Beadwork as Pedagogy: Active-Learning Workshop
Tuesday, May 20
1–3 p.m.
Killam Library, Ko’jua Okuom (in-person)
Link to register (opens in new tab)
Building on the CLT session offered in Winter 2024 “Storytelling as Transformative Pedagogy”, this active-learning workshop engages Indigenous beadwork as a pedagogical tool and culturally relevant way of expressing knowledge in academia.
As Anishinaabe scholar and beadwork artist Lana Ray (2016) explains, “beading was never understood by Indigenous peoples within the parameters of arts and crafts” (366), but rather as an integral form of knowledge. Beadwork embodies a worldview that challenges colonial and Western notions of knowledge production, while centering community and relationality within the learning process.
Drawing on post-secondary examples of beadwork learning from mathematics, the social sciences, and law, the first 45 minutes of this session will take the form of a presentation that conceptualizes beadwork as relational pedagogy, illustrating its capacity to challenge traditional power structures in education and to offer an embodied, culturally relevant approach to teaching and learning.
The remainder of the session will be devoted to hands-on learning, where attendees will participate in a beginner beading lesson led by Indigenous beadwork artist and Dalhousie student Ella Parsons. This experiential component aims to engage participants in the act of creating while deepening their understanding of beadwork’s potential to shape knowledge, relationships, and transformative educational practices.
All necessary supplies will be provided.
Facilitators
Ella Parsons (she/they) is an upper-year undergraduate student majoring in psychology with a double minor in Indigenous studies and gender and women's studies. She is mixed nīhithāw (Woodland Cree)/settler, and is an avid beadwork artist.
Rachelle McKay (she/her) is the Centre’s Educational Developer, Indigenous Knowledges and Ways of Knowing and uses beadwork as a pedagogical tool when teaching INDG 3050: Indigenous Research Methods.
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