will focus from a theoretical basis for Indigenous education and travel through the educational system in Canada as it pertains to K-12 and post-secondary.